The Wars of the Roses

Starred review from August 25, 2014
It’s not often that a book manages to be both scholarly and a page-turner, but British historian Jones succeeds on both counts in this entertaining follow-up to his bestselling The Plantagenets (currently in production as a television miniseries). Previously, Jones explored the Plantagenets’ rise to power, while here he examines their destruction. He begins in 1422 when Henry V dies, leaving the throne to an infant, and continues for the next 100 years through the reign of Henry VIII. Following Henry VI’s descent into madness and the utter collapse of royal authority, dynastic “wars of politics and personality” erupted as England’s elite families fought over the throne. Jones breathes new life into an oft-told account of how the crown changed hands five times before a young Welshman with a dubious claim wrested it from Richard III in 1485. Only during a period of utter chaos, Jones argues, could the Tudors have risen so high so quickly. But, he contends, due to their weak claim, they were forced to annihilate the Plantagenets, going so far as Henry VIII having the elderly Margaret de la Pole executed in 1541. Jones sets a new high-water mark in the current revisionism of the Tudor era.

August 15, 2014
In a follow-up to The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings Who Invented England (2012), British historian Jones authoritatively sets the scene for the next brutal act: the 15th-century succession crises.With the warrior king Henry V's death in 1422, his infant son became Henry VI, leaving the kingdom at the mercy of warring usurpers from France and the young king "beneath an almost crushing burden of expectation." Indeed, Henry VI was not an effective king, and into the vacuum of leadership stepped traitorous aristocrats like the Earl of Suffolk and the Duke of Gloucester, as well as Richard, Duke of York, the king's cousin, who became a dangerous rival. Henry's wife, Queen Margaret, was not able to get rid of Richard, and she sheltered her young scion to the throne and directed allied armies (now called the Lancastrians) as civil war raged around them. However, the Lancastrians were defeated at the Battle of Towton and sent into exile or destroyed, while the York line, led by Richard's son Edward IV took over, with great vigor of rule, lustiness of appetite and confinement of enemies. However, more family trouble erupted with the machinations of Edward's younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who suffered from scoliosis of the spine; this villain had his brother's two sons killed in the Tower of London and crowned himself Richard III in 1483. Now, where did the Tudors come in? For this thread, we must return to Henry V's widow, Catherine of Valois, who remarried in some obscurity in 1431 a charming Welsh squire named Oweyn Tidr, aka Owen Tudor. Their grandson in exile, Henry Tudor, would emerge gloriously to defeat Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485, become King Henry VII and marry Edward's daughter Elizabeth of York in order to consolidate the houses of white and red roses. Valiantly pared down for fluid readability.

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October 15, 2014

In the follow up to 2013's acclaimed The Plantagenets, historian Jones traces the British crown from the fall of Henry V in 1422 to the rise of the Tudor dynasty in the early 1500s. While the subject matter has more cultural cachet owing to the greater prominence of the rulers in popular culture than the more obscure Plantagenets of the Middle Ages, the author's painstaking attention to detail is the same as in his previous work. Similar to its predecessor, this title can be heavy by virtue of condensing 100 years of history into one volume and the commonality of certain names can be confusing at times. However, the story never drags, and Jones succeeds in bringing lesser-known historical figures to life. He also attempts to correct the mythology around the Tudors' ascension to power perpetuated by Shakespeare's histories and other contemporary sources. Particularly emphasized are the personal and leadership qualities of the numerous would-be rulers and peripheral figures that led both to their rise and downfall. VERDICT This excellent and fairly accessible contribution to the history of the Wars of the Roses serves as a helpful corrective to previous mythologized versions. It is highly recommended for studies of British royal history and for readers of popular narrative nonfiction. [See Prepub Alert, 5/4/14.]--Ben Neal, Richland Lib., Columbia, SC

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Jones follows up The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England (2013) with another magnificently rendered historical investigation into one of the most tumultuousyet formativeeras in British history. As the Plantagenet dynasty begins its descent, he traces the inevitable rise of another legendary royal house. The Tudor dynasty has captured the collective scholarly and literary imaginations of generations of readers as no other, and this retelling of the War of the Roses adeptly evokes the treachery, intrigue, and familial and political machinations that defined the Tudors' ascension to power. The wars of succession thrust the country into chaos for more than 30 years, providing plenty of grit and grist for the author's historical mill. This digestible account of a grand and complex subject manages to entertain as well as inform.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)