The Eagle and the Hart
The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV
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- ¥1,400
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THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
The author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back again
*LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2025*
*THE TELEGRAPH'S BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024*
'A glorious work of history... a gripping and haunting tragedy... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut' - Tom Holland, The Spectator
'A dazzling tour de force of epic royal history: a compulsive, unputdownable real-life thriller, a gripping portrait of ruthless power politics, and a study of British tyranny... written with the delicacy and elegance of one of Britain’s most brilliant historians at the top of her game' - Simon Sebag-Montefiore
'If ever a book of history was blessed with contemporary relevance, this one is. The dumbfounding, delusional, narcissistic King Richard; the white-knuckle ride of Henry IV, dogged all the way by notions of illegitimacy. I feel these men could have been ripped from today’s headlines. The book’s great achievement is in the storytelling — the unfolding drama, the secrets of power and ambition so beautifully controlled in the telling. The Eagle and the Hart will be a non-fiction book of the year and will deserve the ovations it is certain to receive. When history is this gripping there’s nothing like it' - Andrew O'Hagan
Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. Their lives were from the beginning entwined. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king.
Yet, as the animals on their heraldic badges showed, they grew up to be opposites: Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Henry had all the qualities Richard lacked, all the qualities a sovereign needed, bar one: birth right. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. When he banished Henry into exile, the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper.
Helen Castor tells this story of one of the strangest and most fateful relationships in English history. It is a story about power, and masculinity in crisis, and a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe. At its heart, it is the story of two men whose lives were played out in extraordinary parallel, to devastating effect.
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The divine right of kings squares off against pragmatic politicking in this labyrinthine dual biography. Historian Castor (Joan of Arc) recaps the fraught relationship between Richard II, who ruled England from 1377 to 1399, and his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, who overthrew Richard and took the throne as Henry IV. Richard's reign is a study in foolish autocracy, in Castor's telling: he spent extravagantly on his court and on numerous failed military expeditions, and when Parliament balked at paying for it all, he took it as an affront to his sacred royal prerogative. (He had member of Parliament condemned to death just for recommending cost-cutting measures.) Henry sometimes supported and sometimes opposed Richard's increasingly bloody rule and claims of unlimited power, but after the king exiled him, he rallied England to depose and ultimately kill Richard. Henry's triumph soon soured as he, like Richard, faced wars abroad, internal rebellions, and endless squabbling with Parliament, but unlike Richard, Castor contends, Henry responded to challenges with compromise and conciliation. Castor turns the chaos of medieval politics, with its kaleidoscope of personal loyalties, into a lucid narrative set in a colorful panorama of chivalric tournaments and outlandish fashions. (Henry had an outfit made of 12,000 squirrel pelts, Castor reports.) The result is a captivating portrait of a tumultuous age when modern political sensibilities started to disrupt ancient ruling philosophies.
