Was Richard the Third really the murderous devil so famously portrayed by Shakespeare, or was he actually a good man wronged by history, as an increasing number of people seem to believe? The debate seems hotter than ever, especially after the astonishing discovery of Richard’s remains beneath a car park in Leicester.
Dalrymple tends toward the former view, but then, as he acknowledges, he would always give Shakespeare the benefit of the doubt, wouldn’t he?