The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors

Jones’ The Wars of the Roses reads like a novel. I believe that is simply that this period in English history is wilder than any storyteller could fabricate.In the early part of the fifteenth century, it appeared that England was on the rise. It had a stable, capable government led by a king who is arguably the best monarch in the country’s history (Shakespeare thought so). It appeared that the Hundred Years’ War had been settled and England had regained much of the continental land that it had lost in the thirteenth century. Indeed, the French were going to recognize the son of Henry V as their king as well as England’s.Jones quotes Ecclesiastes 10:16 and applies it directly to England. Alas for England, Henry V died young in 1422, leaving behind a 9-month-old son. What is remarkable, actually, is that Henry had put in place a leadership team that would manage the country quite well while the young Henry VI was growing up. The problem is that Henry VI was no ruler, and by the time he was in his late twenties, the old leaders were largely gone and the next generation was vying for power with a king who did little about it.The Wars of the Roses started in earnest around 1450, and England was in a state of civil war much of the time until 1485 when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III in battle and became Henry VII. Yes, the main competing royal houses were those of Lancaster, supporters of Henry VI and his family and associates, and the Dukes of York who also claimed royal ancestry and were frustrated over Henry VI.The crown actually did change hands several times, but what is perhaps most remarkable is that nearly everyone involved in an attempt to rule or, often, simply to bring order to their own region, was killed. Some were killed in battle, but most were killed judicially. A few were assassinated.I once read the Chinese classic The Three Kingdoms. That work covers a period of about a century during a time of great civil unrest in China. It was appalling how many men were beheaded by their enemies and allies alike. I realize after reading The Wars of the Roses that fifteenth century England was not much different. I understand that Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories in part parody English history. Now I can understand where the Red Queen’s “off with his head!” came from.One of the main figures in all the intrigue is the Earl of Warwick. He had become quite powerful and something of a literal kingmaker. Still, things would catch up with him eventually. Jones believes it is no surprise that one of Warwick’s knights, Sir Thomas Malory, would write a collection of King Arthur stories to give people a sense of what a true and good king should be like, but also with an awareness of plotting and civil strife going on just below the surface.Jones describes the fascinating rise of the Tudors. It is probably even more remarkable than the rise of the Stewarts in Scotland. Owen Tudor was a Welsh nobleman. He claimed some ancestry from Welsh kings. Jones is dubious of the claims, but, of course, Welsh kings would include Arthur. He became the lover and then the wife of King Henry V’s widow. When the Yorkists were in power after 1460, the Tudors were in France and Brittany for safety. Owen’s son Edward had one son, Henry.In normal circumstances, being third cousin from one sitting king and third cousin twice removed from his rival would mean that Henry Tudor would have virtually no chance of becoming king. However, many of the people who might have been in his way had been killed or imprisoned. He did take a big risk fighting Richard III in 1485, but he had procured enough allies and Richard was killed in battle, and so he started a new dynasty.Jones does not end his history with 1485. There was something of a legacy of that bloody century. He notes a few pretenders who claimed be one of the young princes who were killed in the Tower of London. These proved to be phonies, but Henry VII was relatively merciful to them. Henry also looked with suspicion on anyone with a royal connection. As he grew older, he became more paranoid apparently, and a few somewhat harmless souls ended up being accused of treason and losing their heads.I have not read any Song of Fire and Ice books, nor do I get the Game of Thrones television show on my set, but I have certainly read enough about the program. George R. R. Martin, the author of the books, has said that he was inspired by the Wars of the Roses. Lannister even sounds like Lancaster. I suspect that fans of the television show or Martin’s book series would enjoy this book, even if it is nonfiction.

I am still reading this book. About 100 pages in. Really enjoying it. There is a lot to absorb with numerous people to keep track of. Still, if you are interested in 15th Century history as far as England (and France) is concerned, this is the book for you. I will have to backtrack once I am through with War of the Roses and read its predecessor, The Plantagenets. If you haven't read War of the Roses yet, I suggest The Plantagenets first as it sets up War of the Roses. Please enjoy! Lynn M

In few histories can one see the truth that `to the victors, belongs the history' in such clarity as Jones reveals. Jones has winnowed the knowable facts from triumphalist biased history. The "War of the Roses" sounds like a romantic event except it was invented by a 19th century revisionist. You'll quickly see that there's nothing romantic here.The book begins with the obscure story of Plantagenet extinction. It's an irony that a Tudor Henry VIII would deliver a grizzly 10 whack beheading to a demographic `ancient' and last of the Plantagenet blood royal in 1541 ... 100 years after York victory at Bosworth Field. The Plantagenet dynasty so exits corporeal history in the person of Henry VIII's great-great-grandaunt.This is the story of a mighty family tree gone to war as notional `roses'. Plantagenet House Lancaster and House York simply annihilated themselves. Circumstances and peculiarity left an outsider standing. A 'Tudur' from Wales of low noble origin emerges as king. It's the time of the Tudors and the end of dynasty.Jones telling is rooted in the personalities of the kings, queens, and princes amped up by a supporting cast of doubly rough counts, dukes and bishops. The telling is necessarily complex. The story is as bizarre, pivotal and bloody as any fiction. As the publisher advance material correctly claims, `The Game of Thrones' fiction is no match.Ultimately, this is a story for a modern reader to consider `kingship' from a time not so distant. A monarchs lapse of common sense tears through a king's powerful subjects, variously assembled in cabals of self-interest who are willing and able to field formidable forces to challenge the person of the king and exterminate bloodlines. Modern warfare among cartel kingpins is no match in wrath and scale. Consider the mutilated remains of the last Plantagenet king, Richard III, buried shallow, nameless and long forgotten beneath public parking ... only discovered in 2013 and 550 years after his death in a royal history absorbed society. Perhaps there's still the chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa.Discussions with friends who have read both `The Plantagenet's' and `War of the Roses' reveals a split opinion. It's a matter of history reader preference. Do you like high fidelity history (a lot of names, personalities, interactions, dates and places) or narrative entertainment? This is hi-fi history on a grand scale. Jones repeatedly sends the history buff to wiki to explore for more.

With a cursory nod to the events of the preceding two decades, this story picks up in 1420, with the death of king Henry V, and the ascension to the throne of the infant king Henry VI. A central theme of the first half of the book is how young king Henry was guided by a group of nefarious advisers whose self interests eclipsed their loyalty to the Crown. Henry’s lack of the fortitude required of a Plantagenet king proved disastrous. The result were the Wars of the Roses and the rise of the Tudor Dynasty.The constantly shifting allegiances and numerous characters are sometimes hard to keep up with. The family trees of the interlocking Lancastrian, Yorkist and Tudor houses are a huge help; I found myself referring to them frequently.

Mr. Jones is a competent storyteller though he does go into the deep end at times. Of course, this is expected with histories. Everything is connected and for the weight of what is being told to be felt context should be given.He wasn’t biased either which makes it seem more like real people did the things typed in this novel.

Be warned...This book is the American version of Dan Jones’ The Hollow Crown with a different cover and approx £7 more expensive, for that price I would want hardback! I’ve had to return it as I already have The Hollow Crown which by the way is very good a definitely worth a read.

I was loving this book until I came to page 202 and realised that my copy of the book skipped straight to page 235! Not sure how on earth this fault could have passed undetected (are books not made by machine?) so am debating whether to order another copy as missing this many pages is going to make the story difficult to pick up. The writing is excellent as you'd expect from Dan Jones but as others have said, it is complicated to follow at times as so many of the men had the same names in those days. Still, he manages to make sense of it all somehow. I'm always amazed at how historians source their material from so long ago. It takes some effort at times to read the book as this period was very turbulent but I am enjoying it immensely.

I loved the first part of the book, then it gets some incredibly complicated and confusing with most protagonists having the same first name! It’s a great read, but you really have to focus or make notes as you go along. I come from a family of historians, love history myself and this is obviously not my first book on medieval england, but I found it hard to follow the plot after a while

As ever Dan Jones writes giving clear information and adds greatly to knowledge of this period in history. The only criticism is that many of the spellings are American.

I enjoyed reading the book and got an insight into the history.