The Wars of the Roses
by Alison Weir
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alison WeirEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1996-06-25
ISBN: 0345404335
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Wars of the Roses
Book Review: Both detailed and a fascinating read
Summary: 5 Stars
In this volume, Alison Weir yet again proves her skill and talent in providing a comprehensive history of her subject, while at the same time Engaging the reader with an exciting pleasure to read.
The author proves again and again just how exciting history can be.
Weir sets the scene with a rich social, economic , cultural and political description of 15th century England .
Weir begins the actual account with the events leading up to the War of the Roses, starting with the reign Of Edward III, who lived in great splendour in the royal residences which he enlarged and beautified and his court was a great centre of chivalry.
Edward began the Hundred Years War with France , and captured large swathes of French territory, winning great victories at Sluys, Crecy and Poitiers.
It was between Edward's descendants that the wars of succession known as the Wars of the Roses took place.
Edward's grandson Richard II,s disastrous reign was ended when he was deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke who became Henry IV. Richard was murdered in Pontefract Castle in 1400 and so Weir describes the Wars of the Roses as being caused by a murder in 1400 and ended by a murder in 1471 (that of Henry VI).
The complex family histories of the various royal dynasties can be complicated to follow but the simplified genealogical tables at the back of the book are indispensable to understanding them and makes it much easier to follow.
The Wars actually began during the reign of Henry VI, when the rival houses of York and Lancaster took up arms in a struggle for supremacy. The Lancastrians, the party of Henry VI and his formidable wife, Queen Margaret of Anjou, looked mostly to the north of England for support, while the Yorkists (led by Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (Henry Vi's cousin) and Richard, Neville the Earl of Warwick
were stronger in London in the south.
As the author explains Margaret was particularly hated in London.
The author details the first two phases of the war, the battles lost and won and the great bloodhsed caused. She focuses on the personalities of the central players and the relationships, tracing the lives of such people as the Duke of York, Margaret of Anjou , the half-mad and extremely pious Henry VI, and Richard, Nevill Eral of Warwick. she also covers the political intrigues most expertly.
The interplay is fascinating. It is a pleasure to read.
We read of accounts by the Croyland chronicler, regadring the terror of the monks of his abbey, and the nearby villages during the Lancastrian advance on London.
The author is of the opinion, which she substantiates well, that Edward IV was not a usurper as Henry IV had been, but a rightful heir to the throne of the Plantaganets, legitimately restored to the throne, 62 years after it had usurped by the House of Lancaster.
"As King, Edward excelled Henry VI in every way, especially as a statesman and general. He was a firm and resolute ruler, shrewd and astute, and has real ability and business acumen, as well as the ability to apply himself...The common touch came naturally to him....on a personal level he enjoyed great popularity".
During Edward's reign the Black Book of the Household was drawn up in which was detailed the rights and duties of all members of the royal household as well as the etiquette and details of ceremonial to be observed at court.
Weir talks about the murder of Henry VI, who was certainly executed on Edward IV's order's, probably in the presence of the Duke of Gloucester (probably Richard III).
She also tells us of the tragic fate of the once proud and feisty Queen Margaret, who was imprisoned by Edward, and later died in great poverty in France.
Weir provides both a detailed history and an exciting read.
Summary of The Wars of the Roses
"Weir does a masterful job of leading the layman through the entwined family trees of England's powerful families and the many usurpers to the throne. . . . [She] has perfected the art of bringing history to life."--Chicago Tribune
Lancaster and York. For much of the fifteenth century, these two families were locked in battle for control of the British throne. Kings were murdered and deposed. Armies marched on London. Old noble names were ruined while rising dynasties seized power and lands. The war between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York, the longest and most complex in British history, profoundly altered the course of the monarchy.
Alison Weir, one of the foremost authorities on the British royal family, brings brilliantly to life both the war itself and the historic figures who fought it on the great stage of England. The Wars of the Roses is history at its very best--swift and compelling, rich in character, pageantry, and drama, and vivid in its re-creation of an astonishing, dangerous, and often grim period of history.
"[A] spellbinding chronicle. . . Weir's dark, glorious pageant restores the personal dimension to an oft-told tale without losing sight of a war that shattered feudalism, paved the way for capitalism and weakened the monarchy."
--Publishers Weekly
"[Weir is] skilled at delineating the many memorable characters of the age. . . . It's a tribute to her skill that she leaves you wanting more."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
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