The Brothers York
An English Tragedy
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, DAILY MAIL, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE
'A gripping, complex and sensational story ... With insight and skill, Penn cuts through the thickets of history to find the heart of these heartless decades' Hilary Mantel
The gripping new history by the author of the acclaimed bestseller Winter King
It is 1461 and England is crippled by civil war. One freezing morning, a teenage boy wins a battle in the Welsh marches, and claims the crown. He is Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York...
Thomas Penn's brilliant new telling of the wars of the roses takes us inside a conflict that fractured the nation for more than three decades. During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers - Edward, George and Richard - who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible..
But with Edward's ascendancy the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor.
The story of a warring family unable to sustain its influence and power, The Brothers York brings to life a dynasty that could have been as magnificent as the Tudors. Its tragedy was that, in the space of one generation, it destroyed itself.
'The Brothers York is savage, exciting, blisteringly good' Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors
'An epic orgy of colour and character' Leanda de Lisle, The Times
'Thrilling, pacy ... Brings a novelist's verve to his telling of events' John Gallagher, The Guardian
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Medieval historian Penn (Winter King) delivers a panoramic chronicle of the rise and fall of the House of York in 15th-century England. From the dubious enthronement of Edward IV in 1461 to the killing of his younger brother, Richard III, by Henry Tudor's forces in 1485, Penn recreates the jousting tournaments, battlefield clashes, and ever-shifting political alliances of the era, adding texture and color to the historical record. Though the York brothers magnetic Edward, who crushed the rival house of Lancaster at the Battle of Towton; treasonous George, " simmering stew of self-entitlement and personal inadequacy," who was executed on his older brother's orders; and cunning Richard, who quietly accreted power in the background before sending his nephews to the Tower of London and seizing the throne following Edward's death in 1483 take center stage, Penn also draws distinctive portraits of their allies and rivals, including "ruthless" Richard Neville, earl of Warwick; Henry VI's indefatigable wife, Margaret of Anjou; and French monarch Louis XI. Though a bit baggy, this rigorous and richly detailed account breathes new life into the Wars of the Roses. Medieval history buffs and fans of Shakespeare's Richard III will be rewarded.
