BritishHistory

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV | Helen Castor

so-so

I have mixed feelings about this one. I do think it‘s well written, but I also know I am not the audience for it. I knew nothing about these men and felt some sort of prior knowledge was imperative to fully enjoying this book. I never would have made it through the print; the audio was well done.

squirrelbrain I agree completely- it was rather slow and the actual ‘battle for the crown‘ was only a few pages. Not my favourite from the list. 16h

RamsFan1963 If you're interested in this era of English history, I'd recommend trying Henry V by Dan Jones. He starts the book with background of the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, before moving on to Henry V. 8h

41 likes2 comments

Graywacke

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV | Helen Castor

My new audiobook - and my second from the 2025 Women‘s Prize for Nonfiction. Lots of Shakespeare in the introduction 🥰

merelybookish I just started this! 3d

Graywacke @merelybookish I‘m 2.5 hours in (12%), and fascinated (edited) 3d

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squirrelbrain

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV | Helen Castor

Rather relevant, timely and apposite introduction to this book about Richard II and Henry IV (who were both born in 1367)!

ChaoticMissAdventures I am excited for this one, I don't know a ton about this time period. 4w

Leftcoastzen Wow 4w

Lcsmcat Wow indeed. 4w

See All 10 Comments

LeahBergen Yikes! 4w

Librarybelle Yup. Very, very relevant. 4w

TrishB Power never changes. 4w

bookandbedandtea How apropos 😫 4w

CarolynM 😢 3w

youneverarrived Wow. Very relevant 😩 3w

sarahbarnes Oh wow. 3w

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jenniferw88

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV | Helen Castor

pan

#wpnf25

I should have waited for the shortlist and hibernated this book. I'd be very surprised if it makes it, as I really struggled with it and could have bailed on it if it hadn't made it.

#atozultimatechallenge #c #authorsurname #e #booktitle #f #birdonthecover #h #itemoncover (hart) @AudiobookingWithLeah

#aty25 #animalvegetableormineralinthetitle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle Oh dear! I had recently splurged and picked up a copy on the strength of a virtual author talk I saw her do. 4w

jenniferw88 @Librarybelle, you may like it! I just know very little about this period, and it was very heavy going. Shorter chapters may have helped. 4w

RamsFan1963 I wanted to read this, but I've seen a lot of negative reviews. If you want to know more about Henry IV, I'd recommend reading Dan Jones's Henry V. It covers the end of Richard II reign, Henry IV seizing the throne, and leads on into Henry V reign as king. 4w

youneverarrived Hmm, good to know. It does look heavy going and it‘s more of a chunkster than I realised. Think I‘ll concentrate on the others before this. 3w

43 likes4 comments

rockpools

The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV | Helen Castor

bailed

I tried, I really did. For the right reader, this would be fantastic.

But I don‘t get on great with ‘Kings & Queens history‘. Sadly this was‘t the book to convince me otherwise. (Social history, great! Kings, Queens, dates & power machinations - no). I got through 4 hours of it. There were 16 more go. Obviously it‘s not my thing, but I don‘t see what makes it uniquely prizeworthy. So I‘m bailing.

I did learn who Wat Tyler was, so there is that!

squirrelbrain Hmmm, I‘m not that keen on Kings and Queens history either…. I have this from the library so we‘ll see…. 1mo

rockpools @squirrelbrain I tried on audio. Might be easier to zim through (and keep track of names) in print. And it was fine - I just didn‘t care enough to power through. One of the things I loved last from last years prize was that a lot of the books *made* me care even if I wasn‘t naturally that interested. This didn‘t get me over that hurdle. Good luck - hope it works for you! 1mo

45 likes2 comments

Lcsmcat

Henry VIII's Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey | Jessie Childs

pick

Jessie Childs draws Henry Howard for us, complete with his strengths as and weaknesses, neither hero nor villain. And in so doing she illustrates the terrifying times of Henrican England. Henry VIII‘s tyranny, paranoia, megalomania, and hubris are all too familiar in our age. An appropriate read just prior to the upcoming inauguration.#bookedintime @Cuilin

Cuilin Every book I‘m reading lately seems to have parallels to current times, Hard Times, Les Mis, Anna Karenina,, and Tudor Times. I‘m realizing that not enough people read these books or history and it shows. 2mo

Lcsmcat @Cuilin Younailed it. I think a large part in what got us where we are was the demotion of the humanities and the gutting of arts education. 2mo

RamsFan1963 I just read Henry V biography by Dan Jones, and now I'm reading The War of The Roses, also by Jones. It sounds like something I need to read next. 2mo

Lcsmcat @RamsFan1963 I‘ve not read anything by him. I‘ll have to check him out. 2mo

Cuilin @RamsFan1963 I read The Plantagenets, it was so good. I have Henry V on my TBR and now I‘m adding The War of the Roses. 2mo

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Lcsmcat

Henry VIII's Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey | Jessie Childs

Who knew that Henry, Earl of Surrey, invented the “Shakespearean Sonnet!

28 likes

Lcsmcat

Henry VIII's Last Victim: The Life and Times of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey | Jessie Childs

I picked this up because I heard the author on a panel about the Tudor era, and so far it doesn‘t disappoint.

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AllDebooks

Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times | Thomas Waters

pick

This remarkable, engrossing history of witchcraft and black magic extends from 1800 to 2015. Waters looks at the influence of imperialism and colonial cultures on England against the rise and fall of black arts. It's thoroughly researched and well written throughout.
Highly recommended.

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