John Ashdown-Hill Last Days of Richard III

Annotation

What Richard III did in his last five months, what happened to his body, and how his DNA was found in Canada A new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days explores these events from the standpoint of Richard himself and his contemporaries. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, this book presents a new Richard-no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own policies and agenda. It also reexamines the aftermath of Bosworth-the treatment of Richard's body, his burial, and the construction of his tomb. Based on newly discovered evidence and wider insights it explores the motives underlying these events. And there is the fascinating story of why and how Richard III's DNA was rediscovered, alive and well, and living in Canada. This is a stimulating and thought-provoking account of the end of Richard's life-even readers very familiar with his short life will discover a new and fascinating picture of him.