The Last Plantagenets by Thomas B. Costain (1963)
I first read this book when I was 14 years old. My mother read it first and had high praise for it: nothing she liked better than lively, well-written history.
This history is as colorful as it gets. The Wars of the Roses and Richard III; the Peasants’ Revolt; Henry VI sinking into lunacy; William Caxton setting up his printing press–they’re all here in glorious technicolor. And Costain isn’t afraid to admit it when his passions get involved. Nor is he afraid to dip into historical enigmas and controversies–did Richard III really murder his nephews?–weigh the evidence on either side, and try to find the truth.
Many young people think of history as a collection of boring and irrelevant trivia; but The Last Plantagenets is anything but that. It just might whet your appetite for more.
Recommended for ages 12 and up.
I loved that book — although I haven’t reread it in ages. Fortunately, though, I did bring it with me when I downsized, knowing I’d want to reread it some time. So I’ve just put it at the head of my reread list. Thank you for reminding me. Here’s another coincidence to go along with the hymnal coincidences: I’d just been glancing over my history section, trying to decide what to reread next, but somehow my eyes had skipped over the Costain.
As for who really killed the two princes in the Tower, I favor the theory that it was Henry VII, or, rather, his minions. He was the one who had most to lose by the princes’ survival, and there do seem to be documents in the Pipe Rolls that still provide for their victuals shortly after Richard’s death. (I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m an ardent Ricardian.)
You have, of course, read “Daughter of Time”?
But of course!