The Princes in the Tower - Softcover

Weir, Alison

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345391780 ISBN 13: 9780345391780

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1995

Synopsis

Despite five centuries of investigation by historians, the sinister deaths of the boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, remain one of the most fascinating murder mysteries in English history. Did Richard III really kill "the Princes in the Tower," as is commonly believed, or was the murderer someone else entirely? In this utterly absorbing and meticulously researched book, English writer Alison Weir, an authority on the history of the British royal family, at last provides a conclusive solution to this age-old puzzle. Carefully examining every shred of contemporary evidence as well as the dozens of modern accounts, Weir reconstructs the entire chain of events leading to the double murder. In The Princes in the Tower we are witnesses to the tumultuous reign of Edward IV, the princes' powerful, handsome, promiscuous father. We see the unfolding rivalry between the Wydvilles, the common family of Edward's shrewd queen, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, his ambitious brother. And finally we are swept up in the vortex of intrigue that followed Edward's death - the naming of his twelve-year-old son Edward as heir; Richard's swift arrival in London and his lightning strike for power; the imprisonment of the princes in the Tower of London; and the hushed-up murders that secured Richard's claim to the throne as Richard III. Weir considers in turn each of the prime suspects in the murder: the grasping, conspiratorial Duke of Buckingham; the shadowy Sir James Tyrell, Richard's trusted retainer; the possibility that the boys may have died of natural causes; and of course, Richard III himself, a complex man of charm and intelligence twisted by a ruthless ambition for power. More than an historical murder mystery, The Princes in the Tower is a richly detailed tapestry of English court life in the late fifteenth century - the bitter rivalries that exploded in the Wars of the Roses; the splendor and corruption of the royal family; the violence and tre

About this title

Review:

"Weir's book is, no doubt, not the last on the subject, but it might be the best."--The Boston Globe

"[Alison] Weir takes us on this delicious mystery with a fearsome vengeance. The result is a fascinating and completely credible account."--Milwaukee Journal

"Did Richard III do in his nephews or didn't he? How much of the evil-uncle legend was later Tudor propaganda and how much was true? . . . This is exciting reading."--The Denver Post

"Good mysteries never die, they just improve with age. . . . Weir has assembled an impressive case for the prosecution in The Princes in the Tower."--Orlando Sentinel

Book Description:

Alison Weir investigates one of the most enduring murder mysteries in English history - the death of the lost Princes in the tower, nephews of Richard III, whose body has recently been discovered.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0345391780
• ISBN 13: 9780345391780
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336