Annette Carson, Richard III – The Maligned King.  The History Press, Stroud, 2008.  ISBN 978 0 7509 4973 6

Annette Carson’s book has recently become available in Australia.  It is an excellent study of Richard’s time as king.  The author has a thorough understanding of her sources, and her appendix containing a critical evaluation of them is invaluable.  Whoever enjoyed  by Bertram Field’s Royal Blood is sure to be fascinated by this book.  Annette’s strong point is explaining historical events from a human perspective, why people behaved the way they did.  For instance when Elizabeth Woodville came out of sanctuary in 1484 and allowed her daughters to appear at court, was this because she was so scared of Richard – the man who had killed her sons – that she saw no alternative?  Of course not.  Though this improbable behaviour is what several serious historians want us to believe.  Annette shows clearly that Elizabeth did not believe her sons to be dead and would otherwise have had lots of alternatives.  I can only recommend this book, it is an excellent read.

Note:

The book is now also available as a paperback (ISBN 078-0-7524-5208-1), the second edition of which is due to come out in February or March 2010.