pick10/100 Its hard to find a better, more informed writer, when it comes to English History, than Dan Jones. This makes a good companion book to his recent Henry V. Picking up with the disastrous reign of Henry VI, it follow through with various Henrys and Edwards, as different families fought for the crown, ending with the Tudors of Henry VIII. Very informative and entertaining. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
#Jumpstart2025 #Read2025
pick#TodayILearned what a terrible leader Henry III was. That's probably why there aren't many films or books devoted to him. Still, I'm really enjoying Costain's Plantagenet series. It's very readable, even if some of the feelings and thoughts the author attributes to these real-life characters might have involved some guesswork.
#NFNovember @Bookwormjillk
#BookSpinBingo #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks
so-soI disagree with the book cover that O'Brien is better than Philippa Gregory; PG is still the best, but it wasn't terrible. Weirdly, not much seemed to happen but somehow I was ¾ of the way through the book & yet I hadn't gotten bored. I don't know if the story was gripping enough to read it again (now I know Alice's fate, as I didn't before reading) but I did enjoy it.
pickThis has taken me three weeks - it felt like a real chunkster and at times a real slog. As ever with Penman the research is fabulous and the characters including the often forgotten women jumping the page, alive and vibrant. This is the 4th in her quintet about Henry, Elinor and their children and most is based around Richard‘s crusade and it is a little too battley for me! Did enjoy my last chapters and cocktail though
so-soThis was good. It was long, but Eleanor lived a long life. I have read one or two books about her, but it‘s been a while, and I don‘t recall the stories of Thomas a Becket and Richard the Lionheart, which Plaidy included in her book here. (Becket was a friend of Henry‘s and Richard was Eleanor and Henry‘s son.) Cont in comments...
pickA dense, informative look at the fumbles of passing the crown of England from the 1420s to the turn of the century. I knew nothing about any of it so it was all interesting to me, but I found it odd at the end to have read 300 pages of fascinating analysis only to have Jones sum it all up as James VI was worthless and doomed the Plantagenet line and the English people to decades of bloody unrest.
#DannyBoy is tired of my coughing disturbing him.
pickI listened to this book (it was free with my Audible subscription). It‘s no secret that I‘m obsessed with English history. Having already biographies of Henry IV and the Black Prince, how could I resist one of the father and brother respectively. John of Gaunt played a huge roll in his father‘s and nephew‘s reigns. Subsequent English monarchs also owe their existence to him as the Lancastrians, Yorks, and Tudors are all descendants! 👑
As I read this book, I‘m learning a lot. Like, for instance, Henry VI was an…ineffective king, shall we say.
