The Wars of the Roses

First published in 1981, this is a second impression of 1983. Some edge wear, chipping and short closed tears to top and bottom of jacket and spine, spine very slightly faded, corners rubbed, remains of old sticky label to bottom back jacket, not price clipped (no published price), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg+ copy for its age. 274pp, illustrated. Frequently remembered only as a period of military history which both saw the French beat the English and then the English fight amongst themselves, traditional historians have tended to regard the Wars of the Roses as an episode that wrecked England's military greatness. John Gillingham's highly readable history separates the myth from the reality. He argues that, paradoxically, the Wars of the Roses demonstrated how peaceful England in fact was. From the accession of the infant Henry VI to the thrones of England and France in 1422 to the accession of Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Gillingham uses his gift for graphic description, particularly with his exciting account of the 1471 campaign, to great effect. He also places the warfare within its European context, especially in showing the problems encountered in conducting a civil war within a normally peaceful country. 'The Wars of the Roses' is an irresistible account of a fascinating period of history. John Bennett Gillingham (b.1940), is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the London School of Economics. On 19th July 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. Gillingham is renowned as an expert on the Angevin Empire. Quite a scarce book. …