'Fresh, gripping and vivid' Simon Sebag Montefiore
'Majestically narrated' Dan Jones
'A portrait that chills you to the bone' Leanda de Lisle, The Times

A dedicated brother and loyal stalwart to the Yorkist dynasty for most of his early life, Richard's personality was forged in the tribulation of exile and the brutality of combat. An ambitious nobleman and successful general with a loyal following, he could claim to have achieved every ambition in life except one: the crown.

By stripping back the legends that surround England's most controversial king and returning to original manuscript evidence, Chris Skidmore's compelling biography reveals Richard III as contemporaries saw him.

"A portrait that chills you to the bone ... Skidmore describes Richard's death in horrifying detail ... It marks the bloody climax to a biography in which the unfolding horror comes from the slow burn of detail drawn from manuscript sources and recent scholarship judiciously presented, and in a story well told" - The Times

"Scholarly and genuinely objective ... Skidmore is adept at placing in proper perspective the dilemmas that faced Richard ... Highly readable" - Wall Street Journal

"Skidmore's new biography of Richard is a full and measured account of his subject ... [He] tells the story with style and the empathy of a well-trained historian ... Skidmore has given us an eminently readable account of Richard's life and reign, firmly anchored in fifteenth-century politics and culture" - Times Literary Supplement

"[Examines hostile indictments of Richard III] with sharp writing and a marvellously exhaustive command of contemporary documentary sources ... In the author's hands, there's no lack of thrilling details in Richard's saga ... His biography bids fair to become the definitive account for the twenty-first century" - Washington Independent Review of Books

"King Richard III is one of the most divisive figures in history, but this new biography aims to ignore the controversy and return to the facts: his personality, motivations and allegiances. How single-minded was his pursuit of power, and what role did he really play in the deaths of his young nephews?" - History Revealed

"This first-rate book ... will be read with great profit and pleasure by fellow historians, and by all those who simply enjoy learning about dramatic episodes in the past from a fine writer" - The London Magazine

"Skidmore successfully creates a balanced biography of the famously complicated last king of the Yorkist line ... [T]his carefully researched biography effectively captures Richard's turbulent reign and intense personality up to the violent end" - Publishers Weekly

"No monarch in British history excites greater curiosity ... This first-rate book of some 400 pages will be read with great profit and pleasure by fellow historians - and by all those who simply enjoy learning about dramatic episodes in the past from a fine writer" - The House Magazine

"His portrayal of Richard is balanced; his narrative detailed and engaging. For those familiar with Richard's life, this will be a refreshing read; for those not, this will be an excellent introduction" - Historical Novel Society