Synopsis
With the help of magnificent illustrations, the turbulent civil wars of medieval England are recreated through the lives of five larger-than-life people of the times, from soldier William Hastings to Lady Margaret Beaufort. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.
Reviews
With its shifting political alliances and its huge cast of characters, England's Wars of the Roses?that 15th-century bloodbath pitting rival York and Lancaster dynasties in a 32-year struggle for the throne?could daunt even readers of Shakespeare's plays. To bring clarity and order to this complex tale, British historian Seward (The Hundred Years War) organizes his dramatic, vivid narrative around five pivotal figures. Courtier-soldier William Hastings tried to rescue 12-year-old King Edward V from the ambitions of Edward's uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but Richard ordered Hastings's execution in 1483 and usurped the throne as Richard III. Steely, mystically inclined Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor (the future Henry VIII), forged the alliance between Lancastrians and Yorkists that toppled Richard III. Lancastrian nobleman John de Vere, earl of Oxford, determined to avenge the execution of his father and brother, joined a rebellion against Yorkist King Edward IV but was routed in 1471 when his men attacked their own side by mistake. Jane Shore, an alderman's daughter who became mistress of Edward IV, then of his friend Hastings, shared the secrets of powerful men, was forced by Richard III to do penance as a harlot and ended her days begging for bread on London's streets. John Morton, cleric and Lancastrian lawyer, switched his allegiance to the Yorkists after imprisonment in the Tower of London and later became Archbishop of Canterbury. Illustrated.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Seward (Richard III: England's Black Legend, Franklin Watts, 1984) here chronicles the turbulent era from Cade's Rebellion in 1450 to Perkin Warbeck's execution in 1499. Seward uses as his narrative vehicle the lives of the Yorkist William, Lord Hastings; the Lancastrian John de Vere, 13th earl of Oxford; Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and wife of four prominent figures in the War of the Roses; prelate and statesman Dr. John Morton, who in turn supported Lancaster, York, and Tudor; and "Jane" (Elizabeth) Shore, daughter of London mercer John Lambert and mistress of Edward IV whom Richard III accused of witchcraft. While differing in approach from another recent popular account?Alison Weir's The War of the Roses (LJ 8/95)?Seward's work is equally well written and accessible. Though sparsely documented, it makes considerable use of contemporary sources and modern scholarship. For readers at all levels.?William B. Robison, Southeastern Louisiana Univ., Hammond.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
It was neither the best nor the worst of times, but it was a complicated time. "The Wars of the Roses" is the label history has assigned to the dynastic struggle from 1455 to 1487 between two collateral branches of the English royal house fighting for the throne. Eschewing a traditionally straightforward narrative, Seward, author of several previously successful popular histories, has chosen five individuals of differing rank and station to usher us through this rough period in English history. It is by way of telling the lives of William Hastings, a great landowner and lord chamberlain of the kingdom; John de Vere, earl of Oxford; Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty; Dr. John Morton, an important cleric; and Jane Shore, unnobly born and eventual mistress of King Edward IV, that Seward successfully draws the reader into an intimate encounter with the national issues that plagued England while royal cousin dueled royal cousin for the crown. For all well-utilized history collections. Brad Hooper
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