We first see Richard early in the novel, as Duke of Gloucester, playing second fiddle to his older, more extrovert brother. We see him later on as the more assured Richard III, confident in his own ability and every inch the proud Plantagenet, very much aware of his own sense of history. In the novel, he is dealt with sympathetically and not as the crouch-backed, scheming character that Shakespeare later depicted him as. He is a plain speaking man of action and cannot abide others who do not follow his example of noblesse oblige. He is the perfect foil for the dissembling Lord Stanley who later betrays him for his own personal advantage. Killed in the thick of the fray at the Battle of Bosworth, he was the last Plantagenet king and the last English king to lead his troops in battle on English soil. In the novel, this is the cue for Henry Clifford to return from hiding and claim his birthright. A truly complex, tragic and heroic figure whose true character is still hotly debated today.