Richard III: The Maligned King The Maligned King

by Carson, Annette

• ISBN13: 9780752452081
• ISBN10: 0752452088
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-20
• Publisher: The History Press

Summary

For centuries the vision of Richard III has been dominated by the fictional creations of Thomas More and Shakespeare. Voices have protested during the intervening years, some of them eminent and scholarly, urging a more reasoned view to replace the traditional black portrait. Annette Carson seeks to redress the balance by examining the events of his reign as they actually happened, based on reports in the original sources. Eschewing the overlay of assumptions so beloved by historians, she instead traces actions and activities of the principal characters, using facts and time-lines revealed in documentary evidence. Daring to investigate areas where historians fear to tread, this book raises some controversial questions. Was Edward IV assassinated? Did Queen Elizabeth Woodville engage in witchcraft? Why did Thomas More lay down his pen, leaving his dramatic attack on Richard unfinished?

Author Biography

After studying at the Royal College of Music, Annette Carson worked for several years in the entertainment industry while indulging a leisure interest in aerobatics, on which she is a renowned expert and has contributed to Encyclopædia Britannica. In a professional writing career of 30 years she has been an editor and an award-winning copywriter. Her last book before retirement was a biography of guitarist Jeff Beck. From 1990 to 2010 she worked in South Africa where she became involved with the Karoo Animal Protection Society, to which she still devotes energy since returning to the UK. She was the lead campaigner in a case against the selective freezing of pensions for British expatriates which reached the ECHR. The Richard III controversy first came to her attention at the time of Olivier’s
iconic film portrayal, and remains a topic of research on which she writes extensively. In 2011 she was invited by Philippa Langley to join the team searching for the king’s lost grave which found and exhumed Richard’s remains for honourable reburial.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. 6
Preface	p. 9
Poisoned?	p. 14
The Politics of Power	p. 26
Plot and Counter-Plot	p. 39
A Shadow over the Succession	p. 61
Battle Lines are Drawn	p. 80
'This Eleccion of us the Thre Estates'	p. 98
Witchcraft and Sorcery	p. 113
Dynastic Manoeuvrings	p. 126
The Disappearance of the Princes	p. 143
Bones of Contention	p. 172
The October Rebellion	p. 201
Brave Hopes	p. 225
Barbarians at the Gates	p. 249
Postscript	p. 271
Appendix	p. 284
Notes on References	p. 300
Select Bibliography	p. 311
Index	p. 315
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