When news broke a couple of years back that the body of Richard III had been discovered under a car park in Leicester, hope sprang afresh that the truth about this most divisive of kings would finally be put to rest. But while the find offered many clues, we have much fact yet to separate from fiction. Who was the real Richard? Was he a murderous usurper, or has his reputation been tarnished in a classic case of the victors writing history? We get to the heart of the matter from page 30.
Understandably, many of the most incredible stories from the past change over the years, as elements merge and the tale becomes embellished, until they read more like fantasy than reality. Take, for example, the Republic of Pirates (p56, where real-life ‘Jack Sparrows’ enjoyed a rest from the high seas, or the sheer adventure of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon (p46.