Battle royal
Subtitle: the Wars of the Roses, 1440-1462
By: Hugh Bicheno
Edition: First Pegasus Books hardcover edition.
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 368
ISBN-13: 9781681773063
Subjects: Kings and rulers; History; Succession
Other titles: Wars of the Roses, 1440-1462
Description: "The enthralling story of the dynastic wars fought between the houses of Lancaster and York, the first of a two-volume history of the Wars of the Roses. England, 1454. A kingdom sliding into chaos. The mentally unstable King Henry VI, having struggled for a decade to contain the violent feuding of his dukes, is losing his mind. Disgruntled nobles support the regal claims of Richard, Duke of York, great-grandson of Edward III. The stage is set for civil war. The first volume of an enthralling two-part history of the dynastic wars fought between the houses of Lancaster and York, Battle Royal traces the conflict from its roots in the 1440s to the early 1460s-- a period marked by the rise and fall of Richard of York, the deposition of Henry VI following the Lancastrian defeat at Towton, and the subsequent seizure of his throne by Richard's son Edward.  Populating this late-medieval saga of ambition, intrigue, and bloodshed are such fascinating characters as the vacillating Henry VI himself, his indefatigable queen Marguerite of Anjou, Richard of York (father of kings but never king himself), his opportunist ally Richard Neville "the Kingmaker" and the precociously virile Edward of York.  Charting a clear course through the dynastic complexities of fifteenth-century power politics, and offering crisply authoritative analysis of the key battles of the Wars of the Roses, Battle Royal is a dynamic and rigorously researched account of England's longest and bloodiest civil war."--Dust jacket flap.
Notes: Previously published: London : Head of Zeus, 2015.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-352) and index.
Table of contents: title: Passionate princesses; title: House of Lancaster; title: House of Beaufort; title: House of Valois-Anjou; title: House of York; title: Faction and feud; title: Defeat and humiliation; title: Henry and Richard; title: House of Neville; title: Marguerite; title: Mitre and crown; title: Richard; title: Henry; title: Coup d'état; title: Marguerite's counter-coup; title: Lord of Calais; title: Here be dragons; title: Marguerite and Henry; title: Entr'acte : the English way of war; title: Marguerite's army; title: Lancaster resurgent; title: Warwick's apotheosis; title: Betrayal; title: Marguerite and son; title: Richard's humiliation; title: Edward of March; title: The bubble reputation; title: Two kings; title: Knight's gambit; title: Endgame; title: Coda : checkmate; title: Appendix A. English peerage, 1440-62, by date of creation; title: Appendix B. English peerage, 1440-62, alphabetical; title: Appendix C. Archbishops and bishops, 1440-62; title: Appendix D. Beauchamp inheritance.