Author(s): Keith Dockray
Henry VI (1422-1461), a man ‘more given to God and devout prayer than handling worldly and temporal things’, was the third and least successful Lancastrian king of England. His wife, Margaret of Anjou – ‘a great and strong laboured woman’ – became a formidable political force in her own right and the Wars of the Roses, so dramatically portrayed by William Shakespeare as bloody dynastic powerhouses fought for the possession of the crown, brought the usurpation of Edward IV (1461-1483), the humiliation and exile of Margaret of Anjou, and the murder of her husband in the Tower of London.
Combining a framework of interpretation and a rich selection of passages from contemporary and near-contemporary sources, this compilation enables readers to appreciate just why the rule of Henry VI resulted in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, what these internecine conflicts were like and how they culminated in the end of the House of Lancaster.
Author Keith Dockray was formerly the senior lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Huddersfield. This volume, following in the footsteps of Edward IV: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2015) and Richard III: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2013), completes a trilogy covering English kings, politics and war circa 1450 to 1485.
BOOK ISBN | 9781781554692 |
FORMAT | 234 x 156 mm |
BINDING | Paperback |
PAGES | 224 pages |
PUBLICATION DATE | 15 April 2016 |
TERRITORY | World |
ILLUSTRATIONS | 14 black-and-white illustrations |
Keith Dockray was formerly a senior examiner in medieval history and early modern history at the University of Huddersfield.
Peter Hammond is a medieval historian and leading authority on the reign of Richard III. For thirty years, he was the research officer of the Richard III Society and is currently a vice president of the society. He is probably best known for his books The Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury and Food and Feast in Medieval England. With Dr Anne Sutton, he wrote The Coronation of Richard III: The Extant Documents and Richard III: The Road to Bosworth Field. As an editor, he has compiled a new edition of Historic Doubts on the Life of Richard the Third by Horace Walpole. He has also written and contributed to many other books and magazines on medieval and local history.