Alison Weir's the Princes in the Tower

Alison Weir's book The Princes in the Tower explores the mystery of the sons of King Edward IV of England, said to have been murdered by their uncle, King Richard III so that he could usurp the throne. The Princes in the Tower begins with a short listing of many of the chroniclers that Weir uses as her sources, among them Dominic Mancini, the anonymous writer of the Croyland Chronicles, John Rous, Pietro Carmeliano, Philippe de Commines, Polydore Vergil, and Sir Thomas More, as well as a handful of royal letters and some other writers.

This listing of sources is followed by the bulk of the book, which consists of a telling of events beginning just before the crowning of King Edward IV. Subsequent chapters tell of Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Wydville and the rivalry that develops between Richard of Gloucester, the King's brother, and the Wydvilles after Elizabeth's family masterminds the execution of Richard's other brother, the Duke of Clarence. When Edward IV dies, naming Richard of Gloucester as Protector of the Realm during his son's minority, a crisis forms: the Wydvilles want to bar Richard from becoming Protector, while Richard, Weir asserts, plans to steal the throne from his nephew. When Richard intercepts Edward V, he does in fact solidify himself as Protector of the Realm, enjoying in most respects the powers of kingship. Richard hides his nephews away in the Tower of London, and eventually convinces Parliament to declare them bastards under an Act of Attainder called Titulus Regis. Richard is then crowned King Richard III of England. Around this time, Weir suggests that Richard has his nephews slain in order to keep others from rallying to their cause and rebelling against him.