Synopses & Reviews
From the author of The Last Days of Richard III comes the first full biography of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Kings Richard III and Edward IV
Less well-known than his brothers Edward IV and Richard III, George, Duke of Clarence has so had little written about him, that historians are faced with a series of questions: Where was he born? What was he really like? Was it his unpredictable behavior that set him against his brother Edward IV? George played a central role in the Wars of the Roses played out by his brothers—but was he for York or Lancaster? Who was really responsible for his execution? Is the story of his drowning in a barrel of wine—as he did in Richard III—true? And was "false, fleeting, perjur'd Clarence" in some ways the role model behind the 16th-century defamation of Richard III? Finally, where was he buried and what became of his body? Can the DNA used recently to test the remains of his younger brother, Richard III, also reveal the truth about the supposed "Clarence bones" in Tewkesbury? John Ashdown-Hill exposes the myths surrounding this pivotal and central Plantagenet, with remarkable results.
Synopsis
From the author of The Last Days of Richard III comes the first full biography of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Kings Richard III and Edward IVLess well-known than his brothers Edward IV and Richard III, George, Duke of Clarence has so had little written about him, that historians are faced with a series of questions: Where was he born? What was he really like? Was it his unpredictable behavior that set him against his brother Edward IV? George played a central role in the Wars of the Roses played out by his brothers--but was he for York or Lancaster? Who was really responsible for his execution? Is the story of his drowning in a barrel of wine--as he did in Richard III--true? And was "false, fleeting, perjur'd Clarence" in some ways the role model behind the 16th-century defamation of Richard III? Finally, where was he buried and what became of his body? Can the DNA used recently to test the remains of his younger brother, Richard III, also reveal the truth about the supposed "Clarence bones" in Tewkesbury? John Ashdown-Hill exposes the myths surrounding this pivotal and central Plantagenet, with remarkable results.
Synopsis
An important contribution to Ricardian scholarship offering revelations about John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and why he became Richard III's key supporter
In 1455, John Howard was an untitled and relatively obscure Suffolk gentleman. At the time of his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 he was Earl Marshal, Duke of Norfolk, Lord Admiral and a very rich man (and the current Duke of Norfolk is his direct descendant). How had he attained these elevations? Through his service to the House of York, and in particular to Richard III during the setting aside of Edward V. John Ashdown-Hill examines why he chose to support Richard, even at the cost of his life; what secrets he knew about Edward IV; what he had to do with the fate of the "Princes in the Tower;" and what naval innovations, until now ascribed to the Tudors, he introduced. This book is based on original research and contains previously unpublished material.
About the Author
John Ashdown-Hill is a historian and a member of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Genealogists, the Richard III Society, and the Centre Européen dEtudes Bourguignonnes. The author of The Last Days of Richard III, he has been heavily involved in the DNA testing of Richard III's remains. He is also the author of Eleanor, the Secret Queen; Royal Marriage Secrets; and The Third Plantagenet. He has appeared on NPR and the Smithsonian Channel as an expert on Richard III.