📖 Book review ~ The Brothers York by Thomas Penn

Penguin
2019

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

It is 1461 and England is crippled by civil war. One freezing morning, a teenage boy wins a battle in the Welsh marches, and claims the crown. He is Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York...

Thomas Penn's brilliant new telling of the wars of the roses takes us inside a conflict that fractured the nation for more than three decades. During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers - Edward, George and Richard - who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible..

But with Edward's ascendancy the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor.

The story of a warring family unable to sustain its influence and power, The Brothers York brings to life a dynasty that could have been as magnificent as the Tudors. Its tragedy was that, in the space of one generation, it destroyed itself.

📖 My thoughts..

It's that time of year when I try to look back at some of the books which have lingered for far too long on my kindle and this non-fiction history book has been around for so long, it's high time it had a mention.

The Brothers York follows the fortunes of the three men who each had their eye on the crown of England. A real life Game of Thrones for three very different brothers who are inextricably linked through time and whose ambition would be their undoing. Edward IV, Clarence, Duke of York and Richard, Duke of Gloucester are expertly explored in this comprehensive look at what influenced their life, and times.

Beautifully detailed and alive with all the scheming and skulduggery we have come to expect from the War of the Roses this comprehensive work makes history accessible and whilst it seeks to give a detailed description it is also very readable and is something I have enjoyed dipping into and out of at whim.

I'm a Lancastrian by birth and had I been around in the fifteenth century I am sure I would have followed the red rose of Lancaster but I have long had a fascination for the white rose side of the Plantagenet dynasty and the Yorkists who did so much to shape the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This book brings that history to life.

About the Author

Thomas Penn is publishing director at Penguin Books UK. He holds a PhD in medieval history from Clare College, Cambridge University, and writes for The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, and the London Review of Books, among other publications. He is the author of The Brothers York and Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England.

Twitter @PenguinBooksUK #TheBrothersYork #ThomasPenn

Review ~ Blood and Roses by Catherine Hokin

Yolk
11 January 2016

So much has been written in recent years about the War of the Roses and all too predictably, the focus is always on the ambitions of the men who would be King, so it's rather interesting to have something written about one of the more important female figures in this volatile Game of Thrones, namely that of Margaret of Anjou. She is all too often described by the vulgar sobriquet of the  'she-wolf of France' which, of course, immediately conjures a woman who had no moral scruples and a man’s lust for battle.

The start of Blood and Roses takes the reader back to a more peaceful Margaret, back to a time when she was a young girl with hopes and dreams of falling in love and raising a family. The dream was rapidly shattered when a political alliance to the pious and unpredictable King Henry VI  became little more than a sham marriage, and a rather sad place where her pretty dreams diminished and died. A sexless marriage made her hope of providing England with a much longed for heir an impossible task. However, Margaret was never without ambition and whilst there has always been speculation about the father of her son, the author's clever interpretation of his paternity in Blood and Roses is an interesting one and if you know your history, the story becomes entirely plausible.

The author writes with authority about a subject about which she is clearly passionate. Her impeccable research allows the story to develop with rich historical detail and most certainly, Margaret of Anjou’s indomitable spirit comes across quite forcibly. Whilst I'm still not altogether sure that I liked Margaret any more by the end of the novel, I still find her an incredibly 'cold' character, but, it must be said, in the hands of this accomplished author, there is no doubt that Margaret’s sad and rather unhappy story comes alive.

Best read ...with a jug of sweet Rosé d'Anjou and a platter of sticky honey cakes...

About the Author

Read an Interview with the author here

Find more about her on her website

Find on her Facebook

Follow on Twitter @cathokin

Amazon UK

My thanks to the author for sharing her work with me and to Yolk Publishing for providing me with a review copy of Blood and Roses to read. 

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Review ~ Kingmaker : Winter Pilgrims by Toby Clements

Century
Random House
2014

Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims is a good solid start to a very promising War of The Roses series by new historical author Toby Clements.

The story opens in 1460 when a catastrophic betrayal at the Priory of St Mary in Lincoln forces Thomas, a young monk and Katherine, a nun, to flee the relative safety of their cloistered life. Together they embark upon a journey which plunges them into the very heart of civil war and the maelstrom of battle. And as the house of Lancaster pitches against the house of York, both Katherine and Thomas have momentous decisions to face before they can be at ease in this very troubled world.

This very accomplished historical debut focuses on the uncertain future faced by a country at odds with itself. Stark, often violent, the story pulls no punches in the face of conflict and even as Thomas discovers a penchant for soldiering, it is perhaps Katherine who needs to adapt the most, as her skill for healing is brutally realised in the face of fierce disturbance.

The story concludes in 1461, with the bloody and brutal battle for Towton, which was fast, furious, and lacking in any sort of human compassion but which undeniably marked a turning point in this deadly game of thrones. However, Thomas and Katherine’s story is far from concluded, and I am heartened that the ending of the book lends itself to a continuation of this commendable series of historical novels.

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About the Author

 Toby Clements was inspired to write Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims having first become obsessed by the Wars of the Roses after a school trip to Tewkesbury Abbey. 

This is his first novel.

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