Above all, Weir argues her way convincingly through recent scholarship and the ongoing debate as to the princes' fate and Richard's role in it.

Thomas More, and she emphasizes the role of Edward IV's queen and her ambitious family.

She makes special use of older accounts written by Dominic Mancini, the Croyland Chroniclers, and St. Here, Weir relates these many intrigues and political executions in a highly readable, brisk manner that's at once vivid and scholarly. Richard's former allies began to plot against him-but the monarch died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. Edward V and his brother, the ten-year old Richard, Duke of York, were removed to the Tower of London, never to be seen again, and most people assumed that Richard had ordered the princes murdered. Within weeks, Richard coerced Parliament into declaring him king on the supposed grounds that the late king's marriage had been invalid. When, in 1483, Edward died prematurely, Richard seized power as Lord Protector of the Realm, since the heir apparent, Edward V, was only 13 years old. Henry was confined in the Tower of London, part of which was a royal palace, and eventually he was murdered there on Edward's orders, probably by Edward's youngest brother, Richard of Gloucester. A crisis occurred when the saintly Henry VI had a nervous breakdown and was ousted in 1465 by Edward IV. In the 15th century, the succession to the English throne was never stable. Here, Weir (The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 1992) throws new light on this horror story-and especially on the mysterious disappearance of the two boys who stood in Richard's way. A glorious addition to any booklover's collection, and especially apt for historians.The methods of a Mafia boss characterized the career of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who in the 15th century briefly ruled England as Richard III. The text is set in Minion on cream Caxton Wove paper, with russet endpapers overprinted with a genealogical table of the Lancaster York families, by Reginald Piggott, showing their connections and the disputed lines of Royal descent. The front board is over printed with the Mosley illustration in black, blood red and bright gilt. The cover boards are cloth bound with 'blackletter' gold blocked title to the spine. Alison eir delves into the history and machinations of what records and suppositions have told us, alongside 22 historical colour illustrations. This is an enduring story of mystery and intrigue, a crime that has never been solved.

The foreward is by mystery novelist Ruth Rendell and the especially commissioned cover illustration by Francis Mosley. The accompanying original slipcase, in black board, has barely noticeable shelf wear.

The book is in fine condition with no annotations, inscriptions or turn backs. An unread copy of Alison Weir's Folio Society edition of 'The Princes in the Tower', second printing (2001).

The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir