The Wars of the Roses
Subtitle: the fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors
By: Dan Jones
Publisher: Viking
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 392
ISBN-13: 9780670026678
Subjects: Wars of the Roses (Great Britain : 1455-1485) fast (OCoLC)fst01355312; History
Description: The crown of England changed hands five times over the course of the fifteenth century, as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest-reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains of history were thrown together in these turbulent times, from Joan of Arc to Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt marked the high point of the medieval monarchy, and Richard III, who murdered his own nephews in a desperate bid to secure his stolen crown. This was a period when headstrong queens and consorts seized power and bent men to their will. With vivid descriptions of the battles of Towton and Bosworth, where the last Plantagenet king was slain, this dramatic narrative history revels in bedlam and intrigue. It also offers a long-overdue corrective to Tudor propaganda, dismantling their self-serving account of what they called the Wars of the Roses.  The best-selling author of The Plantagenets traces the 15th-century civil wars that irrevocably shaped the British crown, particularly evaluating the roles of strong women including Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret Beaufort in shifting power between two ruling families. Includes six maps and four genealogies.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-377) and index.
Table of contents: title: Beginnings (1420-1437). "King of all the world" ; "We were in perfect health" ; "Born to be king" ; "Oweyn Tidr"; title: What is a king? (1437-1455). "My Lord of Suffolk's good lordship" ; "A dear marriage" ; "Away, traitors, away!" ; "Then bring in the duke of York" ; "Smitten with a frenzy"; title: The hollow crown (1455-1471). "Princess most excellent" ; "Suddenly fell down the crown" ; "Havoc" ; "The noble and the lowly" ; "Diverse times" ; "Final destruction"; title: The rise of the Tudors (1471-1525). "To execute wrath" ; "The only imp now left" ; "Judge me, o Lord" ; "War or life" ; "Envy never dies" ; "Blanche Rose."