The Princes in the Tower By: Philippa Langley and Narrated by: Philippa Langley is a audiobook which is solving History's Greatest Cold Case and was brilliant so much research was done to write this book and it was excellent.

Sadly the narrator, the author was terrible and ruined this audiobook! it was a shame.
Scream.......But I went and purchased the book as I love history and it was brilliant!

I would recommend the book that is a 5 Star read but the Audiobook Hmmmmmmm I would not recommend. But, I would still give it a 5 stars for all Philippa's hard work researching it.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and W.F. Howes. for my copy of this audiobook.

In 1483, two children disappeared without a trace. These children were no ordinary children, however, but were twelve-year-old Edward V and his nine-year-old brother Richard, Duke of York. In a case known as The Princes in the Tower, the general consensus has been that they were murdered on the orders of Richard III in an attempt to strengthen his claim to the throne after the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses. Now, Philippa Langley, the tour de force behind the discovery of the remains of Richard III, has turned her attention to solving the case. What did happen to Edward and Richard and was Richard III unfairly villified?

In 2016, Philippa Langley established The Missing Princes Project in an attempt to locate new evidence to finally determine what happened to the brothers. Volunteers with an interest in the case undertook research in public and private archives across Europe, hoping to find any references to the case that may have been hidden or previously undiscovered. What we have in The Princes in the Tower is a discussion of the evidence that has been uncovered so far with conclusions and suggestions for future research.

The sheer amount of research that has been undertaken is immense and is incredibly thorough and detailed. No stone has been left unturned in an attempt to solve this fascinating mystery and it is amazing to see how many archives around Europe have been searched. The result is a very plausible conclusion with plans as to where the research needs to be taken next.

I listened to the audiobook version of The Princes in the Tower, read by Philippa Langley herself – it was good to hear the words of the author in her own voice. I do feel that a physical copy of the book would be easier to follow as may times I would have liked to have gone back to re-read previous passages.

I look forward to seeing where Philippa’s research takes her next!

I finished last year in the company of Elizabeth of York whose brothers, Edward and Richard, were the two Princes whose disappearance has been pondered on for so many years. This read reignited my curiousity about the fate of the two young boys..

Like so many people I have been fascinated by the discovery of the grave of King Richard III and I was interested to hear about the Missing Princes Project which examines the disappearance of the Princes much in the same way as a cold case.

The narrator is the author and this has advantages and disadvantages for the audiobook. I really enjoy an author narrating their own work which brings a personal touch to the narration. I think that this adds a particular dimension in a book which is about the investigations carried out and driven by the author. However, in this case I think that the author comes across as more historian than narrator and I found that this was often a little difficult to listen to. The narrator had a particular style of inflection which occasionally disrupted the listen.

This book covers a huge amount of painstaking and intensive investigation. It is fascinating. Piece by piece we revisit dates in the lead up to the disappearance, meet the key historical figures..The amount of detail is incredible but it is also a little overwhelming in an audiobook. I found myself a few hours in facing the realisation that I couldn’t keep up with all the detail and I decided to order the printed copy.

WIth many thanks to Netgalley and W.F. Howes. for my copy of this audiobook.

I'll begin by saying you should buy a physical copy of this book even if you're planning on listening to its audiobook. I really enjoyed the audiobook but wished I had a copy to follow it because of the number of historical dates and characters involved in this story. Even though I know a bit about this historical episode, I was sometimes totally lost and had to take a moment to remember who we were talking about.

I love history and so am naturally intrigued by whatever mysteries I'm presented with. When I saw this book available on NetGalley I jumped on the opportunity to read it and was so pleased to see my request accepted! Phillippa Langley presents here the recent discoveries made during a project she launched on the case of the disappearance of the two princes. While reading this book, you realise the sheer amount of people, work, and academic disciplines a project of this size can involve. I really enjoyed the research method which was to treat this historical episode as a cold case and conduct a criminal investigation on it.

I think that thanks to this method, the book is accessible to a wide audience and that you don't have to be a scholar or obsessed with this time of history to be gripped by what Philippa Langley and her team discovered. She really takes the time to put the case in its context and to present all the facts and people involved. I also liked the respect she has for these people, even if they've been dead for centuries. Finally, the post-scriptum (half) surprised me but I appreciate that Philippa Langley is taking the time to encourage young historians to think outside the box and not let themselves be intimidated into following traditional thinking or views on the period they're studying. To be honest, I believe that's the only way advances in this discipline will be made, even if they're not convenient for some.

In brief: This book presented fascinating advances on a famous episode of history, unresolved to this day. I was totally convinced by the elements and arguments presented by Philippa Langley and can't wait for new documents and facts to be discovered and tell us more about the disappearance of these two young princes.

My rating: 5/5

This is a fascinating audio about two missing children that has fascinated historians and the likes for years. This new research leaves us still with many questions but opened the possibilities that’s the murder of these children is not necessarily what happened. My only issue with this book was I didn’t find the narrator easy to listen to but that’s just me.

The mystery of what happened to the two princes imprisoned in the Tower of London has continued to fascinate for some 540 years. Why were they imprisoned, when did they disappear, who was responsible for their disappearance what happened to them? Various theories have been posited and it’s generally accepted that their Uncle, wicked Richard who became king, was to blame. However, the evidence is scant and myth became fact with half truths and speculation becoming conflated.

Philippa Langley has taken a totally forensic cold case review approach to the mystery. She lays out the known facts and the evidence to support those facts and also examines in very close detail who was where and doing what at specific times. She is an authority on the subject, but also has the input and support of hundreds of other people from around the world. This is a very different approach, made possible by technology and the particular skills of some individuals has proved invaluable in this project. Additionally, she has accessed previously unknown or ignored source material, much of it contemporaneous but hidden away in archives in Holland, for example.

Phillips’s account is compelling. There’s a great deal to take in with people, places and plottings. It felt very much like an adventure story at times as motives came to light and the mystery deepened. Innovative, compelling, complex and totally rewarding in terms opt insight into this historical mystery which shaped the British monarchy through the ages. I’ll be buying the hard copy as a reference to read through again as there’s so much to take in by ear. Simply incredible.

Philippa Langley has produced a thoroughly evidenced book about the plight of the Princes in the Tower and her narration is both fascinating and compelling. The two princes, sons of Edward IV, were kept in the Tower of London until they apparently vanished. Their disappearance is the source of much speculation, theories and rumours and the author analyses the many facts relating to their situation and looks at the evidence in detail. I will be listening to this audio book again as there is so much information to absorb. As one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year I can highly recommend it to other readers. Thank you to Net galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The discovery of the body of King Richard III of England under a car park in Leicester in 2012 brought the life and death of one of the most notorious kings in our history back to the attention of the world. The discovery was in no small part achieved due to the research and work of Philippa Langley and other members of the Richard III Society, alongside the University of Leicester. Many of the same people, including Langley, have now turned their attention to the fates of the Princes in the Tower.

King Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, were just 12 and 9 when they disappeared from the Tower of London. It has long been suspected that they were killed by their uncle, Richard III, who wanted to usurp young Edward and claim the throne for himself. A new project has been launched to discover what happened to the princes and who may have been responsible. This book is the first 5 year report of what has been discovered so far.

If I could, I would happily give this book 6 stars, it's an absolute treat. The research is exhaustive and looks at every theory that has been put forward, including Richard's involvement and tries very hard to be impartial. I did feel going in that Langley and the Richard III Society may be heavily prejudiced in disproving any involvement by him but their stated aim as historians is to uncover the truth and they do seem to investigate his involvement just as much as any other.

Richard's loss to Henry VII at Bosworth and the beginning of the new Tudor regime meant that a lot of evidence that may have been useful has been destroyed and our own idea of what happened has been heavily influenced by the story that was told afterwards, much of it propaganda. A very interesting aspect of the project is the involvement of researchers in other countries, especially the Netherlands, who still have source material from the time which has never been looked at before. Much of what they find is genuinely exciting and could prove to be highly important.

The project is far more than just this book and it shows - the number of people working on the research, the scope of the material checked (particularly primary sources), the length of time being taken and the sheer knowledge of the period by those involved is far superior to anything most history books can hope to achieve.

I listened to the audio version of this and thoroughly enjoyed it - Philippa Langley narrates it herself and has a very easy voice to listen to. Her expertise means that she knows what she's talking about and, to me, that makes a difference in the fluency of a presenter. I will certainly also be buying the print version, though, in order to take more time to go over some of the detail.

Highly highly recommended and I'm already excited to see what the project discovers next. After their success in Leicester, you certainly wouldn't bet against these people solving another historical mystery.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

#ThePrincesintheTower #NetGalley

This is the story of the princes in the tower. Surrounded by mystery and rife with speculation, this book (or audiobook in my case) sheds light on this most famous event in history.

This is the first five year report focused on the princes, from 2016-2021. A cold case investigation run like a modern day investigation and detective case, it makes for such great reading. The ultimate medieval whodunnit and the most famous historical murder mystery, could new evidence unravel the case?

Picture this: Two boys, Edward 5th and Richard duke of York, ages 12 and 9, disappear without a trace in history. Rumours are rife, murder speculated. What happened? Who saw them last? What were the motives for potential murder? The Sons of Edward fourth seem to face an untimely end but what could really have happened?

I love history. It made this one a no brainier must read for me as I’ve always been intrigued by this topic. I also love evidence based history and history research and the chance to be privy to new reveals and all collated in one neat book. Perfect!

Dismantling myths and reporting on evidence, we go from Richard the third, to the princes family and early early lives. What did they look like? From genetic testing of Richard lll, we can speculate. Venturing into archives, reports and accounts, it was greatly compiled.

Narrated by the author, the information and writing itself was outstanding. It can be a little overwhelming at times in an audiobook format as there is an awful lot of information and can be hard to retain all the threads. I would definitely want to relisten to this again to draw out some more of the information I didn’t retain first time round.

There’s a lot of historical figures, names and historical backgrounds which would make having a physical copy of this book a distinct advantage! Both formats would be a great parallel and the book a fantastic edition to any history lovers bookshelf. I can’t wait to see this project develop and eagerly await more historical uncoverings. I feel truly invested in this now! I sincerely hope there will be a book 2 to update us on the next stage of this wonderfully ambitious project.