Review: Lancaster and York (The Wars of the Roses), by Alison Weir

I sought this book because I was after a single volume covering the Wars of the Roses, and, having finished it yesterday, must say I enjoyed it a lot.

For people unfamiliar with the period there’s a helpful setting of the early 15^th century scene, with the reign of Henry IV supplanting Richard II, and the heroic (if short-lived) Henry V following. The book then settles into the meat of the matter: the disastrously incompetent Henry VI, his domineering French wife Margaret, and the clash between them (the House of Lancaster) and the House of York.

The book covers the entirety of Henry VI’s reign (or, perhaps, that of his wife), and the reign of Edward IV. It ends in the 1470s, after the dynastic clash is settled (although mildly surprised it didn’t go to Bosworth in 1485 I do think that legitimate given the succeeding house was Tudor, not Lancaster).

It’s not as bad as reading a biography of King John, but it’s nevertheless remarkable how much incompetence there was at this period in history. Vindictiveness and complacency led those in seemingly unassailable positions to throw away their advantages. Many men changed sides (willingly or not), many remained neutral, but, beyond those competing for the crown, the charismatic, ambitious, and talented Warwick was a fascinating third part of the story.

What’s striking is that the wars were so unnecessary. Factionalism and mistreatment of a man with a better claim to the throne, and who had rendered good service to the crown at his own expense, precipitated a conflict that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

The book’s easy to read, although I’d prefer there to be a map at the front (there is one but it’s partway through) for reference. Happily, there are footnotes rather than the Devil’s work of endnotes. These are sparing and useful, so there’s no need to worry about a Gibbonian proliferation of notes.

All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who, like me, knows sod all about the Wars of the Roses and would like to remedy the situation.

Thaddeus

Quarantine Reading

Hey, kids.

I don’t blog much nowadays but thought it might be useful for some people (the elderly, asthmatics, those with other underlying conditions) facing potentially months in isolation to have some hefty reading recommendations to help fill the time.

Note that all of these are books/series I’ve entirely or largely read, and come in both physical and electronic forms. I’ve tried to mix things up a little according to whether people read a lot or a little and different types of books. NB these are all text-based books, obviously su doku, crossword, and other types of puzzle book could be good ways of killing time.

The Lone Wolf gamebooks

These were some of my favourite books growing up, and I still have most of the first 20. They’re a lot of fun, mostly ok for kids (maybe not very young ones) and engaging for adults. I recently replayed the first couple until my full playthrough was interrupted due to various (non-pandemic) factors. Best of all, almost every book is available online for free at Project Aon (with the blessing of the sadly departed author Joe Dever). These won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and the first couple only took me an hour or two each, but there’s a lot to sink your teeth into and I recommend giving them a shot.

The Sharpe series

Another staple of my teenage years were the Sharpe books by Bernard Cornwell. There are tons of them covering the eponymous hero as he fights for Britain from India to Europe, enjoying a nautical adventure at Trafalgar along the way. The books are easy to get into, not excessively long, but there’s a large number of them. I can also highly recommend, by the same author, the Warlord Chronicles (an Arthurian trilogy), and the Starbuck Chronicles (a quartet focused on the American Civil war).

Outlaws of the Marsh

Despite being pretty massive (there are different versions, with around 2,000-2,200 pages being usual) I’ve read this Chinese classic three times and will likely keep re-reading it. Imagine Robin Hood set in Ancient China, directed by Quentin Tarantino and written by a man who thought the problem with the Lord of the Rings was the small size of the cast. It’s packed with bloody action and cool characters like Sagacious Lu, the tiger-killing Wu Song, and Nine Dragons Shi Jin. If you like action and politics then Three Kingdoms, of a similar size, is well worth checking out. It’s a book of historical fiction covering the fall of the Han Dynasty around the end of the 2^nd and start of the 3^rd century AD. If you prefer things simpler, then try Journey to the West, which has a main party of just four travelling to the west and knocking seven bells out of the assorted demons that try to stop them (I’m most of the way through re-reading this one myself).

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

About 4,000 pages long, Edward Gibbon’s six volume masterpiece of history chronicling millennia of the Western and Eastern Empires is fantastic. It’s worth stressing this isn’t one for beginners as it’s not only massive, but densely packed and can drag sometimes (the Mongols and origins of Christianity and Islam both get quite a few pages). However, it’s also really rather good. I’d advocate getting the Everyman’s edition as the notes are included as footnotes (some versions have a separate volume for the significant number of notes.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare

I admit, I’ve got this and have been a little lax working through it. But if you like the Bard and haven’t got to grips with his plays, sonnets, and assorted whatnot then why not take this opportunity to indulge yourself and read up on epic tragedies and a smorgasbord of cock jokes? (The Taming of the Shrew’s central message has aged appallingly but it does have some good one-liners. “Away, you three-inch fool!”).

Some extra suggestions, from others:

Europe: A History

By Norman Davies, this sizeable tome covers the continent from the Ice Age to the Cold War.

The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels

Written by Patrick O’Brian, the boxed set of historical novels comes in at thousands of pages. Nautical fans may prefer these to the mostly landlocked Sharpe.

Fighting Fantasy

As a friend reminded me, those who want more besides the Lone Wolf gamebooks have plenty of options and amongst these are the Fighting Fantasy books, of which there are rather a lot.

Thaddeus