The Plantagenets
The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England
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4.2 • 325 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestseller, from the author of Powers and Thrones, that tells the story of Britain’s greatest and worst dynasty—“a real-life Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)
The first Plantagenet kings inherited a blood-soaked realm from the Normans and transformed it into an empire that stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic narrative history of courage, treachery, ambition, and deception, Dan Jones resurrects the unruly royal dynasty that preceded the Tudors. They produced England’s best and worst kings: Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, twice a queen and the most famous woman in Christendom; their son Richard the Lionheart, who fought Saladin in the Third Crusade; and his conniving brother King John, who was forced to grant his people new rights under the Magna Carta, the basis for our own bill of rights. Combining the latest academic research with a gift for storytelling, Jones vividly recreates the great battles of Bannockburn, Crécy, and Sluys and reveals how the maligned kings Edward II and Richard II met their downfalls. This is the era of chivalry and the Black Death, the Knights Templar, the founding of parliament, and the Hundred Years’ War, when England’s national identity was forged by the sword.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Although less famous than their Tudor cousins, the "unnaturally cruel" and powerful Plantagenets were the longest-reigning English royal dynasty, ruling for more than two centuries, from Henry II's ascendance in 1154 after a violent civil war to Richard II's deposition at the hands of his cousin Henry Bolingbroke in 1399. The great-grandson of William the Conqueror, Henry II cunning, dynamic, and "a great legalist" ruled over England and great swaths of France, but was labeled a "pariah" for his involvement in Archbishop Thomas Becket's murder and was betrayed by his redoubtable wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their sons. One of the dynasty's worst kings was Henry II's youngest son, John "weak, indecisive, and mean-spirited" who killed his nephew, a hapless prisoner, with his own hands in a drunken rage, lost Normandy to France, and was forced to guarantee his barons' rights through the Magna Carta. By contrast, John's great-great-grandson, Edward III, considered the greatest Plantagenet, was a new Arthur who "bonded England's aristocracy together in the common purpose of war," revived the knight's code of chivalry, and ushered in English as the accepted language. Blood-soaked medieval England springs to vivid life in Jones's (Summer of Blood) highly readable, authoritative, and assertive history already a #1 bestseller in the U.K. 6 maps.
Customer Reviews
The real Game of Thrones
This is a masterful chronicle of one of England’s most influential dynasties, spanning from the White Ship to the first Lancaster King. As someone who deeply appreciates historical narratives, I found this book to be exceptional and informative although as a non english speaker from time to time the book uses very complicated words which can be challenging but despite this the richness of the content make it a rewarding read.
Dan has provided beautiful and detailed insights into the lives and reigns of the Plantagenet kings and queens.
Each chapter is rich in history, offering thorough explanations that bring the complexities of medieval politics very close to the reader. The depth of research and the clarity of storytelling stand out, painting vivid pictures of the significant events and personalities that shaped this era.
It’s a dynamic narrative full of political intrigue, inner and outer wars, treason and unexpected turn of events.
Of course I tottally recommend this book to anyone who loves history!
Constitution
This reading helped me to understand the growth and development of British constitutional history. As an American reader I know that my country's history is a part of this tradition.
Historical Page-Turner
Dan Jones’ The Plantagenets transforms soporific classroom fodder into a vibrant and compelling narrative. Contemporary sources paint a vivid picture of a sophisticated and turbulent period, with the ebb and flow of triumph and tragedy framed by the human foibles that drove them. Compelling reading.