"The first account of Richard's entire life, revealing him to be a statesman, strategist and, ultimately, a self-made king. As the last Yorkist monarch, Richard III's reign marked a turning point in British history. Yet Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, only ruled for two years. While great attention has been given to his short reign, the years before his usurpation and kingship are less well known. Eminent historian Michael Hicks explores the full span of Richard's eventful life. While Richard owed his prominence to his birth, as a son of a royal duke and brother of a king, he was determined to forge this own career. Richard was an adroit administrator who developed his own projects. He may have been small and physically weak, but he refused to allow this to restrict him - and opponents generally submitted to his will. In this skilful, well-rounded portrait, Richard emerges as far more than the villain responsible for the imprisonment and subsequent deaths of Edward V and the Duke of York in the Tower of London. He proves a complex, conflicted individual who had strategic foresight, sought to implement reforms and, however briefly, was capable of winning a kingdom". -- Taken from dust jacket.