Plantagenets

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

pick

Blame it on an upcoming trip to London, but this royal history about Richard II & Henry IV from the Women's Prize Nonfiction Longlist piqued my interest. Also helped that I've read the Shakespeare plays about these kings. At 20+ hours, it was a commitment. My interest waned near the end. But I was immersed for the first 3/4. War, intrigue, rebellion. Nothing was stable for long. Castor is THOROUGH & has a soft spot for Henry IV & his father 👇

merelybookish John of Ghent. I saw one review that described it as a well researched history with soap opera style. That feels generous. It is dishy at times but you never forget this is serious history full of dates, names, and events. Glad I read it but happy to be done. Time to re-read some Shakespeare! 3h

10 likes1 comment

bibliothecarivs

Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle | Michael Jones

Recent acquisition:

📖 Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones

7 likes

Hooked_on_books

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

While listening to this one, I put together this kit and just had to show it to you all. I think it came out great!

PaperbackPirate So cool! 😍 1w

TheBookHippie Love!!!! 1w

Ruthiella Really neat! 🤩 1w

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squirrelbrain Lovely! ❤️ 1w

Soubhiville So cute 💚 1w

AmyG Love it! 1w

Deblovestoread ❤️❤️❤️ 1w

Bookzombie That‘s so cute!! 4d

52 likes8 comments

Hooked_on_books

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. 1w

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. 1w

Hooked_on_books @RamsFan1963 Thanks! I‘ll have to look for that. 1w

52 likes3 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! 2w

Graywacke @merelybookish I‘m 2.5 hours in (12%), and fascinated (edited) 2w

merelybookish How's it going? I'm about halfway through. I am enjoying it and amazed I'm mostly keeping everyone straight. 4d

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Graywacke @merelybookish i‘m 6 hours in and constantly fascinated. The nature of power, the way everyone plays this game, it‘s crazy and so much looser than I realized. 4d

merelybookish @Graywacke Yeah, I was skeptical in her intro when she said there are parallels to today. But you can see how there can be very different visions of power and different avenues can be taken to secure it. I feel like that is playing out before our eyes. 4d

Graywacke @merelybookish I‘m still thinking about that. It‘s different. But the undermining of norms for power and with destructive intent are striking parallels. The indifference to human life is so strange. 4d

37 likes6 comments

bibliothecarivs

Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors | Dan Jones

Recent acquisition:

📖 The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones

9 likes

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. 1mo

Leftcoastzen Wow 1mo

Lcsmcat Wow indeed. 1mo

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LeahBergen Yikes! 1mo

Librarybelle Yup. Very, very relevant. 1mo

TrishB Power never changes. 1mo

bookandbedandtea How apropos 😫 1mo

CarolynM 😢 1mo

youneverarrived Wow. Very relevant 😩 1mo

sarahbarnes Oh wow. 1mo

54 likes1 stack add10 comments

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

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. 1mo

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

46 likes2 comments

Born.A.Reader

Lionheart | Sharon Kay Penman

Due to lack of internet, I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday. #Bookhaul from a new-to-me used bookstore. My little picked up a decent stack as well. 📚

Sace That edition of Alice in Wonderland looks delightful! 2mo

Deblovestoread Penman is always an excellent choice 😍 2mo

35 likes2 comments

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