Bridgnorth author searches for the real Richard III

Matthew Lewis, who writes history works, has written Richard III: Fact and Fiction, which separates the truth and the tall tales relating to the infamous monarch.

The internet blogger , who has also trained in law, has written other history books including The Survival of the Princes in the Tower and Richard, Duke of York.

He also runs the popular website Matt's History Blog.

"King Richard III remains one of the most infamous and recognisable monarchs in English or British history, despite only sitting on the throne for two years and 58 days.

"His hold on the popular imagination is largely due to the fictional portrayal of him by William Shakespeare which, combined with the workings of five centuries of rumour and gossip, has created two opposing versions of Richard. In fiction he is the evil, scheming murderer who revels in his plots, but many of the facts point towards a very different man.

"Dissecting a real Richard III from the fictional versions that have taken hold is made difficult by the inability to discern motives in many instances, leaving a wide gap for interpretation that can be favourable or damning in varying degrees. It is the facts that will act as the scalpel to begin the operation of finding a truth obscured by action.

"Richard III may have been a monster, a saint, or just a man trying to survive, but any view of him should be based in the realities of his life, not the myths built on rumour and theatre. How much of what we think we know about England’s most controversial monarch will remain when the facts are sifted from the actions?" Mr Lewis says.

The book can be bought from Amazon priced at £12.99.

Richard III's remains were finally laid to rest in a a ceremony fit for a king in Leicester Cathedral in 2015 after his bones were rediscovered by archaeologists under a car park in the heart of the city.