Not many people would claim to be saints, or alternatively, consider themselves entirely without redeeming qualities. Some are unquestionably worse than others, but few have been held in greater infamy than Richard Plantagenet, afterwards Duke of Gloucester and, later still, King Richard III. Richard’s character has been besmirched as often as it has been defended, and the arguments between his detractors and supporters still rage after several centuries. Was he a ruthless hunchback who butchered his way to the throne, a paragon of virtue who became a victim of Tudor propaganda, or (as seems more likely) something in between? Some would argue that a true biography is impossible because the letters and other personal documents required for this purpose are simply not available; but David Baldwin has overcome this through an in-depth study of Richard’s dealings with his contemporaries and of information gleaned from the recent discovery of his skeleton. The fundamental question he has answered is ‘what was Richard III really like’.

'A believably complex Richard, neither wholly villain nor hero’ -- Philippa Gregory
‘A very readable short life distilled from an enormous amount of information, summarising where possible without misleading and adding interesting detail.’ * Peter Hammond, President of the Richard III Society *
‘Reveals the real Richard III’ * Leicester Mercury *

David Baldwin was a medieval historian who taught at the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham for many years. His historical research focused on the great medieval families in the Midlands and he had contributed articles to historical journals and lectured regularly to societies and conferences in this field. Sadly he passed away in 2016.