The Man Who Killed Richard III: Who Dealt the Fatal Blow at Bosworth?

by Susan Fern

On 22 August 1485 on a battlefield in Bosworth, Leicestershire, King Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet kings, was dealt a death blow by the man who had sworn loyalty to him only a few months earlier. That man was Rhys ap Thomas, a Welsh lord, master of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire. For his service that day he was knighted on the field of battle by Henry Tudor. Rhys ap Thomas's life had been inextricably linked with both Richard and Henry; all three young men grew under the shadow of the Wars of the Roses, suffering losses and betrayals. Ironically on his death Rhys chose to spend his final days at the Grey Friars in Carmarthen, being buried by the monks as Richard had been almost forty years before, perhaps in an act of remorse. This is the story of the man who helped forge the course of British history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2014

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Man Who Killed Richard III
By Susan Fern
Reviewed June 2014 (but not posted until October 17, 2021)

I bought this book not only because of my long-time interest in Richard III, but also because according to old family histories and genealogies, Sir Rhys is possibly a direct ancestor of mine.

General thoughts. There are some unsubstantiated claims made regarding events surrounding the usurpation and the reign of Richard III. For example, the author states unequivocally that Buckingham confessed to the killing of the princes, yet offers so documentation to support this claim.

There are several typos that IMHO a good line editor should have caught. Incorrect use of the word “fermenting” when it is obvious from the context of the sentence that the author meant, “fomenting”. A couple typographical errors such as an extra word (“was”) in a sentence.

The book is rather a slender volume, being less than 200 pages in length, with some of these pages being taken up by end notes, index, and the like. That in itself suggests that there is not a lot of information out there about Sir Rhys.

Unfortunately (as far as I was concerned), there are a number of sections in the book that appear to have been added to fill out the page count. These sections go into detail about what Henry of Richmond (later Henry VII) was doing at this time, or what Richard III was doing at that time. I understand about placing a person in context with other people, places, and events contemporary to him, but there were quite a few times I found that the descriptions had little and even no bearing on what Sir Rhys was doing during these events. In short, they struck me as filler material.

There were also a number of assumptions about what Sir Rhys may have done at one time or another. One such instance is during the years 1501-1509, about which the author says we don’t know what Sir Rhys was doing, but then continues along the lines of it is possible the Sir Rhys did this or Sir Rhys was at such-and-such during this time. This is speculation; nothing more, and is supported by very weak evidence.

The author’s writing style is very readable, and someone with no knowledge on the subject may find it a decent read. I, on the other hand, was hoping for something new and insightful, but in the end, I learned little more than I had already read online while doing genealogical research on Sir Rhys ap Thomas. Detailed descriptions of events such as the festivities Sir Rhys held at Carew Castle are interesting, but do little to increase my understanding of the man who may be an ancestor of mine.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some repetition early on, but still an interesting read on the man who I knew nothing about, despite my love for the time period.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a nice easy to follow account of the events leading up to the Battle of Bosworth, of the battle itself and life after, but I was hoping for more of a biography of Rhys ap Thomas, which this isn't.

[Marian Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information contained in this book is extensive. The introduction is mind boggling with so many names, you can't keep them in your head. When we get to the account of the rise and fall of Rhys ap Thomas, it's much easier reading and more enter. Very interesting to discover how involved the Welsh have been in shaping the history of Britain. I must admit I did skim read the names of the many characters involved!

[Tommy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I heard about the discovery of Richard III's remains under a parking lot, I thought it was an interesting story, but didn't give it a great deal of thought.

Then, earlier this year, after reading John Ehle's Trail of Tears, I started digging around my own family history. My maternal grandmother's family, the Reece Family, had the same name as a chief mentioned in Ehle's work. My Mom had a family history she'd worked on, but had run into a couple roadblocks which led to gaps into our knowledge.

I'd had visions of trolling through dusty courthouse records rooms, and asking distant relatives to see family Bibles. My first conversation reminded me that we do indeed live in the 21st century, when an elderly distant relative from Polk County told me that all the information she had, that I was asking about, was on Ancestry.com.

Well, I joined up. Played around. A lot of fine work has been done, and to those people, I owe a tremendous debt. I discovered that my line of the Reece/Reese family wasn't descended from the chief mentioned in Trail of Tears. We may have been related, but I didn't come from him, at any rate. My Reece/Reese family game to Polk County, Tennessee by way of Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and, as far back as I can see, Wales.

I went digging to see how far back I could go. I was impressed with the work of folks on the other side of the pond, who'd traced the family history back until before the year 1200. In my zeal to see just how far back the family name went, I didn't preform my due diligence to see just who these grandfathers were.

I'll admit to getting sidetracked by finding out that another great (x13) grandfather was the man who founded Pennsylvania.

It wasn't until early in August that I started reading to see who exactly these people were.

Well, Rhys ap Thomas is my great (x19) grandfather. And this book tells his story, as well as presenting evidence that he was the man who slew King Richard III. Interesting work, including his place in the reign of Henry VII, and his family's role in the life of Henry VIII.

The book itself is a quick, dry read with a lot of information packed within. I'll be going back to it in the future....

[Christopher Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the depth of her research and extensive, interesting quotes from contemporary sources, I found this a confusing book covering a wide swath of British history. The multiplicity of characters (Fern seemingly never came across a name she didn't include, identify and talk about) is simply overwhelming. Slews of place names too (very few shown on the maps)[There ought to be an editorial law that every place included in a book's text be shown on included maps.] compound the feeling of trying to enjoy the details of a countryside from a speeding car.

Interesting topic though, given the pivotal role of unknown Rhys ap Thomas, his forebears and heirs, and their important places in Tudor England.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was a little betwixt and between. As a biography of Rhys ap Thomas and his dynasty it was lacking in historical detail to fully grab my interest. As a documentary on the events of 1483-85 leading up to the Battle of Bosworth, there are far more accurate and detailed books on the subject. I found much to query in the details put forward concerning Bosworth.
Who am I to question? Dr. Susan Fern has lectured in history at Lampeter University, and is currently a research affiliate at the Open University. In her 'Acknowledgements' she thanks Dr. Patricia Taylor for proofreading the original text.
So, when I come across factual errors, typos and spelling mistakes, I'm still glad I left skool at fifteen.

[Sue Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots and lots of detail about the life of Rhys ap Thomas and, it seems, every single person he came into contact with or was related to. Very factual, not a story.