Why were the real stories suppressed? In Lionheart’s case, the church, which approved of his crusading, had its chroniclers praise him to the skies. In the cases of Richards II and III, history was rewritten — literally — to please the victorious enemies of both kings. One wonders what other tales taught in school are not what we were told.

House of Cards, the Netflix original series, just might be the best of a genre that ought to be called the “political sleezie.” Wildly entertaining, it stars Kevin Spacey as Congressman Frank Underwood and Robin Wright as his wife Claire. Majority Whip Underwood is so underhanded it makes you feel guilty that you almost root [...]

The last Plantagenet king, a man whose enemies had centuries to malign him virtually unchallenged but whose fellow Yorkshire folk knew his true nature, has been found under the tarmac of a Leicester parking lot, thanks to the dedication of Philippa Langley.