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Secondary sourceBook1885

The Unpopular King: The Life and Times of Richard III

Alfred Owen Legge · 1885

An 1885 two-volume biography examining Richard III's life and reputation.

A later biography reassessing Richard III's life and his historical reputation.

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About this source

What it is

This is a biography of Richard III written by Alfred Owen Legge, published in London in 1885 in two volumes.

Why it matters

The title itself, The Unpopular King, shows how Richard's reputation was still being debated four centuries after his death. Nineteenth-century biographers like Legge tried to re-examine his life against the hostile portrayals written under the Tudors.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Legge calls Richard an "unpopular king" in the title?
  • What might have motivated a Victorian author to write about a medieval king?
  • How can later biographies help or mislead us when studying a historical figure?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Richard III on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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