Ian Mortimer, The Greatest Traitor: the Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of
England 1327-1330, Vintage Books, 2010.
Mortimer was originally a loyal subject who eventually rebelled against Edward II with
good reason. He escaped from the Tower after being arrested, and fled to
France. Edward treated
his wife, Isabella of
France, so badly she fled to her brother the
king of
France, and she became Mortimer's mistress. The two of them invaded
England, overthrew the
king, and allegedly Mortimer
had him murdered with a red-hot poker up
his backside. The book gives and excellent account of Mortimer's life, and lays out a detailed case for believing that Edward wasn't murdered after all, but secretly remained in captivity until Mortimer was executed, when he fled to the Pope, and ended up in an
Italian hermitage.
I'm sure someone's going to disagree, and I look forward to reading the counter-arguments!