The King’s Grave: The Discovery of Richard III’s Lost Burial Place - Michael Jones, Philippa Langley

Written by Michael Jones, Philippa Langley
Read by Corrie James
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

The King’s Grave: The Discovery of Richard III’s Lost Burial Place and the Clues It Holds

Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc.
Release date: October 29, 2013
Duration: 09:28:44

On 22 August 1485, Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field, the last king of England to die in battle. His victorious opponent, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII), went on to found one of our most famous ruling dynasties. Richard’s body was displayed in undignified fashion for two days in nearby Leicester and then hurriedly buried in the church of the Greyfriars. Fifty years later, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the king’s grave was lost-its contents and believed to have been emptied into the river Soar-and Richard III’s reputation buried under a mound of Tudor propaganda.
Its culmination was Shakespeare’s compelling portrayal of a deformed and murderous villain, written over a hundred years after Richard’s death. Now in an incredible find-Richard III’s remains have been uncovered beneath a car park in Leicester.

The King’s Grave traces this remarkable journey. In alternate chapters, Philippa Langley, whose years of research and belief that she would find Richard in this exact spot inspired the project, reveals the inside story of the search for the king’s grave, and historian Michael Jones tells of Richard’s fifteenth-century life and death. The result is a compelling portrayal of one of our greatest archaeological discoveries, allowing a complete re-evaluation of our most controversial monarch-one that discards the distortions of later Tudor histories and puts the man firmly back into the context of his times.

”— Richard’s skeleton exhibited severe scoliosis, but the disability didn’t hamper his martial skills in battles that restored his brother Edward IV to the throne in 1471. The skeleton’s wounds likely show that this last English king to die in battle led a courageous and carefully planned cavalry charge at Bosworth against an inexperienced, fearful Henry Tudor luckily saved by mercenary French pikemen. Moreover, the authors argue that Richard was an idealistic king with a keen sense of justice and humor. It is a solid, perceptive work that rights historical injustices, but Langley’s recalling of premonitory goose bumps at Richard’s lost grave and her hiring a graphologist to interpret Richard’s handwriting is off-putting, and her passion devolves at times into cheerleading.” —Publishers Weekly

This recording is 10 years old and shows it’s age but is still listenable.