Welsh Journals

towns were located where there existed a combination of a military strong- point, an economically strategic location, and the availability of transport facilities. The editor also wrote the third essay in the volume, 'Irish Towns in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries', in which he correctly argues that Anglo-Irish relations (as reflected in colonisation, trade, and politics) had the greatest impact of any factor upon the development of Irish towns, and that it was in this era that the modern urban system of Ireland was developed. The final essay, 'Irish Towns in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries', was written by T. W. Freeman, and he traces the mixed for- tunes of several towns in terms of trade, industry, demography, and the development of transportation networks. This book may be categorized as a progress report on the study of urbanism in Ireland, and as such will be useful and stimulating to geo- graphers, economists, historians, and others (including, hopefully, archaeologists). The general reader, however, may find linguistic barriers in such items as 'folk-urban continuum', 'macro- and micro-scale variables', 'the chi-square 2x2 contingency test', and 'proto-urban nodes'. A. C. REEVES Ohio University THE MYSTERY OF THE PRINCES: AN INVESTIGATION INTO A SUPPOSED MURDER. By Audrey Williamson. Alan Sutton, 1978. Pp. 215. £ 5.95. This latest offering on that old chestnut, the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, is wholeheartedly in the Ricardian mould. After a discussion which encompasses the whole life and reign of Richard III as well as the early years of Henry VII, the author concludes, judiciously if rather unremarkably, that the mystery remains a mystery. There is little in the book that will be new to those familiar with the history of Yorkist England. Her approach to her subject, which is in truth that of Richard III himself, is to answer traditional assumption with her own speculation, especially concerning the psychology of her principal characters, in a way which will hardly satisfy the professional historian. On the other hand, he is likely to be taken aback by her strictures concerning his own order. Ms. Williamson is of the opinion that Richard Ill's evil reputation has not yet received sceptical evaluation and that this is because 'no medieval historian of outstanding ability has emerged to give thought to the people of England [sic] as opposed to the mere history of her kings and military leaders'. She accordingly puts her trust in the younger generation of historians, trained by our 'proliferating' universities, with 'all the resources of grants now available to them'. One hopes for all our sakes that her publisher, who has given her generous support by way of illustrations and annotation, has sent a copy to Dr. Boyson! A.J.POLLARD Teesside Polytechnic