Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Revisionist but blinkered, 27 Feb 2005
Gwyn has undertaken the monumental task of revising out opinions of one of the most controversial and often misunderstood characters in English history. On the whole his re-anaylsis is a sucessful, scholarly and persuasive affair, featuring some excellent insight into Wolsey's relationship with the nobility and Henry himself, challenging the faction driven interpretaion currently fashionable with the likes of David Starkey. Having said that one does get the feeling that Gwyn is often so anxious to see Wolsey in the most positive of lights that his interpretation seems somewhat blinkered and onesided, the most obvious example of which is the chapter on the Amicable Grant. However, overall the work represents a valuable and often courageous reinterpretation of an age old charaterisation for which Gwyn deserves full praise.

'Magisterial' indeed, 11 Apr 2003
I think Wolsey was definitely a person whose motives, motivation, etc, may well have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many, both his contemporaries and writers of more recent times. This biography attempts to get behind the scandal, and the ambassador's letters of the times, and really analyse legal, formal documentation, in the context not only of Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, and not only the break with the Catholic Pope, but also in the context of the powerplay within France, and the Empire, and Europe as a whole, and, possibly more importantly, attempts to analyse such things within the framework of the time and the people who lived in that time, not with the viewpoint that we as 'moderns' tend to allow to slant our interpretations of past events.

The interpretations are sometimes controversial and defy what could be considered 'the accepted' view, but they clarify elements of Wolsey's character that I believe have been glossed over by past historians, and open him up to our view as a complex statesman, dedicated church figure, and man of his times.

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Revisionist but blinkered, 27 Feb 2005
Gwyn has undertaken the monumental task of revising out opinions of one of the most controversial and often misunderstood characters in English history. On the whole his re-anaylsis is a sucessful, scholarly and persuasive affair, featuring some excellent insight into Wolsey's relationship with the nobility and Henry himself, challenging the faction driven interpretaion currently fashionable with the likes of David Starkey. Having said that one does get the feeling that Gwyn is often so anxious to see Wolsey in the most positive of lights that his interpretation seems somewhat blinkered and onesided, the most obvious example of which is the chapter on the Amicable Grant. However, overall the work represents a valuable and often courageous reinterpretation of an age old charaterisation for which Gwyn deserves full praise.

'Magisterial' indeed, 11 Apr 2003
I think Wolsey was definitely a person whose motives, motivation, etc, may well have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many, both his contemporaries and writers of more recent times. This biography attempts to get behind the scandal, and the ambassador's letters of the times, and really analyse legal, formal documentation, in the context not only of Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, and not only the break with the Catholic Pope, but also in the context of the powerplay within France, and the Empire, and Europe as a whole, and, possibly more importantly, attempts to analyse such things within the framework of the time and the people who lived in that time, not with the viewpoint that we as 'moderns' tend to allow to slant our interpretations of past events.

The interpretations are sometimes controversial and defy what could be considered 'the accepted' view, but they clarify elements of Wolsey's character that I believe have been glossed over by past historians, and open him up to our view as a complex statesman, dedicated church figure, and man of his times.

Building Castles..., 18 Nov 2008
As a lover and student of late medieval and renaissance history, I was hoping that this book would give me a solid knowledge of the events and issues that were to become the foundation of 'Britain'.... and that's exactly what I found!

This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the history of Britain. I have read many 'history' books that assume the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the subject before they begin, but happily this is not the case. All of the events are explained in a full, interesting and (on the whole) entertaining way. As the book is written in a very personal style you really get the feeling of riding alongside Edward for all of his 68 years, however this is no way undermines the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into writing it.

Most of us know of Robert Bruce, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort and have heard about the 'confiscation' of the Stone of Scone, and the origins of the Prince of Wales title, but this book explains the 'whys', 'hows' and 'whens' that makes history real.

If I had one complaint, (and it's so small that the book still gets Five stars), it's that you get the feeling that Marc Morris is sometimes over-justifying Edwards decisions. Yes, the things he did were not always 'PC' but, and as Mr Morris does quantify at the end of the book, he was a bigotted king in a bigotted time.

That aside, this is a great book for the serious student, the history lover and anyone else that enjoys expanding their knowledge of such an important time in history.

A Great and Terrible King: Edward 1 and the Forging of Britain, 13 Jun 2008
For the person like myself with a sketchy knowledge of medieval Britain and her Kings this excellent book filled a lot of gaps especially the chapters dealing with Wales

Edwards Legacy, 02 May 2008
As a long term student of Edward 1st, I have to say I found this a superb, and highly readable account, of an era, and a king who continues to exert a profound, and I would go as far to say, malign influence, on the four corners of the U.K. Unlike the previous biography by Michael Prestwich, this is not a biography aimed at an academic audience, more it is aimed at a general audience who have an interest in the subject.

To 21 century sensibilties with our focus on human rights, the casual and bloody brutality, not to mention anti semitism, comes as a shock. One can only imagine the reaction, of the son of Simon de Montfort, arriving late at the battle of Evesham, to see his fathers head being paraded around the battlefield, on the end of a spear, or the way in which the author describes the execution of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. ( In truth the last true Prince of Wales) to see that life in 13/14 c England was nasty, brutal and short.

More shocking still is Edward's treatment of the Jews. From taxing them out of existence, to fund the Crusades, and the Welsh wars, until their final explusion in 1290, the story is one of increasing attempts to hound the Jewish community out of public life, often with the tacit if not unconditional backing of the papacy.

This is a highly readable and very well illustrated account of an era, whose consequences, are still being felt across the four nations of the U.K. Does history resonate down the ages? Yes very much so.



The first ruler of an united Britain - but only for a short time, 28 Apr 2008
It is for a long time that I have some difficulties forming an opinion abut a book I have finished. Usually latest after the first 100 pages one does like or dislike a book, but here it was difficult. Till the very end I am not sure what to think and even now while writing I am not sure.

After the recent interest in the life of Edward II, his lover and his Queen this interest was bound to spill over to the reign of his father, Edward I. who seem to have been to contemporaries of Edward II the role model for a king. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that young Edward when heir to the throne was quite at odds with his father and rather festering his own nest than thinking of the monarchy as such. His reign turned out to be a rollercoaster. As the reign of Henry III of rather of catastrophic nature, the start of Edwards's reign was well received and things improved. However, that was not to last and in the end - except for a view years - there was constant warfare: Wales, Scotland, and Gascony and even internally. To be honest I never admire the so-called military heroes as war means death, lots of it. Whatever the reason for war are, in the end it is always death. For the first time in history Edward was - even if only for a short period - the first king of an united Britain, but at least Scotland regained its independence. Forced conquest do not last -neither today nor then. Edward managed in overall terms to restore the authority of the monarchy which had badly suffered during his fathers rule. But even here it was an up and down. So one gets quite a good picture of his reign. However, as his reign ended kind on a "high" while the "low" was already approaching, one is left with the unanswered question where the monarchy really stood at the end of his reign. Was it indeed as strong as it seems or was the monarchy actually much weaker than it seemed and therefore being - at least in part - a cause for the turbulent rule of his son, especially with regards to the relationship of monarch and his lords.

But there are more drawbacks: the book is pretty weak on his relationships with his Queens and his family. While stating the well known fact of his love for his first Queen Eleanor there is hardly anything to give us an insight into the royal couple's relationship. Even less is said about his second Queen, the "spoils of a peace treaty" and becoming quickly pregnant. The relationship with his son and heir is even less explored. Often, the aspects like the wars in Wales and Scotland seem to be too detailed (maybe less is more would have been appropriate) and therefore a bit too scholarly for my taste. Furthermore, the chapters are far too long and therefore often not easy to read.

The book is missing the great flow and one is not getting "sucked into this book". While giving one an inside, one does not finish this book feeling that one really got to know this Edward I. I honestly have to say that I could neither develop a "passion" for this book nor the subject. I have read far better biographies.

All in all, it is a quite a mixed bag.


A Great and Terrible King, 13 Mar 2008

Last year the 700th anniversary of the death of Edward I passed largely unnoticed. His father, Henry III's 800th birthday was marked by a two day conference at King's College, London and services in Westminster Abbey. but at least we have a new biography of Edward.

Marc Morris, who has made his name as a skilled TV presenter with his series, Castle, and as a serious academic scholar with his book on the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, takes up the challenge of a new overview of this astonishing king. It is twenty years since Michael Prestwich's magisterial life of Edward I. Can Marc Morris bring any thing new? Well, he uses much of the new research of the last two decades and finds new insights. He is particularly good on the public ceremony and processions that surrounded the King and on his Arthurian enthusiasms. He writes engagingly and has some great one-liners. His page-turning description of the Welsh wars had me gripped even though I well knew the outcome. Morris is just to most of the participants although I fear that, whilst he puts the expulsion of the Jews in its context showing that Edward was in line with, and pandering to, the prejudices of his people, he goes too far to accuse Edward of a pogrom. On the other hand, Morris refuses to react in an anachronistic way to the sack of Berwick. I liked the way that he poses interesting questions. Why did the King and Queen go to Quennington and Down Ampney in the springtime so often and what was he doing in East Anglia in 1285 when he should have been getting ready for negotiations in France? Skilful use of charter witness lists and the king's itinerary prompt such questions. Morris never forgets where the King was.

In the end, this a tragic tale. In early 1306, every thing seemed to going well. The threat of Welsh invasions into the Marches was over and the new, more conciliatory dispensation in Scotland seemed to have resolved the outbreak of enmity between the two peoples. The period of mutual tolerance and good relations when the queens of Scotland were English, might have been re-established. The years of dreadful cross-border savagery would have ben avoided. The last days of the King are told in a moving way. The proud, determined old man struggling to move north, abandoning his litter for a war horse to impress his men, only to fail again and to die within sight of Scotland.

A very readable and thought-provoking book which will be useful and enjoyable to both the academic historian and the wider reading public.

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Revisionist but blinkered, 27 Feb 2005
Gwyn has undertaken the monumental task of revising out opinions of one of the most controversial and often misunderstood characters in English history. On the whole his re-anaylsis is a sucessful, scholarly and persuasive affair, featuring some excellent insight into Wolsey's relationship with the nobility and Henry himself, challenging the faction driven interpretaion currently fashionable with the likes of David Starkey. Having said that one does get the feeling that Gwyn is often so anxious to see Wolsey in the most positive of lights that his interpretation seems somewhat blinkered and onesided, the most obvious example of which is the chapter on the Amicable Grant. However, overall the work represents a valuable and often courageous reinterpretation of an age old charaterisation for which Gwyn deserves full praise.

'Magisterial' indeed, 11 Apr 2003
I think Wolsey was definitely a person whose motives, motivation, etc, may well have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many, both his contemporaries and writers of more recent times. This biography attempts to get behind the scandal, and the ambassador's letters of the times, and really analyse legal, formal documentation, in the context not only of Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, and not only the break with the Catholic Pope, but also in the context of the powerplay within France, and the Empire, and Europe as a whole, and, possibly more importantly, attempts to analyse such things within the framework of the time and the people who lived in that time, not with the viewpoint that we as 'moderns' tend to allow to slant our interpretations of past events.

The interpretations are sometimes controversial and defy what could be considered 'the accepted' view, but they clarify elements of Wolsey's character that I believe have been glossed over by past historians, and open him up to our view as a complex statesman, dedicated church figure, and man of his times.

Building Castles..., 18 Nov 2008
As a lover and student of late medieval and renaissance history, I was hoping that this book would give me a solid knowledge of the events and issues that were to become the foundation of 'Britain'.... and that's exactly what I found!

This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the history of Britain. I have read many 'history' books that assume the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the subject before they begin, but happily this is not the case. All of the events are explained in a full, interesting and (on the whole) entertaining way. As the book is written in a very personal style you really get the feeling of riding alongside Edward for all of his 68 years, however this is no way undermines the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into writing it.

Most of us know of Robert Bruce, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort and have heard about the 'confiscation' of the Stone of Scone, and the origins of the Prince of Wales title, but this book explains the 'whys', 'hows' and 'whens' that makes history real.

If I had one complaint, (and it's so small that the book still gets Five stars), it's that you get the feeling that Marc Morris is sometimes over-justifying Edwards decisions. Yes, the things he did were not always 'PC' but, and as Mr Morris does quantify at the end of the book, he was a bigotted king in a bigotted time.

That aside, this is a great book for the serious student, the history lover and anyone else that enjoys expanding their knowledge of such an important time in history.

A Great and Terrible King: Edward 1 and the Forging of Britain, 13 Jun 2008
For the person like myself with a sketchy knowledge of medieval Britain and her Kings this excellent book filled a lot of gaps especially the chapters dealing with Wales

Edwards Legacy, 02 May 2008
As a long term student of Edward 1st, I have to say I found this a superb, and highly readable account, of an era, and a king who continues to exert a profound, and I would go as far to say, malign influence, on the four corners of the U.K. Unlike the previous biography by Michael Prestwich, this is not a biography aimed at an academic audience, more it is aimed at a general audience who have an interest in the subject.

To 21 century sensibilties with our focus on human rights, the casual and bloody brutality, not to mention anti semitism, comes as a shock. One can only imagine the reaction, of the son of Simon de Montfort, arriving late at the battle of Evesham, to see his fathers head being paraded around the battlefield, on the end of a spear, or the way in which the author describes the execution of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. ( In truth the last true Prince of Wales) to see that life in 13/14 c England was nasty, brutal and short.

More shocking still is Edward's treatment of the Jews. From taxing them out of existence, to fund the Crusades, and the Welsh wars, until their final explusion in 1290, the story is one of increasing attempts to hound the Jewish community out of public life, often with the tacit if not unconditional backing of the papacy.

This is a highly readable and very well illustrated account of an era, whose consequences, are still being felt across the four nations of the U.K. Does history resonate down the ages? Yes very much so.



The first ruler of an united Britain - but only for a short time, 28 Apr 2008
It is for a long time that I have some difficulties forming an opinion abut a book I have finished. Usually latest after the first 100 pages one does like or dislike a book, but here it was difficult. Till the very end I am not sure what to think and even now while writing I am not sure.

After the recent interest in the life of Edward II, his lover and his Queen this interest was bound to spill over to the reign of his father, Edward I. who seem to have been to contemporaries of Edward II the role model for a king. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that young Edward when heir to the throne was quite at odds with his father and rather festering his own nest than thinking of the monarchy as such. His reign turned out to be a rollercoaster. As the reign of Henry III of rather of catastrophic nature, the start of Edwards's reign was well received and things improved. However, that was not to last and in the end - except for a view years - there was constant warfare: Wales, Scotland, and Gascony and even internally. To be honest I never admire the so-called military heroes as war means death, lots of it. Whatever the reason for war are, in the end it is always death. For the first time in history Edward was - even if only for a short period - the first king of an united Britain, but at least Scotland regained its independence. Forced conquest do not last -neither today nor then. Edward managed in overall terms to restore the authority of the monarchy which had badly suffered during his fathers rule. But even here it was an up and down. So one gets quite a good picture of his reign. However, as his reign ended kind on a "high" while the "low" was already approaching, one is left with the unanswered question where the monarchy really stood at the end of his reign. Was it indeed as strong as it seems or was the monarchy actually much weaker than it seemed and therefore being - at least in part - a cause for the turbulent rule of his son, especially with regards to the relationship of monarch and his lords.

But there are more drawbacks: the book is pretty weak on his relationships with his Queens and his family. While stating the well known fact of his love for his first Queen Eleanor there is hardly anything to give us an insight into the royal couple's relationship. Even less is said about his second Queen, the "spoils of a peace treaty" and becoming quickly pregnant. The relationship with his son and heir is even less explored. Often, the aspects like the wars in Wales and Scotland seem to be too detailed (maybe less is more would have been appropriate) and therefore a bit too scholarly for my taste. Furthermore, the chapters are far too long and therefore often not easy to read.

The book is missing the great flow and one is not getting "sucked into this book". While giving one an inside, one does not finish this book feeling that one really got to know this Edward I. I honestly have to say that I could neither develop a "passion" for this book nor the subject. I have read far better biographies.

All in all, it is a quite a mixed bag.


A Great and Terrible King, 13 Mar 2008

Last year the 700th anniversary of the death of Edward I passed largely unnoticed. His father, Henry III's 800th birthday was marked by a two day conference at King's College, London and services in Westminster Abbey. but at least we have a new biography of Edward.

Marc Morris, who has made his name as a skilled TV presenter with his series, Castle, and as a serious academic scholar with his book on the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, takes up the challenge of a new overview of this astonishing king. It is twenty years since Michael Prestwich's magisterial life of Edward I. Can Marc Morris bring any thing new? Well, he uses much of the new research of the last two decades and finds new insights. He is particularly good on the public ceremony and processions that surrounded the King and on his Arthurian enthusiasms. He writes engagingly and has some great one-liners. His page-turning description of the Welsh wars had me gripped even though I well knew the outcome. Morris is just to most of the participants although I fear that, whilst he puts the expulsion of the Jews in its context showing that Edward was in line with, and pandering to, the prejudices of his people, he goes too far to accuse Edward of a pogrom. On the other hand, Morris refuses to react in an anachronistic way to the sack of Berwick. I liked the way that he poses interesting questions. Why did the King and Queen go to Quennington and Down Ampney in the springtime so often and what was he doing in East Anglia in 1285 when he should have been getting ready for negotiations in France? Skilful use of charter witness lists and the king's itinerary prompt such questions. Morris never forgets where the King was.

In the end, this a tragic tale. In early 1306, every thing seemed to going well. The threat of Welsh invasions into the Marches was over and the new, more conciliatory dispensation in Scotland seemed to have resolved the outbreak of enmity between the two peoples. The period of mutual tolerance and good relations when the queens of Scotland were English, might have been re-established. The years of dreadful cross-border savagery would have ben avoided. The last days of the King are told in a moving way. The proud, determined old man struggling to move north, abandoning his litter for a war horse to impress his men, only to fail again and to die within sight of Scotland.

A very readable and thought-provoking book which will be useful and enjoyable to both the academic historian and the wider reading public.

Falls between two stools, 23 Aug 2007
The title of the book is "Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II" and this is its weakness. Either it is supposed to be a biography of Isabella or its a book exporing the death of Edward II, but it fails on both counts. The author covers the death of Edward II less clearly and with less supporting ideas and evidence than Ian Mortimer's two books. Various aspects of Isabella's life are given insufficient attention (for example, her life after Edward III assumed the throne) for this to be a complete biography of Isabella. Finally, her direct involvement in Edward II's "death" is as a minor part rather than as a participant. There are probably better books on this period of history and the relevant people.

Death & Dynastics in Medieval England, 14 Dec 2004
Queen Isabella is best known to history as the She-Wolf of France, while her husband, Edward II, is infamous for his homosexual leanings and the manner of his death - allegedly by a hot poker up the backside. Doherty takes a look at Isabella, Edward, and the events of his reign and puts forward an interesting and plausible theory.

Isabella and Edward are both presented by Doherty as real people and deserving of our sympathy. They had four children together, and the marriage initially seems to have worked well. The relationship began to deteriorate with the elevation of Hugh de Spencer as the King's Favourite. Isabella was sent to France on a diplomatic mission, where she contrived to be joined by her eldest son. She refused to return to England with de Spencer still in power, and her affair with the exiled Marcher Lord, Roger Mortimer became public. Isabella and Mortimer eventually invaded England, deposed Edward II in favour of their son Edward III, decimated the de Spenser family and set themselves up as Regents.

Doherty's analysis of the reasons for Isabella's actions are excellent. He presents the accepted story of Edward II's imprisonment and death, but also puts forward a convincing case for an escape having been affected. Overall a highly readable and interesting book.

Great history on Edward II...BUT..., 11 Oct 2004
The book is very accessible to the scholar and also the ordinary person with an interest in history, weaving the story of all events very clearly and in a flowing manner. All the participants in the main plots are easy to distinguish and don't need constant backturning of pages to keep up with the main events.

However the book's title is somewhat misleading. In all truth Isabella(the title lady) doesn't really appear in the book other than as a background figure ordering various people around, or moving from one residence to another.

The book is fascinating on the subject of the life of Edward II and his dubious death/burial/escape. So in all truth the book should just be titled "The Strange Death Of Edward II", as there really is very poor amounts of information on Isabella or for that matter on Roger Mortimer, the other leading player from the time. Considering the Queen spent most of her "exile" at Castle Rising in Norfolk, that place is only mentioned once...where a look at the accounts and daily life from there would have been fascinating, as well as looking into the not widely known possible legend of Isabella having a heart burial at the village church in Castle Rising.

Having just read a biographical book on Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine this book was a big disappointment in lacking so much information on another formidable Queen...ie:Isabella. If your interest is on the reign of Edward II then you'll love this book, if your interest is on delving into the life of Isabella then you'll be very disappointed.

Well written, but the characters never come to life, 25 Mar 2004
A perfectly good history of the period, events are easy to follow. There is nothing to complain about, but I couldn't give it the full five stars because while Edward II seemed real enough, Isabella seemed more like a cardboard cut out, and Roger Mortimer never made his presence felt. There just seemed to be something missing.

She-Wolf in the spotlight, 21 Mar 2004
Despite her quite unique and somewhat infamous position in British history, I've often thought that Isabella is the 'forgotten' queen of the medieval period, losing out to other, equally remarkable queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret of Anjou. So it's good to see a scholarly and very readable biography of the woman known as the "She Wolf of France".
Queen Isabella's major achievement is that she supervised the first ever deposition of a King of England, her husband Edward II, and then took over the government of the realm for three years until her son, Edward III, reached his majority - and even then, she didn't surrender it willingly!
Although this is not the longest book, Paul Doherty has done a wonderful job in sketching the life and career of this remarkable Queen - it's a real historical page-turner.
And, as a bonus, the book ends with two chapters which read like a medieval mystery, as Doherty unpicks the evidence in search of the truth behind the untimely death of Edward II.

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Revisionist but blinkered, 27 Feb 2005
Gwyn has undertaken the monumental task of revising out opinions of one of the most controversial and often misunderstood characters in English history. On the whole his re-anaylsis is a sucessful, scholarly and persuasive affair, featuring some excellent insight into Wolsey's relationship with the nobility and Henry himself, challenging the faction driven interpretaion currently fashionable with the likes of David Starkey. Having said that one does get the feeling that Gwyn is often so anxious to see Wolsey in the most positive of lights that his interpretation seems somewhat blinkered and onesided, the most obvious example of which is the chapter on the Amicable Grant. However, overall the work represents a valuable and often courageous reinterpretation of an age old charaterisation for which Gwyn deserves full praise.

'Magisterial' indeed, 11 Apr 2003
I think Wolsey was definitely a person whose motives, motivation, etc, may well have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many, both his contemporaries and writers of more recent times. This biography attempts to get behind the scandal, and the ambassador's letters of the times, and really analyse legal, formal documentation, in the context not only of Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, and not only the break with the Catholic Pope, but also in the context of the powerplay within France, and the Empire, and Europe as a whole, and, possibly more importantly, attempts to analyse such things within the framework of the time and the people who lived in that time, not with the viewpoint that we as 'moderns' tend to allow to slant our interpretations of past events.

The interpretations are sometimes controversial and defy what could be considered 'the accepted' view, but they clarify elements of Wolsey's character that I believe have been glossed over by past historians, and open him up to our view as a complex statesman, dedicated church figure, and man of his times.

Building Castles..., 18 Nov 2008
As a lover and student of late medieval and renaissance history, I was hoping that this book would give me a solid knowledge of the events and issues that were to become the foundation of 'Britain'.... and that's exactly what I found!

This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the history of Britain. I have read many 'history' books that assume the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the subject before they begin, but happily this is not the case. All of the events are explained in a full, interesting and (on the whole) entertaining way. As the book is written in a very personal style you really get the feeling of riding alongside Edward for all of his 68 years, however this is no way undermines the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into writing it.

Most of us know of Robert Bruce, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort and have heard about the 'confiscation' of the Stone of Scone, and the origins of the Prince of Wales title, but this book explains the 'whys', 'hows' and 'whens' that makes history real.

If I had one complaint, (and it's so small that the book still gets Five stars), it's that you get the feeling that Marc Morris is sometimes over-justifying Edwards decisions. Yes, the things he did were not always 'PC' but, and as Mr Morris does quantify at the end of the book, he was a bigotted king in a bigotted time.

That aside, this is a great book for the serious student, the history lover and anyone else that enjoys expanding their knowledge of such an important time in history.

A Great and Terrible King: Edward 1 and the Forging of Britain, 13 Jun 2008
For the person like myself with a sketchy knowledge of medieval Britain and her Kings this excellent book filled a lot of gaps especially the chapters dealing with Wales

Edwards Legacy, 02 May 2008
As a long term student of Edward 1st, I have to say I found this a superb, and highly readable account, of an era, and a king who continues to exert a profound, and I would go as far to say, malign influence, on the four corners of the U.K. Unlike the previous biography by Michael Prestwich, this is not a biography aimed at an academic audience, more it is aimed at a general audience who have an interest in the subject.

To 21 century sensibilties with our focus on human rights, the casual and bloody brutality, not to mention anti semitism, comes as a shock. One can only imagine the reaction, of the son of Simon de Montfort, arriving late at the battle of Evesham, to see his fathers head being paraded around the battlefield, on the end of a spear, or the way in which the author describes the execution of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. ( In truth the last true Prince of Wales) to see that life in 13/14 c England was nasty, brutal and short.

More shocking still is Edward's treatment of the Jews. From taxing them out of existence, to fund the Crusades, and the Welsh wars, until their final explusion in 1290, the story is one of increasing attempts to hound the Jewish community out of public life, often with the tacit if not unconditional backing of the papacy.

This is a highly readable and very well illustrated account of an era, whose consequences, are still being felt across the four nations of the U.K. Does history resonate down the ages? Yes very much so.



The first ruler of an united Britain - but only for a short time, 28 Apr 2008
It is for a long time that I have some difficulties forming an opinion abut a book I have finished. Usually latest after the first 100 pages one does like or dislike a book, but here it was difficult. Till the very end I am not sure what to think and even now while writing I am not sure.

After the recent interest in the life of Edward II, his lover and his Queen this interest was bound to spill over to the reign of his father, Edward I. who seem to have been to contemporaries of Edward II the role model for a king. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that young Edward when heir to the throne was quite at odds with his father and rather festering his own nest than thinking of the monarchy as such. His reign turned out to be a rollercoaster. As the reign of Henry III of rather of catastrophic nature, the start of Edwards's reign was well received and things improved. However, that was not to last and in the end - except for a view years - there was constant warfare: Wales, Scotland, and Gascony and even internally. To be honest I never admire the so-called military heroes as war means death, lots of it. Whatever the reason for war are, in the end it is always death. For the first time in history Edward was - even if only for a short period - the first king of an united Britain, but at least Scotland regained its independence. Forced conquest do not last -neither today nor then. Edward managed in overall terms to restore the authority of the monarchy which had badly suffered during his fathers rule. But even here it was an up and down. So one gets quite a good picture of his reign. However, as his reign ended kind on a "high" while the "low" was already approaching, one is left with the unanswered question where the monarchy really stood at the end of his reign. Was it indeed as strong as it seems or was the monarchy actually much weaker than it seemed and therefore being - at least in part - a cause for the turbulent rule of his son, especially with regards to the relationship of monarch and his lords.

But there are more drawbacks: the book is pretty weak on his relationships with his Queens and his family. While stating the well known fact of his love for his first Queen Eleanor there is hardly anything to give us an insight into the royal couple's relationship. Even less is said about his second Queen, the "spoils of a peace treaty" and becoming quickly pregnant. The relationship with his son and heir is even less explored. Often, the aspects like the wars in Wales and Scotland seem to be too detailed (maybe less is more would have been appropriate) and therefore a bit too scholarly for my taste. Furthermore, the chapters are far too long and therefore often not easy to read.

The book is missing the great flow and one is not getting "sucked into this book". While giving one an inside, one does not finish this book feeling that one really got to know this Edward I. I honestly have to say that I could neither develop a "passion" for this book nor the subject. I have read far better biographies.

All in all, it is a quite a mixed bag.


A Great and Terrible King, 13 Mar 2008

Last year the 700th anniversary of the death of Edward I passed largely unnoticed. His father, Henry III's 800th birthday was marked by a two day conference at King's College, London and services in Westminster Abbey. but at least we have a new biography of Edward.

Marc Morris, who has made his name as a skilled TV presenter with his series, Castle, and as a serious academic scholar with his book on the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, takes up the challenge of a new overview of this astonishing king. It is twenty years since Michael Prestwich's magisterial life of Edward I. Can Marc Morris bring any thing new? Well, he uses much of the new research of the last two decades and finds new insights. He is particularly good on the public ceremony and processions that surrounded the King and on his Arthurian enthusiasms. He writes engagingly and has some great one-liners. His page-turning description of the Welsh wars had me gripped even though I well knew the outcome. Morris is just to most of the participants although I fear that, whilst he puts the expulsion of the Jews in its context showing that Edward was in line with, and pandering to, the prejudices of his people, he goes too far to accuse Edward of a pogrom. On the other hand, Morris refuses to react in an anachronistic way to the sack of Berwick. I liked the way that he poses interesting questions. Why did the King and Queen go to Quennington and Down Ampney in the springtime so often and what was he doing in East Anglia in 1285 when he should have been getting ready for negotiations in France? Skilful use of charter witness lists and the king's itinerary prompt such questions. Morris never forgets where the King was.

In the end, this a tragic tale. In early 1306, every thing seemed to going well. The threat of Welsh invasions into the Marches was over and the new, more conciliatory dispensation in Scotland seemed to have resolved the outbreak of enmity between the two peoples. The period of mutual tolerance and good relations when the queens of Scotland were English, might have been re-established. The years of dreadful cross-border savagery would have ben avoided. The last days of the King are told in a moving way. The proud, determined old man struggling to move north, abandoning his litter for a war horse to impress his men, only to fail again and to die within sight of Scotland.

A very readable and thought-provoking book which will be useful and enjoyable to both the academic historian and the wider reading public.

Falls between two stools, 23 Aug 2007
The title of the book is "Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II" and this is its weakness. Either it is supposed to be a biography of Isabella or its a book exporing the death of Edward II, but it fails on both counts. The author covers the death of Edward II less clearly and with less supporting ideas and evidence than Ian Mortimer's two books. Various aspects of Isabella's life are given insufficient attention (for example, her life after Edward III assumed the throne) for this to be a complete biography of Isabella. Finally, her direct involvement in Edward II's "death" is as a minor part rather than as a participant. There are probably better books on this period of history and the relevant people.

Death & Dynastics in Medieval England, 14 Dec 2004
Queen Isabella is best known to history as the She-Wolf of France, while her husband, Edward II, is infamous for his homosexual leanings and the manner of his death - allegedly by a hot poker up the backside. Doherty takes a look at Isabella, Edward, and the events of his reign and puts forward an interesting and plausible theory.

Isabella and Edward are both presented by Doherty as real people and deserving of our sympathy. They had four children together, and the marriage initially seems to have worked well. The relationship began to deteriorate with the elevation of Hugh de Spencer as the King's Favourite. Isabella was sent to France on a diplomatic mission, where she contrived to be joined by her eldest son. She refused to return to England with de Spencer still in power, and her affair with the exiled Marcher Lord, Roger Mortimer became public. Isabella and Mortimer eventually invaded England, deposed Edward II in favour of their son Edward III, decimated the de Spenser family and set themselves up as Regents.

Doherty's analysis of the reasons for Isabella's actions are excellent. He presents the accepted story of Edward II's imprisonment and death, but also puts forward a convincing case for an escape having been affected. Overall a highly readable and interesting book.

Great history on Edward II...BUT..., 11 Oct 2004
The book is very accessible to the scholar and also the ordinary person with an interest in history, weaving the story of all events very clearly and in a flowing manner. All the participants in the main plots are easy to distinguish and don't need constant backturning of pages to keep up with the main events.

However the book's title is somewhat misleading. In all truth Isabella(the title lady) doesn't really appear in the book other than as a background figure ordering various people around, or moving from one residence to another.

The book is fascinating on the subject of the life of Edward II and his dubious death/burial/escape. So in all truth the book should just be titled "The Strange Death Of Edward II", as there really is very poor amounts of information on Isabella or for that matter on Roger Mortimer, the other leading player from the time. Considering the Queen spent most of her "exile" at Castle Rising in Norfolk, that place is only mentioned once...where a look at the accounts and daily life from there would have been fascinating, as well as looking into the not widely known possible legend of Isabella having a heart burial at the village church in Castle Rising.

Having just read a biographical book on Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine this book was a big disappointment in lacking so much information on another formidable Queen...ie:Isabella. If your interest is on the reign of Edward II then you'll love this book, if your interest is on delving into the life of Isabella then you'll be very disappointed.

Well written, but the characters never come to life, 25 Mar 2004
A perfectly good history of the period, events are easy to follow. There is nothing to complain about, but I couldn't give it the full five stars because while Edward II seemed real enough, Isabella seemed more like a cardboard cut out, and Roger Mortimer never made his presence felt. There just seemed to be something missing.

She-Wolf in the spotlight, 21 Mar 2004
Despite her quite unique and somewhat infamous position in British history, I've often thought that Isabella is the 'forgotten' queen of the medieval period, losing out to other, equally remarkable queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret of Anjou. So it's good to see a scholarly and very readable biography of the woman known as the "She Wolf of France".
Queen Isabella's major achievement is that she supervised the first ever deposition of a King of England, her husband Edward II, and then took over the government of the realm for three years until her son, Edward III, reached his majority - and even then, she didn't surrender it willingly!
Although this is not the longest book, Paul Doherty has done a wonderful job in sketching the life and career of this remarkable Queen - it's a real historical page-turner.
And, as a bonus, the book ends with two chapters which read like a medieval mystery, as Doherty unpicks the evidence in search of the truth behind the untimely death of Edward II.

The best renaissance literature study I have read, 24 Jun 2008
Hardly the sort of title you would imagine to be gripping reading. But it is! Hebron has achieved wonders. A readable, informative work for anyone with an interest in the subject. Or maybe it might even make you interested?

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A book to be recommended




A Masterful Biography, 13 Oct 2006
A great piece of narrative history, well written, easy to follow and very informative. An invaluable source for students of the period and although a little dated, (first published 1973) still a great read.



An excelent and readable biography of the first Angevin king, 11 Jun 2001
W.L. Warren, who has also written about King John and Richard, writes with a lively style that often makes one forget that Henry II is a scholarly book of History. Anexcellent resourse for those interested in the formation of the Plantagenet dominions (commonly called the Angevin Empire).

Revisionist but blinkered, 27 Feb 2005
Gwyn has undertaken the monumental task of revising out opinions of one of the most controversial and often misunderstood characters in English history. On the whole his re-anaylsis is a sucessful, scholarly and persuasive affair, featuring some excellent insight into Wolsey's relationship with the nobility and Henry himself, challenging the faction driven interpretaion currently fashionable with the likes of David Starkey. Having said that one does get the feeling that Gwyn is often so anxious to see Wolsey in the most positive of lights that his interpretation seems somewhat blinkered and onesided, the most obvious example of which is the chapter on the Amicable Grant. However, overall the work represents a valuable and often courageous reinterpretation of an age old charaterisation for which Gwyn deserves full praise.

'Magisterial' indeed, 11 Apr 2003
I think Wolsey was definitely a person whose motives, motivation, etc, may well have been misunderstood or misinterpreted by many, both his contemporaries and writers of more recent times. This biography attempts to get behind the scandal, and the ambassador's letters of the times, and really analyse legal, formal documentation, in the context not only of Henry's divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn, and not only the break with the Catholic Pope, but also in the context of the powerplay within France, and the Empire, and Europe as a whole, and, possibly more importantly, attempts to analyse such things within the framework of the time and the people who lived in that time, not with the viewpoint that we as 'moderns' tend to allow to slant our interpretations of past events.

The interpretations are sometimes controversial and defy what could be considered 'the accepted' view, but they clarify elements of Wolsey's character that I believe have been glossed over by past historians, and open him up to our view as a complex statesman, dedicated church figure, and man of his times.

Building Castles..., 18 Nov 2008
As a lover and student of late medieval and renaissance history, I was hoping that this book would give me a solid knowledge of the events and issues that were to become the foundation of 'Britain'.... and that's exactly what I found!

This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the history of Britain. I have read many 'history' books that assume the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the subject before they begin, but happily this is not the case. All of the events are explained in a full, interesting and (on the whole) entertaining way. As the book is written in a very personal style you really get the feeling of riding alongside Edward for all of his 68 years, however this is no way undermines the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into writing it.

Most of us know of Robert Bruce, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort and have heard about the 'confiscation' of the Stone of Scone, and the origins of the Prince of Wales title, but this book explains the 'whys', 'hows' and 'whens' that makes history real.

If I had one complaint, (and it's so small that the book still gets Five stars), it's that you get the feeling that Marc Morris is sometimes over-justifying Edwards decisions. Yes, the things he did were not always 'PC' but, and as Mr Morris does quantify at the end of the book, he was a bigotted king in a bigotted time.

That aside, this is a great book for the serious student, the history lover and anyone else that enjoys expanding their knowledge of such an important time in history.

A Great and Terrible King: Edward 1 and the Forging of Britain, 13 Jun 2008
For the person like myself with a sketchy knowledge of medieval Britain and her Kings this excellent book filled a lot of gaps especially the chapters dealing with Wales

Edwards Legacy, 02 May 2008
As a long term student of Edward 1st, I have to say I found this a superb, and highly readable account, of an era, and a king who continues to exert a profound, and I would go as far to say, malign influence, on the four corners of the U.K. Unlike the previous biography by Michael Prestwich, this is not a biography aimed at an academic audience, more it is aimed at a general audience who have an interest in the subject.

To 21 century sensibilties with our focus on human rights, the casual and bloody brutality, not to mention anti semitism, comes as a shock. One can only imagine the reaction, of the son of Simon de Montfort, arriving late at the battle of Evesham, to see his fathers head being paraded around the battlefield, on the end of a spear, or the way in which the author describes the execution of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. ( In truth the last true Prince of Wales) to see that life in 13/14 c England was nasty, brutal and short.

More shocking still is Edward's treatment of the Jews. From taxing them out of existence, to fund the Crusades, and the Welsh wars, until their final explusion in 1290, the story is one of increasing attempts to hound the Jewish community out of public life, often with the tacit if not unconditional backing of the papacy.

This is a highly readable and very well illustrated account of an era, whose consequences, are still being felt across the four nations of the U.K. Does history resonate down the ages? Yes very much so.



The first ruler of an united Britain - but only for a short time, 28 Apr 2008
It is for a long time that I have some difficulties forming an opinion abut a book I have finished. Usually latest after the first 100 pages one does like or dislike a book, but here it was difficult. Till the very end I am not sure what to think and even now while writing I am not sure.

After the recent interest in the life of Edward II, his lover and his Queen this interest was bound to spill over to the reign of his father, Edward I. who seem to have been to contemporaries of Edward II the role model for a king. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that young Edward when heir to the throne was quite at odds with his father and rather festering his own nest than thinking of the monarchy as such. His reign turned out to be a rollercoaster. As the reign of Henry III of rather of catastrophic nature, the start of Edwards's reign was well received and things improved. However, that was not to last and in the end - except for a view years - there was constant warfare: Wales, Scotland, and Gascony and even internally. To be honest I never admire the so-called military heroes as war means death, lots of it. Whatever the reason for war are, in the end it is always death. For the first time in history Edward was - even if only for a short period - the first king of an united Britain, but at least Scotland regained its independence. Forced conquest do not last -neither today nor then. Edward managed in overall terms to restore the authority of the monarchy which had badly suffered during his fathers rule. But even here it was an up and down. So one gets quite a good picture of his reign. However, as his reign ended kind on a "high" while the "low" was already approaching, one is left with the unanswered question where the monarchy really stood at the end of his reign. Was it indeed as strong as it seems or was the monarchy actually much weaker than it seemed and therefore being - at least in part - a cause for the turbulent rule of his son, especially with regards to the relationship of monarch and his lords.

But there are more drawbacks: the book is pretty weak on his relationships with his Queens and his family. While stating the well known fact of his love for his first Queen Eleanor there is hardly anything to give us an insight into the royal couple's relationship. Even less is said about his second Queen, the "spoils of a peace treaty" and becoming quickly pregnant. The relationship with his son and heir is even less explored. Often, the aspects like the wars in Wales and Scotland seem to be too detailed (maybe less is more would have been appropriate) and therefore a bit too scholarly for my taste. Furthermore, the chapters are far too long and therefore often not easy to read.

The book is missing the great flow and one is not getting "sucked into this book". While giving one an inside, one does not finish this book feeling that one really got to know this Edward I. I honestly have to say that I could neither develop a "passion" for this book nor the subject. I have read far better biographies.

All in all, it is a quite a mixed bag.


A Great and Terrible King, 13 Mar 2008

Last year the 700th anniversary of the death of Edward I passed largely unnoticed. His father, Henry III's 800th birthday was marked by a two day conference at King's College, London and services in Westminster Abbey. but at least we have a new biography of Edward.

Marc Morris, who has made his name as a skilled TV presenter with his series, Castle, and as a serious academic scholar with his book on the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, takes up the challenge of a new overview of this astonishing king. It is twenty years since Michael Prestwich's magisterial life of Edward I. Can Marc Morris bring any thing new? Well, he uses much of the new research of the last two decades and finds new insights. He is particularly good on the public ceremony and processions that surrounded the King and on his Arthurian enthusiasms. He writes engagingly and has some great one-liners. His page-turning description of the Welsh wars had me gripped even though I well knew the outcome. Morris is just to most of the participants although I fear that, whilst he puts the expulsion of the Jews in its context showing that Edward was in line with, and pandering to, the prejudices of his people, he goes too far to accuse Edward of a pogrom. On the other hand, Morris refuses to react in an anachronistic way to the sack of Berwick. I liked the way that he poses interesting questions. Why did the King and Queen go to Quennington and Down Ampney in the springtime so often and what was he doing in East Anglia in 1285 when he should have been getting ready for negotiations in France? Skilful use of charter witness lists and the king's itinerary prompt such questions. Morris never forgets where the King was.

In the end, this a tragic tale. In early 1306, every thing seemed to going well. The threat of Welsh invasions into the Marches was over and the new, more conciliatory dispensation in Scotland seemed to have resolved the outbreak of enmity between the two peoples. The period of mutual tolerance and good relations when the queens of Scotland were English, might have been re-established. The years of dreadful cross-border savagery would have ben avoided. The last days of the King are told in a moving way. The proud, determined old man struggling to move north, abandoning his litter for a war horse to impress his men, only to fail again and to die within sight of Scotland.

A very readable and thought-provoking book which will be useful and enjoyable to both the academic historian and the wider reading public.

Falls between two stools, 23 Aug 2007
The title of the book is "Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II" and this is its weakness. Either it is supposed to be a biography of Isabella or its a book exporing the death of Edward II, but it fails on both counts. The author covers the death of Edward II less clearly and with less supporting ideas and evidence than Ian Mortimer's two books. Various aspects of Isabella's life are given insufficient attention (for example, her life after Edward III assumed the throne) for this to be a complete biography of Isabella. Finally, her direct involvement in Edward II's "death" is as a minor part rather than as a participant. There are probably better books on this period of history and the relevant people.

Death & Dynastics in Medieval England, 14 Dec 2004
Queen Isabella is best known to history as the She-Wolf of France, while her husband, Edward II, is infamous for his homosexual leanings and the manner of his death - allegedly by a hot poker up the backside. Doherty takes a look at Isabella, Edward, and the events of his reign and puts forward an interesting and plausible theory.

Isabella and Edward are both presented by Doherty as real people and deserving of our sympathy. They had four children together, and the marriage initially seems to have worked well. The relationship began to deteriorate with the elevation of Hugh de Spencer as the King's Favourite. Isabella was sent to France on a diplomatic mission, where she contrived to be joined by her eldest son. She refused to return to England with de Spencer still in power, and her affair with the exiled Marcher Lord, Roger Mortimer became public. Isabella and Mortimer eventually invaded England, deposed Edward II in favour of their son Edward III, decimated the de Spenser family and set themselves up as Regents.

Doherty's analysis of the reasons for Isabella's actions are excellent. He presents the accepted story of Edward II's imprisonment and death, but also puts forward a convincing case for an escape having been affected. Overall a highly readable and interesting book.

Great history on Edward II...BUT..., 11 Oct 2004
The book is very accessible to the scholar and also the ordinary person with an interest in history, weaving the story of all events very clearly and in a flowing manner. All the participants in the main plots are easy to distinguish and don't need constant backturning of pages to keep up with the main events.

However the book's title is somewhat misleading. In all truth Isabella(the title lady) doesn't really appear in the book other than as a background figure ordering various people around, or moving from one residence to another.

The book is fascinating on the subject of the life of Edward II and his dubious death/burial/escape. So in all truth the book should just be titled "The Strange Death Of Edward II", as there really is very poor amounts of information on Isabella or for that matter on Roger Mortimer, the other leading player from the time. Considering the Queen spent most of her "exile" at Castle Rising in Norfolk, that place is only mentioned once...where a look at the accounts and daily life from there would have been fascinating, as well as looking into the not widely known possible legend of Isabella having a heart burial at the village church in Castle Rising.

Having just read a biographical book on Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine this book was a big disappointment in lacking so much information on another formidable Queen...ie:Isabella. If your interest is on the reign of Edward II then you'll love this book, if your interest is on delving into the life of Isabella then you'll be very disappointed.

Well written, but the characters never come to life, 25 Mar 2004
A perfectly good history of the period, events are easy to follow. There is nothing to complain about, but I couldn't give it the full five stars because while Edward II seemed real enough, Isabella seemed more like a cardboard cut out, and Roger Mortimer never made his presence felt. There just seemed to be something missing.

She-Wolf in the spotlight, 21 Mar 2004
Despite her quite unique and somewhat infamous position in British history, I've often thought that Isabella is the 'forgotten' queen of the medieval period, losing out to other, equally remarkable queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Margaret of Anjou. So it's good to see a scholarly and very readable biography of the woman known as the "She Wolf of France".
Queen Isabella's major achievement is that she supervised the first ever deposition of a King of England, her husband Edward II, and then took over the government of the realm for three years until her son, Edward III, reached his majority - and even then, she didn't surrender it willingly!
Although this is not the longest book, Paul Doherty has done a wonderful job in sketching the life and career of this remarkable Queen - it's a real historical page-turner.
And, as a bonus, the book ends with two chapters which read like a medieval mystery, as Doherty unpicks the evidence in search of the truth behind the untimely death of Edward II.

The best renaissance literature study I have read, 24 Jun 2008
Hardly the sort of title you would imagine to be gripping reading. But it is! Hebron has achieved wonders. A readable, informative work for anyone with an interest in the subject. Or maybe it might even make you interested?

Riddle...What Riddle ?, 01 Oct 2008
This book falls rather heavily between two stools, it isn't an incident packed travel book, a la Redmond O'Hanlon, where the author encounters memorable characters in a modern day recreation of Sir John's famous journey; Nor is it a straight history book, investigating Mandeville's life and works.

Either of these approaches would have been quite legitimate but Milton never seems to decide what kind of book he is writing.

For me, the parts of the book, mainly at its end, where Giles Milton discusses the literary and cultural influence of his subject are the most interesting. Perhaps more of this, and a more detailed study of Sir John's writings, could have replaced some of the rather aimless wanderings in Sir John's footsteps.

It is never made clear what "Riddle" is referred to in the title of the book, but it is safe to say it is not solved by the author.

Poorest Of Milton, 09 Jan 2007
Like many of you, my adoration of the novels of Giles Milton started with 'Big Chief Elizabeth' and then through his better known books, and you don't need me to describe their brilliance here. So it was a bought this book, and found it a world away from the others.
The problem is, you are expecting a ripping yarn, but all this book tells of is the authors own quest in search of John Mandeville, and his own researches into the subject. It is almost a diary of his own investigations into the subject. It would be a shame if readers stumbled upon this book first, and be put off Milton for life.
At least there is one good thing to come out of it, his subsequent writing was so much superior, as he learnt from his poor approach in this book. Don't be disheartened if this is the first Milton book you come across, I guarantee any of the others will be enjoyable.

dreadful, 22 Mar 2006
After enjoying Giles Miltons' other books, I was eager to begin reading The Riddle of the Knight. The book was very dissapointing. It is nothing more than travel writing around a subject that appears very woolly. He painfully draws the reader to a conclusion that was guessed at the first chapter. Don't buy it.

The Riddle and the Knight - well worth a read, 08 Jul 2005
I don't understand why some people rate this book a poor read compared to his other books, which are excellent. It is different, since much of it is written in the first person. However, this allows us to follow the writer during his research, which is all to the good. Don't be put off !

Blockbuster of a read, 30 Jun 2004
I was absolutely entranced by Milton's story of his travels in search of Sir John Mandeville, and found his accounts of the places as they are today - eg Jerusalem, Damascus, Sinai - enthralling.
Although trying to find evidence of the intrepid medieval knight is interesting, I think it matters not at all whether Mandeville actually completed the journey he related. It's fun simply to read about Milton's impressions of the same places in the present era and his interactions with the locals.

Henry II: dysfunctional, and effective, 16 Sep 2008
"From the devil they came. To the devil they shall return." Abbé Bernard of Clairvaux (later Saint Bernard) pronounced that uncharitable verdict on the Angevin line. Legend has Bernard voicing his opinion after taking one look at the infant Henry of Anjou, child of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou and his consort, the Empress Matilda.

Nothing deterred, the infant Henry grew to inherit Anjou, as its count (1151). Then came his conquests by might or marriage: Normandy, Aquitaine and Poitou, before claiming England as King Henry II (1154-1189). After 1154, Henry II and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ruled a swathe of land stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, the Angevin Empire.

Perhaps Abbé Bernard was guided in his prognostication by the legend that the House of Anjou descended from the fairy Melusine, a malevolent sprite. There is no question that male members of the family, including Henry, were subject to incendiary fits of rage, one of which sent Eleanor into exile until Henry's death. People attached to the courts of alpha-male Angevins, especially Henry, could expect a turbulent life.

Henry II's place in history is burdened by bad headlines and his sometimes flawed judgment. Appointing his friend Chancellor Thomas Becket to be archbishop of Canterbury was an error from the start. ("Was it because you held him in too much liking, or in too slight respect?" Eleanor asks, elsewhere.) Becket's murder might have proved fatal to Henry's reputation had Henry not been blessed with twin powers of recovery: amazing decisiveness and speed of action. Then there were the extraordinary rebellions against their father by Henry's sons, conflagrations fanned, perhaps, by Eleanor, and again, perhaps on account of Henry's ceaseless whoring.

I write this pointed preamble to stress that W.L. Warren has not been misled by Henry's lurid press. Warren is even-handed, recognizing, and giving credit to, Henry's tireless labors in restoring an England ruined by nineteen years of civil war. Henry was a capable administrator and a fair-minded man. Henry, with Becket, established county courts in England and unified a code of laws to be evenly applied by competent judges. Henry was responsible for legislating 12-man juries (adopting the unit of commerce, the dozen), and employing juries in civil cases (Clarendon, 1166; Northampton, 1176). Henry's attention to property rights and contract law gave England a commercial edge that soon manifest itself in the growth and rising prosperity of new and expanding towns.

In short, W.L. Warren has captured Henry II to the life, the man and his reign, warts, triumphs and all. Warren's "Henry II" not only brings us the man as a whole: his "Henry II" is entertaining to read.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman: Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

A powerful, compulsively readable portrait, 04 Mar 2007
The English Monarchs series has brought the highest standards of historical scholarship to the wide audience. Leading historians scrutinize the lives of the kings and queens of England and explore the cumulative impact of the longest permanent governing institution in Europe.

This outstanding biography is a revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages. Much learning, skillfully deployed as here, evokes pleasure as well as admiration.

A