Henry V as Warlord

by Desmond Seward

In this startling reassessment of one of England’s hero kings Desmond Seward gives a portrait very different from Shakespeare’s Henry V. The cold young military genius who emerges imposed an occupation of north-western France that in some ways harked back to the Norman conquest of England, in others anticipated the Nazis in World War II – with the difference that the English occupation of Paris lasted for seventeen years. The author claims that few western kings have been personally responsible for more bloodshed – Henry’s troops committed atrocities never entirely forgotten by the French people in the regions that were under his control. Henry’s father had usurped the crown, deposing and murdering Richard II and setting aside the heir. Henry based his own claim to the throne of France on a female descent and in Henry V as Warlord, Desmond Seward argues that the dubious claims to both thrones cast a good deal of light on the king’s psychology; something that has never received sufficient attention. Praise for Henry V as ‘[T]his portray[al] … is the exact opposite of the "classical" view painted by William Shakespeare, in particular. It is, however, a much more realistic one, and it is for this and for its depiction of war in France in the early fifteenth century, that this book is worth five stars’ - Amazon review Desmond Seward was born in Paris of a Franco-Irish family who have been wine merchants at Bordeaux since the 1860s, and has many relatives throughout north-western France, where Henry V campaigned. He is the author of many popular history books, including The Hundred Years’ War and The Demon’s Brood. Educated at Ampleforth and at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, where he was an Exhibitioner in History, he lives in Brighton.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Biography, British Literature

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 29, 2002

About the author

Desmond Seward was an Anglo-Irish popular historian and the author of over two dozen books. He was educated at Ampleforth and St, Catherine's College, Cambridge. He was a specialist in England and France in the Middle Ages and the author of some thirty books, including biographies of Eleanor of Aquitane, Henry V, Richard III, Marie Antoinette and Metternich.

Reviews

[Andy Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

great biography depicting in detail those brutish times. I felt like I was there.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant and courageous account, written in an extremely engaging manner.