The Mythology of the 'Princes in the Tower'

First, let me begin by saying that I previously subscribed to the popular myth that the princes were "dispatched" by either Richard III or Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, for their own nefarious reasons. After reading this thoroughly well researched, reader friendly, extremely well written and historically accurate book by the late Dr. John Ashdown-Hill, I am totally of the opinion that it was NOT their Uncle Richard who killed them, or even in fact that they were murdered. Read this book if you are a fan of this particular historical mystery, if you enjoy anything Tudor -Plantagenet, if you're intrigued by this or any other historical mystery, or just like a good, interesting book! My only sadness is that the author, who passed away in May 2018, couldn't be here to enjoy the success of yet another one of his great books. Maybe where he is, he's hanging out with the characters in his books and now knows what really happened. Loved this book!

This book was an easy read and well researched…I enjoyed reading this book.Coaéhin Ó Beoláin

I won’t go into a dissertation on this but if you are at all aware or knowledgeable about this period in history this book is just a regurgitation of the known facts, offers no new insight, feels like it was written to fulfill a contract (I don’t know believe that’s true, but I’m making a point), horrible illustrations and one full quarter of the book is notes, acknowledgements, and summarizing. It may be good introduction material but for this history lover it was un-revealing.

Gives much information and latest research into one of history's most abiding mysteries. A. must read for those interested in the topic and the period

The late John Ashdown-Hill uses his expertise to meticulously tear apart the falsehoods of 500 years.A must read on the subject.

I read this book because I wanted another angle on this mystery from a well respected historian. I understand the author was a Ricardian so expected that I would learn something new from the "other side" of the spectrum. I knew the issue was going to focus on legitimacy of the marriage of Elizabeth and Edward but I was put off when he started to call Elizabeth the "partner" of Edward so early in the book. The reader was not allowed to absorb the implications of his theory, the author just decided for us and kept on that track. No one knows what happened to the Princes-non Princes, but legitimacy is not an issue if the person is question has subjects/aristocracy willing to rise for them as well as to constantly argue against that ruling. It was also easy for a ruler to do away with a contender with just a wink and a nod to the right people, ask Elizabeth I about that. I do love a mystery so am content to hope for more information in the future.

This is typical of his research on the Plantagenets. There is no romance or guesswork - just what we know, what has been suggested and what likely happened. He writes for a wide audience - if the subject interests you do yourself a favor and read this book - but be warned... you may end collecting all his works.

This is a 'believe it or not' title. The subject is approached very much from the Ricardian perspective - i.e. Richard III had nothing to do with the death of his nephews - and in any case there were no 'Princes in the Tower' since they were already illegitimate (and therefore no longer princes) and were merely at the Tower of London, in its capacity as Royal residence. I've read the Alison Weir book as well and the two are chalk and cheese, Weir's version being a well constructed rewrite of the generally accepted story that Richard had Edward V and his brother killed to clear his path to power. I came away from having read both with head spinning since both are good books with lots of evidence which appears completely contradictory. Anyway 'Mythology' is a good book, reading with Weir will give you balance I hope !

Extremely thorough and enlightening study of the myth of something most people think is a fact, but is in actuality just stories hung loosely on a few flimsy facts.

I have really enjoyed this book. It gave the facts backed by competent research the events surrounding and the persons who had most to gain by the "princes" disappearance.

A useful evaluation of available evidence but not totally comprehensive. A bit too much biology and not enough background material.