Agincourt

Starred review from October 26, 2015
Fiennes (Cold), a renowned polar explorer and British military veteran, brings a distinctive point of view to his recounting of the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, further underscored by the astounding number of participants to whom he’s related. He begins with a flowing introduction to the period between the 11th century Norman invasion of England and the completion of Henry V’s French campaign (which concluded with the Battle of Agincourt), followed by an insightful analysis of the strategy and logistics of the latter. Fiennes’s even-handed descriptions of late medieval violence form a solid foundation for his occasional comparisons between Agincourt and various 20th-century war scenes. A nice collection of images of key figures helps readers navigate the various bouts of infighting on both sides, and illustrations of arms and armor give readers a feel for the martial technology of the time. The frequent italicization for Fiennes’s many ancestors can distract from the action, but its use powerfully narrates the fortunes of one family’s English nobles and the simultaneous destruction of their French cousins. While Fiennes wryly deals with his kinfolk’s fates, his knowledge leads to a stylish, substantive account further punctuated by the offhand musing that an English loss at Agincourt could possibly have prevented the Wars of the Roses. Illus. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Ltd. (U.K.).

October 1, 2015
A personal history commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt by a direct descendant of nobility who fought on both sides of the battle. Few events in history have had such a lasting impact as Agincourt. On that fateful day exactly 600 years ago this Oct. 25, armies allied to King Henry V of England and King Charles VI of France met in the decisive battle of the Hundred Years' War. Though the war continued for several years after Agincourt, the English victory at Agincourt ensured, through Henry's later marriage to Charles' daughter Katherine, future stability and equitable relations between France and England, conditions that would provide the foundation for the emergence of both countries' modern national identities. Though there is no shortage of historical analyses of the battle and war, famed explorer and prolific author Fiennes (Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperatures on Earth, 2013, etc.) provides a unique perspective of medieval history as a direct ancestor of nobility that fought for both the English and French at Agincourt. To understand how such a seeming contradiction could be true, the author begins his conversational and well-paced history at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, in which William of Normandy's conquest of Britain enmeshed the politics of the French crown with the English. As a result, William's victory set in motion the series of events that would lead directly to the Hundred Years' War. As for Fiennes, whose lineage can be traced all the way back to Charlemagne, his ancestors controlled the Boulogne region of France and were allied to William. Receiving patronage for their loyalty, they controlled areas of both England and their native France. However, subsequent kings tested allegiances, and eventually, Fiennes' ancestors would be divided by ensuing conflicts before facing off at Agincourt. Fiennes does his ancestors justice with this fascinating and immensely readable narrative of Agincourt.

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November 1, 2015

In time for the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, this title by adventurer and prolific author Fiennes (Cold; The Last Expedition) focuses on the particular contributions of his ancestors to the Battle of Agincourt in the Hundred Years' War between England and France, as well as the preceding years. The author begins this account with his distinguished ancestor Charlemagne and then narrates the history of England and France up until the reign of King John, with barely a mention of anyone who is not a member of his lineage, or a king or queen. Distractingly, Fiennes designates all of his relatives by italicizing their names wherever they appear in the text. Although Fiennes quotes historic chronicles, they are not mentioned in the book's brief bibliography, leading one to assume that he only consulted them through secondary sources. That, and the aforementioned failure to include significant nonrelatives, results in an account that seems rather one-sided. VERDICT Despite its shortcomings, Fiennes's strong narrative style pulls readers along quickly, leaving plenty of time to tackle another more authoritative book on Agincourt such as Juliet Barker's Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England.--Cate Hirschbiel, Iwasaki Lib., Emerson Coll., Boston

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