Non-fiction:
- Michael Bennett. The Battle of Bosworth. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. A careful analysis of the final battle of Richard's life, supplemented with biographical information. Sympathetic.
- Paul Murray Kendall. Richard the Third. New York: W.W. Norton, 1955. A sympathetic biography by a Shakespearean scholar turned historian, this has been a classic since its publication.
- A.J. Pollard. Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1991 and New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. Although Pollard is not one of Richard III's best friends, this biography combines solid scholarship with stunning illustrations. Now available in an economical paperback edition.
- Charles D. Ross, Richard III. London, Eyre Methuen, 1981. Holds Richard responsible for the murder of his nephews but exonerates him of many of the other crimes in the Shakespeare play.
Drama:
- Maxwell Anderson, Richard and Anne. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1995. Sympathetic blank-verse play by one of the giants of the American theater.
- Daviot, Gordon. Dickon. Written in the 1940s, published in 1965, now out of print. A play by the author of the popular 1930s hit, Richard of Bordeaux, and, under the nom de plume of Josephine Tey, of several detective novels.
Fiction:
- Sharon Kay Penman, The Sunne in Splendour. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1982. Long novel with sympathetic treatment of Richard, this one was on the best-seller lists. Now available as a Ballantine Quality Paperback.
- Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time. A classic mystery, available at most booksellers in an inexpensive paperback edition. Detective Alan Grant becomes interested in Richard III while confined to his hospital bed. Also available on audiocassettes, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi.
Shakespearean Companion
- For those who want to explore Shakespeare's play but are having trouble with some of the background, consult Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, Volume Two: The English Plays (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1970). Not a work of criticism, Asimov's guide offers the necessary background to understand the classical and contemporary allusions in the play. Moreover, Asimov, like the Society, thinks Richard III got a raw deal from history and bad press from Shakespeare.
