The bloody Wars of the Roses between the Houses of Lancaster and York ended with the killing of Richard III. With the recent discovery of his skeleton, and the consequent controversy over his final resting place, it is time to re-examine the life of Richard as a duke and king.

Was Richard the grotesque usurper and murderer of the Princes in the Tower, as depicted by Shakespeare just over a hundred years after his death in battle? Or has his name been blackened over the years, as claimed by his apologists, the Richard III Society?

This biography sifts the contemporary evidence, placing Richard in the context of his times, and assesses the other candidates put forward to have killed the Princes in the Tower. John Locke wrote that ‘the actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts’ and upon this basis the investigation leads to one conclusion.

• Published

  to coincide with the reburial of Richard now scheduled for the end of March

  2015

• Huge interest in Richard III since the discovery of

  his skeleton in a Leicester car park

• Questions

  the recent clamour to rehabilitate this most notorious of kings

• Author available for

  signing eventsand interviews

• Reviews in the paperback review

  sections of the daily and Sunday newspapers to include The Telegraph and The Mail on

  Sunday