Edward IV Author:Keith Dockray Edward IV, so often overshadowed by his younger brother and successor Richard III, is a fascinating and controversial figure in his own right. The contemporary Burgundian commentator Philippe de Commines castigated Edward as an indolent and pleasure-loving prince who much preferred his mistresses to his ministers and had little taste for the day... more » to day business of government. Yet the well informed second continuator of the Crowland Chronicle simultaneously found much to admire in the king and his administration. This documentary study, by the author of Richard III: A Source Book, presents contemporary and near contemporary sources for Edward IV and his reign clearly and concisely, enabling the reader to appreciate just why the king's reputation amongst observers and historians has fluctuated so remarkably, and provides an indispensable compendium for all who wish to enter the political world of Yorkist England. This book will be invaluable for all students of fifteenth-century English political history and the Wars of the Roses and the general reader alike. But in addition, as the sources used are also those on which Shakespeare drew, albeit indirectly, for his history cycle the book should also be of great interest to any student of those plays.« less