I was ridiculously excited to hear about the discovery of the mortal remains of Richard of York this week. Those of you who have been with me for a while will recall that one of my Landing Eight titles featured an examination of the alleged crimes of the Yorkist king. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey is one of my all time favorite books and was included on the blog as a re-read. As far as I know it is still in print, but if not, then this seems to be an ideal moment for a reprint of a title that is a great introduction to Richard III’s life and career.
I have found a couple of news snippets to illustrate the story of the research and discovery of the remains, including a fascinating piece about the facial reconstruction carried out:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21328380
As Phillipa Langley of the Richard III Society says, “It doesn’t look like the face of a tyrant. I’m sorry but it doesn’t. “He’s very handsome. It’s like you could just talk to him, have a conversation with him right now.”
The video below was taken from YouTube and produced by the University of Leicester:
After 500 years Richard III will once more formally be laid to rest. But what of his shady reputation? Perhaps it is time for another appraisal of his life and times; maybe he will yet be posthumously acquitted of his crimes. We will wait and see…
In the meantime, tomorrow I welcome a visitor to The Landing, as debut author Sarah Moore Fitzgerald talks about the inspiration behind her time traveling YA novel Back to Blackbrick (published by Orion on the 7th February).
Until tomorrow…
