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"["The Last Days of Richard "III"] "should prove of interest to anyone who wants to go deeper into this watershed moment in English history." --The Historical Novels Review
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The Last Days of Richard III contains a new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days, and 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, we discover a new Richard: no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own policies and agenda. It also re-examines 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. John Ashdown-Hill has produced a stimulating and thought-provoking acount of the end of Richard's life. Even readers very familiar with his short life will discover a new and fascinating picture of him.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
John Ashdown-Hill has done it again to follow up his excellent and intriguing book, Eleanor the secret Queen. This time he does what all good historians should do - take you to the appropriate moment and examine the subject, having tried to forget the future. Following the example of Micheal Jones, who tries to portray Richard as a proactive king rather than the reactive monarch of Shakespeare, Ashdown Hill's Richard becomes quite different. His day to day rituals and acts of routine piety are related in detail and the fact that Richard went hunting a few days before Bosworth; not the action of a nervous underconfident King. As a Dr I was very much persuaded by his conjecture that Richard may have been ill before Bosworth, accounting for his possible nightmares. We all have apprehensions before a big day but Richard's possible dreams sound much more like a pyrexia than just nerves. Did he suffer from the contemporary sweating sickness? Was he ill on the morning of Bosworth and was he overkeen to get the thing over with? Ashdown-Hill is also much kinder to Henry; Henry's treatment of Richard was in fact straightforward and proper (being killed in battle was after all unique for a post Norman King!)Richard's body was slung over the back of a horse; how else would you do it? Henry did not pre-date his reign from 21st August. He then goes on a hunt for Richard's mitochondial DNA following this with the possibility that Richard's remains could still exist. If so Richard could be identified positively and so many answers, his height, his deformity or lack of it, his mode of death could be established. Ashdown-Hill's scholarship combined with a vision of revelation make this another tasty meal for those who wish to set the Historical record of Richard III straight.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I confess an interest in Richard III and have read fairly extensively around the fifteenth century so I approached this fairly short book not expecting to find much new within. I have to say however the narrative style was very clear and the whole concept of taking the king through his last months and beyond into the whole debate of where his body is and who exists today as distant relatives provided a new angle on a much written about king. The illustrations are refreshingly different from the usual and the book is attractive overall. I thought there was little more to say on his short period as monarch, it just shows how you can be wrong! The book is well suited for the lover of medieval history or those who have read on Richard III previously. Very enjoyable.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book was interesting for filling in some gaps about Richard's activities before his death, but most interesting of all was the discussion of the current state of play re DNA research into these last Plantagenets and their modern descendants. I did not think I would have found this section as interesting as it was. The discussion of the fate of Richard's tomb was illuminating and his theory that Henry Tudor built something more up-market in response to the Warbeck threat is an interesting one. Despite this I confess that, like strawberries, it left an unsatisfied feeling behind, something there should have been (like cream), but wasn't, and I can't put my finger on what it is! Nevertheless, essential reading for any Ricardian, and certainly not the sort of book which the anti-Richards can scream bias about!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Richard 111
This is an excellent book. Very detailed in the life of Richard 3rd. A window into the daily life of that time in England. Recommended.
Published 16 days ago by lumen
An unbiased insight into the last days of Richard III!
The book is a thoroughly good read from start to finish. The attention to detail and fair portrayal of Richard III puts this work at the forefront of Ricardian research and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ross
Simply Great
This is only a fairly short book with a limited focus, but nevertheless I found it very interesting. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. D. J. Smith
Good King Richard??
Well written but ultimately indefensible argument for Richard being an innocent among the gulity. This kind of therory falls outside the bounds of credibility. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Steve Bell
new information
This book has given me new information. Although I have read a couple of books on the to me immensely interesting King Richard III I hadn't come across such a detailed account of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by broad spectrum music lover
Still questing for the truth.
Whilst the book is an interesting read for all Ricardians, and obviously well researched, I was struggling to determine what the "exam question" was here. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. George P. Algar
Disappointing
I approached this book with enthusiasm. As a keen reader of all things Ricardian I was hoping for a book with a different slant that would offer me new information. Read more
Published 13 months ago by jontygirl
An important Ricardian book.
Forget Tudor history, which is what I've been overdosing on over the past few years. Richard III is where it's at! Read more
Published 19 months ago by K. J. Greenland
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