Customer Reviews

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower

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If someone wanted to read one book to find out about the Richard III controversy, this is the one that I would recommend, although I think that it is valuable for anyone interested in the topic. In addition to a history of the man and the times, it also brings "richardology" up to date with discussions of romance novels and the Richard III society. If that's not enough, it's gorgeously and generously illustrated.

I have some disagreements with the author, but he is relatively fair-minded and even-handed. Pollard hews to the traditionalist view, i.e. that Richard III was a usurper and murdered his nephews, but unlike so many authors (on either side) he is not consumed with a desperation to prove his case that leads him into nonsensical arguments. He even punctures a few of the sillier traditionalist arguments. He goes into some detail about some of the fine points of the arguments, e.g., the symbolism of the hog, that will be valuable even to people who are already knowledgeable. Pollard also has a dry sense of humor that enlivens the writing.

If the reader wants more, most scholarly biographies of Richard III are traditionalist, i.e., regard him as guilty. The classic Richardian (pro-Richard) biography is Paul Kendall's massive but readable Richard the Third.