The Fate of Princes [Hardcover]

P. C. Doherty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What actually did happen to those princes who disappeared from the Tower of London? British writer Doherty, whose The Angel of Death recreated medieval London, now focuses vividly but more narrowly on the brief, anguished reign of Richard III. The king, target of vicious rumors, covertly appoints his old friend and chamberlain, Francis, Viscount Lovell, to dig up the facts of the boys' fate. Francis, doubting but loyal, doggedly questions everyone who might know something--including two on the brink of execution. And he keeps up his interrogations even after Richard's death, until at last he knows the whole truth. Readers may or may not buy this solution, but it's reasonable and said to be based on documentary evidence. Doherty's account of a savage era carries gripping scenes of prisons and palaces, smoky taverns and the misty Thames, murders, plots, spies, secret rooms that become secret tombs, the bloody battle of Bosworth and one extremely gruesome execution.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; First US Edition edition (February 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312054297
• ISBN-13: 978-0312054298
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars History and Mystery, September 7, 2001

By 

Penny Wood (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fate of Princes (Hardcover)

Paul Doherty never fails to intrigue his readers with the solving of a mystery and the learning of English history. As the title suggests the mystery in this novel is the real life one `What happened to the Princes in the Tower?' The narrator is Francis Lovell, one of Richard III's staunch supporters. Richard sets him the task of finding out what happened to the princes although many at the time, and even more since, believed Richard had them murdered to secure his hold on the throne of England. Doherty always produces a great read. He also uses the pseudonyms of Michael Clynes and Paul Harding.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Cat The Rat and Lovell The Dog, Rules All England Under The Hog, June 7, 2010

By 

Barb Mechalke (in the lovely Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fate of Princes (Hardcover)

P. C. Doherty paints the history leading up to the rule of Richard III in broad strokes leaving out the complicated personal and political details of events. I thought the storytelling in 'The Fate of Princes' was good, the writing concise and the author was able to move the story forward quickly. Honestly I think he boiled down the complicated reign of Richard III to the basic picture pretty well.

I was confused by certain elements the author chose to incorporate into his version of the mystery of the princes in the tower. Particularly the characterizations of Richard III as a crouch back born with teeth and an emaciated arm. These physical descriptors come from Thomas More's writing, which has been criticized for it's slanderous inaccuracies. Doherty's portrayal, while not necessarily sympathetic, seems less biased than the writing of Shakespeare and many authors who believed that his writing was the truth rather than opinion. So it seemed somewhat incongruous that he would include theses characterizations in his story.

Doherty takes many liberties with the life of these historical figures in creating his version of the mystery and that's okay, it's historical FICTION. But after having read quite a few novels that are based on the historic record I found myself taking this version of events with a large grain of salt.

In my opinion the intended audience for this mystery is not fans of history, historical fiction or Richard III but rather fans of mysteries. The mystery of the princes in the tower has fascinated people for hundreds of years, it's the perfect bit of history for a fictionalization because we will never know what really happened to them.

What I was most interested in was the solution he would offer up for the disappearance of the princes, and that I found interesting. I also liked the way Doherty included the story of the secret chamber found in Minster Lovell.

The author is capable writer well adept at depicting the fifteenth century and I will be taking a look at some of this other mysteries. If I had less familiarity with the subject matter I think I would have liked his version of events more that I did.