<P><B>A superb historical novel about Richard III which will appeal to readers of Josephine Tey's <I>The Daughter of Time</I>, Philippa Gregory's <I>The Kingmaker's Daughter</I>, and Hilary Mantel</B></B></P> <p>The paradox of England's most enigmatic king is vividly brought to life in this family drama in the grand tradition, a tale of brother against brother, cousin against cousin, of love, hate and intrigue, of women inescapably entangled in the fates of their men, and of a mystery that has exercised people's minds for more than 500 years. At the heart of it all is the dangerous, complex man known to history as Richard III, here brought vividly alive—in his private life cool and sardonic, marrying for gain but learning to love, capable of inspiring great loyalty, and discovering too late that he can be ruled by emotions he is scarcely aware of possessing; in his public life, bold, competent, and tireless in pursuit of profit and power, making enemies more easily than friends, and himself in the end falling victim to the most devoted of those enemies—the mother of the king who is to succeed him, Henry VII. Here, in all its vivid color, its rich and absorbing detail, is the story of an extended family in medieval England.