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Edward IV, England's Forgotten Warrior King
As the 100 Years War ground to its dismal end, England groaned under the misrule of Henry VI and his Lancastrian favorites. The House of York rose in rebellion; and Parliament restored York in the line of inheritance to the throne. Edward, Earl of March, triumphed at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross; Parliament asked him to be King and the people proclaimed him Edward IV. His life and legacy are chronicled in Edward IV, England's Forgotten Warrior King. For ten years, Edward struggled against repeated Lancastrian rebellions. He was driven from his kingdom by Richard, Earl of Warwick, but then he won decisive victories at the Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471. For another twelve years, he reigned wisely with peace and prosperity, as a beloved King; but then he died at age forty one and his twelve-year-old son was proclaimed Edward V. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, seized the throne and put young Edward and his brother in the Tower of London, from where they never emerged alive. Richard III was a good King and wanted to be respected, but the people believed he had murdered the Princes in the Tower, and would not forgive him. Queen Elizabeth and Margaret Beaufort plotted with Henry Tudor, who invaded England in 1485. Henry Tudor then defeated and killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor (Henry VII) was crowned King and married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth; the resultant Tudor dynasty would rule England for another 118 years.
484 pages, Paperback
Published April 11, 2018
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March 30, 2020
I find myself wondering what's going on when I find the publisher of a book giving said book 5 stars. Trying to boost its rating are we? That's what I noticed with this one.
Edward IV, England’s Forgotten Warrior King by Dr. Anthony Corbet is more a work of hero-worship than an in-depth biography, even though the book comes in at over 400 pages. The writing isn’t the best – even the description blurb reads like something out of a high school history class, and I find it questionable when the only 5-star rating for the book on Goodreads was posted by the publisher!
There is nothing new or original presented, and the author’s sources suggests no original research. The closest thing to primary documents include the usual suspects – Vergil, More, Crowland, and Mancini – and these have more to do with Edward’s brother, Richard, than with Edward himself. Works of historical fiction by such authors as Philippa Gregory, Susan Higginbotham, Josephine Tey, and others are included, something I find unusual in a work that is supposed to be a biography. And there are numerous online sources referenced which is not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case they include author blogs and Wikipedia.
The good doctor, whoever he may be (I got the impression that he's a medical doctor), also accepts that those bones in the urn in Westminster Abbey are, indeed, those of the so-called “Princes in the Tower” and accepts without question the 1933 analysis, even though many present day forensic scientists have questioned those conclusions.
The Edward in this book comes across as too good to be true; the only thing missing is his halo. He is portrayed either as treating everyone kindly, or being reluctantly forced to deal with them because they betrayed him. There's even a chapter called "Blaming the Dead Man" in which the author expounds upon how poor Edward IV is wrongly blamed for "his failure to ensure the proper Yorkist succession to the throne," taking to task such scholarly authorities as Charles Ross who makes this very statement in one of his books. Turns out it’s all the fault of his dastardly youngest brother, Richard of Gloucester (later King Richard III) and that nasty sniveling piece of work, Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells. The author devotes many pages trashing Titulus Regius (the Parliamentary act that gave the throne to Richard), refusing to consider there was ever any truth that Edward had secretly been pre-contracted to Lady Eleanor Butler before he married the “politically astute” Elizabeth Woodville, and what horrible villains Richard and Stillington were!
About a quarter of the book has little or nothing to do with Edward IV himself, but is more of a who's who that the author might have called the good, the bad, and the ugly and that include biographical sketches of those the author feels are major players in this story. There are chapters titled, "The Supporters, Friends, and Close Associates of King Edward IV," "The Enemies of King Edward IV," and "The Arch-Villain of This Sad Tale." I'll let you guess who the last one is!
There are another 90 or so pages with information on the various noble houses -- Lancaster, York, Beaufort, Neville, Stafford -- with simplified family trees, which can be helpful, especially for readers not familiar with all the family connections.
It's not the worst book ever written, but it's definitely not worth paying full price for. Unless you're in love with Edward IV. If, however, you’re looking for something more serious to read, especially Edward’s military career, you’d be better off reading Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses, by David Santiuste.
Edward IV, England’s Forgotten Warrior King by Dr. Anthony Corbet is more a work of hero-worship than an in-depth biography, even though the book comes in at over 400 pages. The writing isn’t the best – even the description blurb reads like something out of a high school history class, and I find it questionable when the only 5-star rating for the book on Goodreads was posted by the publisher!
There is nothing new or original presented, and the author’s sources suggests no original research. The closest thing to primary documents include the usual suspects – Vergil, More, Crowland, and Mancini – and these have more to do with Edward’s brother, Richard, than with Edward himself. Works of historical fiction by such authors as Philippa Gregory, Susan Higginbotham, Josephine Tey, and others are included, something I find unusual in a work that is supposed to be a biography. And there are numerous online sources referenced which is not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case they include author blogs and Wikipedia.
The good doctor, whoever he may be (I got the impression that he's a medical doctor), also accepts that those bones in the urn in Westminster Abbey are, indeed, those of the so-called “Princes in the Tower” and accepts without question the 1933 analysis, even though many present day forensic scientists have questioned those conclusions.
The Edward in this book comes across as too good to be true; the only thing missing is his halo. He is portrayed either as treating everyone kindly, or being reluctantly forced to deal with them because they betrayed him. There's even a chapter called "Blaming the Dead Man" in which the author expounds upon how poor Edward IV is wrongly blamed for "his failure to ensure the proper Yorkist succession to the throne," taking to task such scholarly authorities as Charles Ross who makes this very statement in one of his books. Turns out it’s all the fault of his dastardly youngest brother, Richard of Gloucester (later King Richard III) and that nasty sniveling piece of work, Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells. The author devotes many pages trashing Titulus Regius (the Parliamentary act that gave the throne to Richard), refusing to consider there was ever any truth that Edward had secretly been pre-contracted to Lady Eleanor Butler before he married the “politically astute” Elizabeth Woodville, and what horrible villains Richard and Stillington were!
About a quarter of the book has little or nothing to do with Edward IV himself, but is more of a who's who that the author might have called the good, the bad, and the ugly and that include biographical sketches of those the author feels are major players in this story. There are chapters titled, "The Supporters, Friends, and Close Associates of King Edward IV," "The Enemies of King Edward IV," and "The Arch-Villain of This Sad Tale." I'll let you guess who the last one is!
There are another 90 or so pages with information on the various noble houses -- Lancaster, York, Beaufort, Neville, Stafford -- with simplified family trees, which can be helpful, especially for readers not familiar with all the family connections.
It's not the worst book ever written, but it's definitely not worth paying full price for. Unless you're in love with Edward IV. If, however, you’re looking for something more serious to read, especially Edward’s military career, you’d be better off reading Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses, by David Santiuste.
Displaying 1 of 1 review