Plantagenets

Eight generations of the greatest and worst kings and queens that this country has ever seen – from the White Ship to the Lionheart, bad King John to the Black Prince and John of Gaunt – this is the dynasty that invented England as we still know it today – great history to appeal to readers of Ken Follet, Bernard Cornwell, Tom Holland

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.

A complete account of the rulers and politics of the Plantagenet reign.

'The Hollow Crown is exhilarating, epic, blood-and-roses history . . . Jones's material is thrilling . . . There is fine scholarly intuition on display here and a mastery of the grand narrative; it is a supremely skilful piece of storytelling.' Sunday Telegraph The fifteenth century saw the crown of England change hands seven times as the great families of England fought to the death for power, majesty and the right to rule. The Hollow Crown completes Dan Jones' epic history of medieval England, and describes how the Plantagenets tore themselves apart to be finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in British history were thrown together in these turbulent times: Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt and prudent rule at home marked the high point of the medieval monarchy; Edward IV, who was handed his crown by the scheming soldier Warwick the Kingmaker, before their alliance collapsed into a fight to the death; and the last Plantagenet, Richard III, who stole the throne and murdered his own nephews, the Princes in the Tower. Finally, the Tudors arrived - but even their rule was only made certain in the 1520s, when Henry VIII ruthlessly hunted down his family's last remaining enemies. In the midst this tumult, chivalry was reborn, the printing press arrived and the Renaissance began to flourish. With vivid descriptions of the battle of Towton, where 28,000 men died in a single morning, and the Battle of Bosworth Field, at which Richard III was hacked down, this is the real story behind Shakespeare's famous history plays.

Plantagenet is the name given to the English royal house descended from the union of Queen Matilda of England and her second husband Geoffrey of Anjou. The name derived from Geoffrey's nickname, which came from the sprig of broom (planta genet) which he wore in his hat. The Plantagenets ruled England for more than three hundred years, from the accession of reign of the dynasty's founder, Matilda and Geoffrey's son, Henry II, in 1154, to the death of the last Plantagenet, Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The Plantagenets: The Kings That Made Britain is a compelling, year-by-year chronology of a tumultuous and critical period in the development of the English nation. Each year is covered by a concise, informative and accessible narrative, amplified by extensive quotation from contemporary sources and accompanied by generously captioned and stunning images of the period-including illuminations, portraits, maps, royal seals, tapestries and other artifacts. Authoritative, informative and sumptuous, and compiled by a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period, The Plantagenets: The Kings That Made Britain brings a critical era of English history dramatically and vividly to life. It is the perfect gift book for anyone with a love of, or fascination for, medieval English history.

Illustrated with more than 200 colour and black-and-white photographs, maps and artworks, The Plantagenets is an expertly-written account of a medieval dynasty who have long captured the popular imagination.

THE LAST PLANTAGENTS—A GREAT STORYTELLER’S MOST DAZZLING BESTSELLER Here is Thomas B. Costain’s most magnificent performance, rivaling even THE BLACK ROSE for color and drama. Here are history’s most spectacular Kings and Queens—and a brilliant new probing of the greatest mystery of all time, the death of the Princes in the Tower. “EXCITEMENT...ROMANCE...STRANGER THAN FICTION”—Saturday Review “COLORFUL AND LUSTY”—Christian Science Monitor “WILD, EXTRAVAGANT, BRILLIANT, COURAGEOUS, STIRRING”—San Francisco Examiner “Novelist as well as historian, Mr. Costain is especially interested in personalities and motives and character. He deals throughout with world figures who have kingdoms at stake...Here is an actual record of the heroism of the kings and queens of England and France, their villainies, their weaknesses, their loves and hates...”—Book-of-the-Month-Club News “No man alive writes popular history with greater understanding...what he cares about is the color, drama and pageantry...the personalities, triumphs and disasters...”—New York Times “The familiar Costain ‘touch’ with all its powers...is present here in abundance”—New Haven Register “Happily wedded in author Costain are a scholar’s integrity and the ability to endow history with brilliant colors”—San Francisco Examiner

The Pageant of England is a four volume collection by Thomas B. Costain which covers the late medieval history of England. The series starts with the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 and closes with the death of Richard III at Bosworth. George R. R. Martin has cited this collection as an influence on his book Fire and Blood, part of Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. The Conquering Family The Magnificent Century The Three Edwards The Last Plantagenets