Heartfelt thanks to Dom Smee, who gave me hours of his time both on Skype and in person, and wasn’t shy about sharing his experiences as a severe scoliosis sufferer. He happens to live in Leicester, happens to be a Wars of the Roses re-enactor, and just happened to be “on duty” in costume on the day they found Richard’s skeleton. Such a coincidence. But then, truth has always been stranger than fiction, hasn’t it?

I am so grateful to Philippa Langley for graciously allowing me to use her words from The King’s Grave, which she co-wrote with historian Michael Jones, as a prelude to each section of this book. We are so fortunate she chose to follow her instincts when she stepped on what she thought was Richard’s grave in the Leicester car park that day.

Although I am agent-less now, I must thank Sarah Warner of the now defunct Warner Literary Agency for her enthusiasm for this book at the outset of its writing. It was not her fault we could not find a traditional publisher for this sixth in the series about the York family in the Wars of the Roses. Thanks, too, to my first agent, Kirsten Manges, who took a chance on me all those years ago.

I would be remiss not to acknowledge the artistic talent of my friend Sanford Farrier and to thank him for the stunning cover design.

And finally, a grateful nod to fellow author Susanne Dunlap for the inside design and formatting and for introducing me to the savvy founder of Bellastoria Press, Linda Cardillo, who has been a delight to work with.

Partial Bibliography

Partial Bibliography

Ashdown-Hill, John. The Last Days of Richard III. Stroud: The History Press, 2013

Clive, Mary. This Sun of York. New York: W.W.Norton & Co., 1962

Crawford, Anne. The Yorkists. London: Continuum UK, 2007

Gairdner, James, ed. The Paston Letters. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1986

Hammond, P.W. Food and Feast in Medieval England, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1993

Hicks, Michael. Richard III. London: Collins Brown Ltd., 1991

Horrox, Rosemary. Richard III: Study in Service. Cambridge University Press, 1989

Kendall, Paul Murray. Richard III. London: Unwin Hyman Ltd., 1955

Langley, Philippa and Jones, Michael. The King’s Grave. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013

Leyser, Henrietta. Medieval Women. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995

Norris, Herbert. Medieval Costume and Fashion. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1927

Pitts, Mike. Digging for Richard. New York: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2014

Pollard, A.J. Richard III and The Princes in the Tower. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1991

Ross, Charles. Edward IV. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd., 1974

Richard III. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983

Scofield, Cora. The Life and Reign of Edward IV, 2 vols. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1967

Thomas, A. ed. The Great Chronicle of London. London: Humanities Press Intl. Inc., 1983