Publisher Description
On 22 August 1485, Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field, the last king of England to die in battle. His victorious opponent, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII), went on to found one of our most famous ruling dynasties. Richard's body was displayed in undignified fashion for two days in nearby Leicester and then hurriedly buried in the church of the Greyfriars. Fifty years later, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the king's grave was lost—its contents believed to be emptied into the river Soar—and Richard III's reputation buried under a mound of Tudor propaganda. Its culmination was Shakespeare's compelling portrayal of a deformed and murderous villain, written over a hundred years after Richard's death. Now—in an incredible find—Richard III's remains have been uncovered beneath a car park in Leicester. The King's Grave traces this remarkable journey. In alternate chapters, Philippa Langley, whose years of research and belief that she would find Richard in this exact spot inspired the project, reveals the inside story of the search for the king's grave, and historian Michael Jones tells of Richard's fifteenth-century life and death. The result is a compelling portrayal of one of our greatest archaeological discoveries, allowing a complete re-evaluation of our most controversial monarch—one that discards the distortions of later Tudor histories and puts the man firmly back into the context of his times.
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“James has a cultured—almost delicate—voice and precise diction. She retains the listener’s sympathy while conveying Langley’s passion for the Plantagenet king, giving us a person who was intuitive, sensitive, energetic, and mystical.”
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AudioFile
About the Authors
Philippa Langley is a screenwriter and producer who inaugurated and led the successful archaeological search to locate King Richard III’s grave in Leicester. Her ninety-minute documentary about the search for King Richard with Channel Four / Darlow Smithson Productions was aired on February 4, 2013. She won the Richard III Society’s Robert Hamblin Award in 2012. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. The King’s Grave is her first book.
Michael Jones did his Ph.D. on the Beaufort family, and subsequently taught at the University of South West England, the University of Glasgow, and Winchester College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and now works as a writer and media presenter. He is the author of six books, including
The King's Mother, a highly praised biography of Margaret Beaufort, which was shortlisted for the Whitfield Prize.
About Corrie James
Corrie James
has worked on both sides of the Atlantic in theater, radio, and audiobooks. She
credits growing up listening to the BBC for her love of the spoken word. Her
audiobooks include The
Companion of Lady Holmeshire by Debra Brown and Remember Me by
Trezza Azzopardi.