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The Lost King: Richard III and the Princes in the Tower
Edward IV has died, leaving his 12-year-old son as king. But England has been torn apart by the Wars of the Roses. Nobody wants a boy-king. Soon the boy's uncle Richard III is on the throne - but Henry Tudor is challenging him for the crown. Henry and Richard have one thing in they need the young Edward V and his little brother out of the way. The two boys are sent to the Tower of London for safety. They are never seen again...
A fascinating look at the brief reign of Richard III, told through the eyes of the princes' nursemaid. What really happened to the princes in the Tower? Was Richard responsible - or has he been wrongly accused for centuries?
A fascinating look at the brief reign of Richard III, told through the eyes of the princes' nursemaid. What really happened to the princes in the Tower? Was Richard responsible - or has he been wrongly accused for centuries?
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 13, 2022
This was a reasonably entertaining version of the final stages of the Wars of the Roses, the disappearance of the “Princes in the Tower” and the defeat of Richard III by Henry VII, told from the perspective of a (fictional) servant in the household of Edward V. However, I have to agree with other reviewers that it was marred by the presence of several glaring historical inaccuracies, which was disappointing. As an alternative covering similar subject-matter, I would strongly recommend Josephine Tey’s excellent The Daughter of Time.
June 26, 2017
Oh my. That was a mess of historical inaccuracies and misleadingly stated facts. I tend to like the "It was Henry VII" theory and even I felt this was too heavy handed.
July 27, 2022
Lisa, the narrator of this children’s tale, is the daughter of a Welsh physician who was summoned to Ludlow Castle in March 1473 when Edward, the new little Prince of Wales fell from his pony. Edward took a shine to the 12-year-old Lisa, who had accompanied her father, and so she came to become his attendant. Over the years Lisa becomes acquainted with various people who visit Ludlow, including Edward’s paternal uncle, Richard of Gloucester, and his wife Anne and their son. Uncle Richard always brings Edward little gifts and Lisa observes that he gets on wonderfully well with his nephew because he treats him as an intelligent fellow-person, not a mere child.
Edward’s younger brother Richard also resides at Ludlow for a time and Lisa comes to adore her two lovely boys. When their father, King Edward IV dies, Richard is in London with his mother, and Lisa is part of the retinue accompanying Edward to London for his coronation. She witnesses the events at Stony Stratford where Uncle Richard and Buckingham arrest Earl Rivers, Grey (identified as Thomas Grey, for reasons unknown), and Vaughan and send them to Pontefract for trial and execution. “We know now that Rivers, Grey and Vaughan were secretly on Henry Tudor’s side, together with the rest of the Woodvilles,”
Lisa has no further contact with her lovely boys after Edward arrives in London, eventually returning to Ludlow and marrying Tom the gardener. Most of what Lisa relates is second-hand knowledge. She learns about the history of the WOTR and Uncle Richard’s background from her father and old Annie, the Ludlow cook. This is even more true in the second half of the book where she is recounting events that she did not witness and rebutting the vicious rumors about King Richard.
I always want to be positive about a children’s book that portrays Richard favorably, but I have to rate this effort a failure. Despite a few—very few—interesting scenes e.g. Lisa overhears a knockdown-drag-out fight between Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville about George, the book is primarily a recitation of the facts and rumors occuring during Richard’s protectorship and short reign. The factual inaccuracies, therefore, matter and are too many to overlook. Do they simplify things for young readers? Not really. Thomas Grey is arrested at Stony Stratford only to turn up later exchanging messages with Hastings through Jane Shore. And the bit that the Woodvilles were working for Henry Tudor at this early stage is just strange. Lisa also tells us that James Tyrrell was charged with the murder of the princes. I could go on. That young readers might not notice these inaccuracies is no excuse. Heaven forbid that one day one of them might grow up and find out the truth and conclude all Ricardians play so fast and loose with the facts.
Edward’s younger brother Richard also resides at Ludlow for a time and Lisa comes to adore her two lovely boys. When their father, King Edward IV dies, Richard is in London with his mother, and Lisa is part of the retinue accompanying Edward to London for his coronation. She witnesses the events at Stony Stratford where Uncle Richard and Buckingham arrest Earl Rivers, Grey (identified as Thomas Grey, for reasons unknown), and Vaughan and send them to Pontefract for trial and execution. “We know now that Rivers, Grey and Vaughan were secretly on Henry Tudor’s side, together with the rest of the Woodvilles,”
Lisa has no further contact with her lovely boys after Edward arrives in London, eventually returning to Ludlow and marrying Tom the gardener. Most of what Lisa relates is second-hand knowledge. She learns about the history of the WOTR and Uncle Richard’s background from her father and old Annie, the Ludlow cook. This is even more true in the second half of the book where she is recounting events that she did not witness and rebutting the vicious rumors about King Richard.
I always want to be positive about a children’s book that portrays Richard favorably, but I have to rate this effort a failure. Despite a few—very few—interesting scenes e.g. Lisa overhears a knockdown-drag-out fight between Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville about George, the book is primarily a recitation of the facts and rumors occuring during Richard’s protectorship and short reign. The factual inaccuracies, therefore, matter and are too many to overlook. Do they simplify things for young readers? Not really. Thomas Grey is arrested at Stony Stratford only to turn up later exchanging messages with Hastings through Jane Shore. And the bit that the Woodvilles were working for Henry Tudor at this early stage is just strange. Lisa also tells us that James Tyrrell was charged with the murder of the princes. I could go on. That young readers might not notice these inaccuracies is no excuse. Heaven forbid that one day one of them might grow up and find out the truth and conclude all Ricardians play so fast and loose with the facts.
October 7, 2021
( Format : paperback )
"Through the closed lid."
A delightfully simple book which untangles the major, complex happenings at the end of the so called 'Wars of the Roses' era and which ushered in the brief Tudor dynasty. Told from the viewpoint of a young girl who worked as maid and playmate to little Edward and, later his brother Richard, the young princes best known for disappearing from the Tower of London, it does not 'solve' the mystery but merely suggests reasons why their uncle, Richard III was unlikely to have been their executioner. This is a short, very readable approach to interest young people, especially children, in history which so often can be dry and unapproachable..
"Through the closed lid."
A delightfully simple book which untangles the major, complex happenings at the end of the so called 'Wars of the Roses' era and which ushered in the brief Tudor dynasty. Told from the viewpoint of a young girl who worked as maid and playmate to little Edward and, later his brother Richard, the young princes best known for disappearing from the Tower of London, it does not 'solve' the mystery but merely suggests reasons why their uncle, Richard III was unlikely to have been their executioner. This is a short, very readable approach to interest young people, especially children, in history which so often can be dry and unapproachable..
April 25, 2020
A lovely read about the princes in the tower told through the eyes of their nursemaid Lisa
July 26, 2022
The Lost King: Richard III and the Princes in the Tower
By Alison Prince
July 26, 2022
When I ordered The Lost King, I didn’t realize it was a young person’s book. My bad. I guess I should have read the description more closely, but that’s okay. Over the years I’ve often read young person’s book, and some of them have been quite good.
While this book is a good introduction for young readers to Richard III and the controversy surrounding “the Princes in the Tower,” what keeps this book from rising to the “quite good” category are the numerous historical mistakes scattered throughout the narrative. Dates and events are sometimes mixed up, but on the other hand, I doubt there are many readers in the intended age group who would even notice them much less care.
As far as the story goes, it’s a nice telling of the life of young Edward of Westminster at his Ludlow household. It is told from the point of view of a fictional servant who comes to the household when her father, a doctor, is called upon see the young prince who has taken a nasty fall. Often alone with no friends his age, Edward asks that the doctor’s daughter stay on to be his companion. Later, Edward’s father (King Edward IV) dies suddenly, thrusting the prince into the forefront of plots and conspiracies.
The rest of the book addresses that most famous of cold cases – what happened to young Edward of Westminster and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury. Were they “done in” by their uncle who took the throne as King Richard III? Or was it someone else, perhaps Henry Tudor (Henry VII)?
The Lost King comes in at just under 100 pages, and is available in both print and Kindle format. It makes for a quick read, something nice to have on these hot summer days.
By Alison Prince
July 26, 2022
When I ordered The Lost King, I didn’t realize it was a young person’s book. My bad. I guess I should have read the description more closely, but that’s okay. Over the years I’ve often read young person’s book, and some of them have been quite good.
While this book is a good introduction for young readers to Richard III and the controversy surrounding “the Princes in the Tower,” what keeps this book from rising to the “quite good” category are the numerous historical mistakes scattered throughout the narrative. Dates and events are sometimes mixed up, but on the other hand, I doubt there are many readers in the intended age group who would even notice them much less care.
As far as the story goes, it’s a nice telling of the life of young Edward of Westminster at his Ludlow household. It is told from the point of view of a fictional servant who comes to the household when her father, a doctor, is called upon see the young prince who has taken a nasty fall. Often alone with no friends his age, Edward asks that the doctor’s daughter stay on to be his companion. Later, Edward’s father (King Edward IV) dies suddenly, thrusting the prince into the forefront of plots and conspiracies.
The rest of the book addresses that most famous of cold cases – what happened to young Edward of Westminster and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury. Were they “done in” by their uncle who took the throne as King Richard III? Or was it someone else, perhaps Henry Tudor (Henry VII)?
The Lost King comes in at just under 100 pages, and is available in both print and Kindle format. It makes for a quick read, something nice to have on these hot summer days.
December 10, 2023
I wanted to like this book, I really wanted it because it is favourable to Richard. The narrative, being a children's book, is very simple, and I could have condoned the historical liberties if only the author hadn't claimed in the author's note that all she wrote was true to History. That's the perfect way to confuse young readers' mind. I mean, some changes I could have understood, like all the charachters seemingly condensed in one place (namely Ludlow) so that our protagonist Lisa could know what was going on in the country. Richard of Shrewsbury, Richard of Gloucster, Anne Neville, even George of Clarence all spend time in Ludlow. I could have understood, for simplification, Richard and Anne and George and Isabel marrying at the same time, or Edward V with two older sisters instead of three (if you think this was done because Mary died young, sorry to disappoint you because in the same sentence even Margaret of York, dead by her 1st birthday, is mentioned). But why have Buckingham and Stanley rebel together in October 1483? Or the Woodvilles working to put Henry Tudor on the throne as early as Edward IV is dead? Or Richard of Gloucester present at his brother's deathbed? And the thing above all others that MADE NO SENSE: according to the author the knowledge of the precontract was a weapon in Elizabeth Woodville's hands againts Edward IV. Why on Earth?? Why she should blackmail him threatening to give away the Talbot's affair? She would have been the first and foremost to be harmed by this, not Edward IV. All of these are enormous changes to History, poignant changes that will confuse young readers even more. I can appreciate the author's effort, but that's it.
January 19, 2023
Aimed at children, this novella is narrated by a fictional servant who just happened to glimpse key events in the lives of Edward V and his uncle Richard III. Some scenes feel more contrived than others but the book provides a useful summary of the events leading up to the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower and the death of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth
September 12, 2022
A short book, but I greatly enjoyed it. I'm not normally a fan of historical novels about royalty, but this is written from the POV of a commoner who has care of one of the princes. It is VERY sympathetic to Richard III.
January 6, 2021
The author put a LOT of details in the dialogue. It would have been better to show, not tell IMO. The historical facts at the end of the book are interesting tho.
April 19, 2023
That was truly awful.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews