The Life and Times of Edward III

Kings and Queens of England

by Paul Johnson

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, British Literature

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Paul Johnson works as a historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe.

Paul Johnson has published over 40 books including A History of Christianity (1979), A History of the English People (1987), Intellectuals (1988), The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815—1830 (1991), Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000 (1999), A History of the American People (2000), A History of the Jews (2001) and Art: A New History (2003) as well as biographies of Elizabeth I (1974), Napoleon (2002), George Washington (2005) and Pope John Paul II (1982).

Reviews

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by the lack of chronology in this book; it was a little hard to get a hang of the different years and what happened when, but I managed since I already knew a bit about this era.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. 5 stars. I like to read older books, so having read three of Paul Johnson's more recent works, "A Quest for God", "A History of the American People" and "Napoleon", I decided to seek out some of his earlier work. I have always been interested in the Middle Ages, so this work seemed a natural fit to satisfy my interests. Half of this book is filled with very interesting photos and drawings that give a feel for the time period.

This book will not cover every aspect of King Edward III's life. It is more than an overview, but it also never attempts to be a chronicle of
a year by year account of this king's fifty year reign. So what do you get by reading this book? You are able to understand how and why Edward started the Hundred Years War with France. There is detailed attention paid to the manner in which the war was fought, with the objective not quite being in conquering France but proving that England could muster the will to occupy much of France. Time and space is devoted to Edward's son, the Black Prince as well as the social changes that were occurring in England at this time as well. A few unexpected surprises for me were the sections describing Edward's naval battles and the Black Prince's incursions into Spain, previously I had not learned of these events.

I would have liked to see more focus given to the impact of the Black Plague in England and some mention of Edward's attempt to seduce the Countess of Salisbury, which is not mentioned at all. One wonders what has been learned about Edward III since this book was written in 1974, but that is a problem that can be easily overcome by additional reading. There could have been more maps in the book, but there is one excellent map about 50 pages into the book that you can flip back to.
If you are a fan of Johnson's writings, this book will not disappoint, but if you are new to Johnson, I preferred his much longer, more detailed, "A History of the American People".

[Rob Lavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to the topic but a little short on detail for those who may have more of a grounding in the subject