What do you think?
Rate this book
The English Monarchs
Edward IV
In his own time Edward IV was seen as an able and successful king who rescued England from the miseries of civil war and provided the country with firm, judicious, and popular government. The prejudices of later historians diminished this high reputation, until recent research confirmed Edward as a ruler of substantial achievement, whose methods and policies formed the foundation of early Tudor government.
This classic study by Charles Ross places the reign firmly in the context of late medieval power politics, analyzing the methods by which a usurper sought to retain his throne and reassert the power of a monarchy seriously weakened by the feeble rule of Henry VI. Edward's relations with the politically active classes―the merchants, gentry, and nobility―form a major theme, and against this background Ross provides an evaluation of the many innovations in government on which the king's achievement rests.
This classic study by Charles Ross places the reign firmly in the context of late medieval power politics, analyzing the methods by which a usurper sought to retain his throne and reassert the power of a monarchy seriously weakened by the feeble rule of Henry VI. Edward's relations with the politically active classes―the merchants, gentry, and nobility―form a major theme, and against this background Ross provides an evaluation of the many innovations in government on which the king's achievement rests.
510 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1974
14 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Charles Derek Ross
28 books3 followersCharles Derek Ross (1924 – 1986) was an English historian of the Late Middle Ages, specialising in the Wars of the Roses. He was Professor of Medieval History at the University of Bristol until his death in 1986, when he was killed by an intruder in his own home.
His best known works are his biographies of Edward IV and Richard III in the Yale English Monarchs series. These influential books were the first modern comprehensive studies of the Yorkist kings' politics, retinues and landownership.
His best known works are his biographies of Edward IV and Richard III in the Yale English Monarchs series. These influential books were the first modern comprehensive studies of the Yorkist kings' politics, retinues and landownership.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 27, 2013
Charles Ross' Edward IV remains, to the best of my knowledge, the definitive work on Edward IV, even though Ross published it way back in 1974. There are other excellent works on Edward IV; however, none are as comprehensive and analytic.
Recent biographies about the Wars of the Roses king, tend to focus on specific aspects of his reign or military career. In some cases, they build upon Ross' research, disprove it, or surpass it. Nonetheless, this seminal book is well worth reading.
This is an academic book written in a moderately readable style. However, it is not Alison Weir. Some parts of the book drag, notably his sections on the 1470s and the invasion of France. However, for people reading for pleasure, this is easy enough to skip over.
Ross covers the following:
The lead up to Towton, including the grievances of Richard of York (Edward's father), the state of England and the debt, Edward's early years (brief), and other background information.
Towton.
Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and the affect on court politics.
Edward's relationship with Warwick, Margaret of York's marriage, Charles the Bold, Louis XI, and the Readeption. (These are covered in varying depths.)
Edward's character and his promiscuity, and his resulting notoriety abroad.
The feud between Clarence and Richard III.
The extensive efforts put into planning marriage pacts between Edward's children and foreign royalty (diplomatic marriages).
The state of Edward and the crown's finances, the debt he inherited from Henry VI, and his success in the wool business.
The trial of Clarence and his death.
Edward's excesses and how his drinking and lechery accelerated after Clarence's death (or at the end of his reign).
Edward's death and will.
While this is a scholarly book, flashes of Ross's dry wit appear in the footnotes, so be sure to read them. The footnotes also include some of the juicier tidbits, such as tantalizing gossip or snide remarks by contemporaries.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with a basic understanding of the Wars of the Roses. It isn't an overview of the period but of the key monarch in the period. I'd also recommend this book to people wishing to learn extra details about Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York, Clarence, and other more less documented figures. Ross provides obscure details about these figures tangentially while describing Edward's expenditures and political issues.
I believe Ross was either Michael Hicks' professor or his adviser. Tragically, Ross was killed in his home by an intruder in 1986.
By Jamie Adair
Recent biographies about the Wars of the Roses king, tend to focus on specific aspects of his reign or military career. In some cases, they build upon Ross' research, disprove it, or surpass it. Nonetheless, this seminal book is well worth reading.
This is an academic book written in a moderately readable style. However, it is not Alison Weir. Some parts of the book drag, notably his sections on the 1470s and the invasion of France. However, for people reading for pleasure, this is easy enough to skip over.
Ross covers the following:
The lead up to Towton, including the grievances of Richard of York (Edward's father), the state of England and the debt, Edward's early years (brief), and other background information.
Towton.
Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and the affect on court politics.
Edward's relationship with Warwick, Margaret of York's marriage, Charles the Bold, Louis XI, and the Readeption. (These are covered in varying depths.)
Edward's character and his promiscuity, and his resulting notoriety abroad.
The feud between Clarence and Richard III.
The extensive efforts put into planning marriage pacts between Edward's children and foreign royalty (diplomatic marriages).
The state of Edward and the crown's finances, the debt he inherited from Henry VI, and his success in the wool business.
The trial of Clarence and his death.
Edward's excesses and how his drinking and lechery accelerated after Clarence's death (or at the end of his reign).
Edward's death and will.
While this is a scholarly book, flashes of Ross's dry wit appear in the footnotes, so be sure to read them. The footnotes also include some of the juicier tidbits, such as tantalizing gossip or snide remarks by contemporaries.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with a basic understanding of the Wars of the Roses. It isn't an overview of the period but of the key monarch in the period. I'd also recommend this book to people wishing to learn extra details about Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth of York, Clarence, and other more less documented figures. Ross provides obscure details about these figures tangentially while describing Edward's expenditures and political issues.
I believe Ross was either Michael Hicks' professor or his adviser. Tragically, Ross was killed in his home by an intruder in 1986.
By Jamie Adair
November 29, 2021
A devastating battle resulted in his father and younger brother dead leading to him taking up his family’s claim to the throne of England and he took it. Charles Ross’ Edward IV is the first modern biography of the first Yorkist king.
Ross essentially divided this biography into three parts, one for each of Edward’s reigns and how Edward governed over the course of his time on the throne. Edward’s reputation over the centuries was either a strong warrior-king or a lazy, debauched ruler who partied himself into an early grave depend on who was reviewing him; Ross revealed that both opinions were true as Edward was a charismatic individual who inspired men to fight for him but coming to the throne at such a young age made him enjoy it. Ross’ lively writing describing Edward’s reigns stood in stark contrast to his writing of Edward’s governance which was dry and at times snooze-inducing, while I understood Ross’ decision to compare various economic or law-and-order issues from both reigns it might have been better to mix the governance in with the happenings of the reigns.
Edward IV looks at the man who founded a dynasty that lasted only two years past his death but began laying down the foundations that the Tudors would use to transform England especially his famous grandson, Henry.
Ross essentially divided this biography into three parts, one for each of Edward’s reigns and how Edward governed over the course of his time on the throne. Edward’s reputation over the centuries was either a strong warrior-king or a lazy, debauched ruler who partied himself into an early grave depend on who was reviewing him; Ross revealed that both opinions were true as Edward was a charismatic individual who inspired men to fight for him but coming to the throne at such a young age made him enjoy it. Ross’ lively writing describing Edward’s reigns stood in stark contrast to his writing of Edward’s governance which was dry and at times snooze-inducing, while I understood Ross’ decision to compare various economic or law-and-order issues from both reigns it might have been better to mix the governance in with the happenings of the reigns.
Edward IV looks at the man who founded a dynasty that lasted only two years past his death but began laying down the foundations that the Tudors would use to transform England especially his famous grandson, Henry.
December 13, 2022
Asked which of her predecessors she would dine with if it were possible to choose any one, Queen Victoria answered “Charles II”, a most understandable choice. Of all the others, Edward IV was surely the most similar: another tall, charming and pleasure-loving ladies’ man. If he did not share his merry descendant’s famous wit, he surely made up for it with spectacular good looks: “I do not remember having seen a more handsome prince” said Commynes, his sharpest contemporary critic. Among the many enigmas Dr. Ross raises but with typical scholarly restraint makes no vain attempt to answer is whether his contemporaries “would have recognized the bovine and lack-lustre features which peer blearily from the most familiar portrait of him.” Nor were his attractions limited to form and manner. Despite the unenviable reputation he won from finding himself obliged to destroy his incorrigibly treacherous brother Clarence, Ross makes it clear he was remarkably free of vindictiveness for the often brutal fifteenth century and, if anything, too trusting and forgiving. This was a king who wanted to be loved and usually merited being so.
Excepting its interruption, his reign, also like Charles II’s, was an oasis of calm and prosperity between what came before and after. In this, however, there is an instructive difference where the credit goes to the later king. Providing for the peaceful succession of his heir was “the prime duty of an hereditary king”, the means of ensuring that everything he had striven for would not come to nought, and Edward’s was quickly overthrown, not despite his best efforts as in Charles II’s case, but very much through his persistent failings: his lack of forethought and decisiveness except in emergencies, and his over-reliance on the security to be had through a small circle of trusted individuals bound together only in personal loyalty to himself. Nevertheless these faults, like his passions for beautiful ladies and fine food and wine, tend to reinforce one’s sense of him as immensely human, especially compared to the unlikeable Henry VII with whom Ross most often compares him.
Despite a dearth of the sort of records of words and ideas on which biographies are usually built, Ross is successful in bringing these aspects of Edward’s character to life, and his appraisal is convincingly balanced. He is strongest in describing the means by which power was won and maintained and the vital role of patronage therein, but he does not do full justice to the drama of his subject, who was as colourful as the age he lived in: as Ross points out, Edward IV was the only English King ever to lose and recover his throne (and I suspect his apparent error in not counting Henry VI is pointedly deliberate). He was also the first known of the very few to marry for love (and as politically disastrously as the others). Ross’s portrait of him does not quite live up to this because there are some strange omissions that leave it unsatisfyingly incomplete. Much more could have been said about the allegations he was a bastard than the simple fact reported that Clarence circulated unspecified rumours to this effect. Two of his three known mistresses are not even named, though his liaison with one had a critical role in the downfall of his house. It would have been fascinating and possible to say something about his relations with his mother, especially with reference to his having his brother killed.
Such errors as there appear to be are few and mostly slips of the pen. “11 to 14 April” 1471 for Edward’s stay in Coventry (rather than a month later) and two similar chronological mistakes I noticed were obviously examples of the latter, and at first I assumed his calling Isabella of Castile “heiress apparent” instead of “heiress presumptive” of her parents must, in the hands of such a scholarly royal biographer, be one too. It jarred because the term is so frequently misused by the historically ignorant fatuously looking for a grander term than simple “heiress”, so I was much surprised to discover afterwards from reading his Richard III that he really did not know what it means, a dent in his erudition possibly worth noting..
Nevertheless, the overall result is a fine biography: one that is well-written, interesting and, perhaps most important of all for those who really care, trustworthy.
Edmund Marlowe, author of Alexander's Choice, a novel, https://www.amazon.com/dp/191457107X
Excepting its interruption, his reign, also like Charles II’s, was an oasis of calm and prosperity between what came before and after. In this, however, there is an instructive difference where the credit goes to the later king. Providing for the peaceful succession of his heir was “the prime duty of an hereditary king”, the means of ensuring that everything he had striven for would not come to nought, and Edward’s was quickly overthrown, not despite his best efforts as in Charles II’s case, but very much through his persistent failings: his lack of forethought and decisiveness except in emergencies, and his over-reliance on the security to be had through a small circle of trusted individuals bound together only in personal loyalty to himself. Nevertheless these faults, like his passions for beautiful ladies and fine food and wine, tend to reinforce one’s sense of him as immensely human, especially compared to the unlikeable Henry VII with whom Ross most often compares him.
Despite a dearth of the sort of records of words and ideas on which biographies are usually built, Ross is successful in bringing these aspects of Edward’s character to life, and his appraisal is convincingly balanced. He is strongest in describing the means by which power was won and maintained and the vital role of patronage therein, but he does not do full justice to the drama of his subject, who was as colourful as the age he lived in: as Ross points out, Edward IV was the only English King ever to lose and recover his throne (and I suspect his apparent error in not counting Henry VI is pointedly deliberate). He was also the first known of the very few to marry for love (and as politically disastrously as the others). Ross’s portrait of him does not quite live up to this because there are some strange omissions that leave it unsatisfyingly incomplete. Much more could have been said about the allegations he was a bastard than the simple fact reported that Clarence circulated unspecified rumours to this effect. Two of his three known mistresses are not even named, though his liaison with one had a critical role in the downfall of his house. It would have been fascinating and possible to say something about his relations with his mother, especially with reference to his having his brother killed.
Such errors as there appear to be are few and mostly slips of the pen. “11 to 14 April” 1471 for Edward’s stay in Coventry (rather than a month later) and two similar chronological mistakes I noticed were obviously examples of the latter, and at first I assumed his calling Isabella of Castile “heiress apparent” instead of “heiress presumptive” of her parents must, in the hands of such a scholarly royal biographer, be one too. It jarred because the term is so frequently misused by the historically ignorant fatuously looking for a grander term than simple “heiress”, so I was much surprised to discover afterwards from reading his Richard III that he really did not know what it means, a dent in his erudition possibly worth noting..
Nevertheless, the overall result is a fine biography: one that is well-written, interesting and, perhaps most important of all for those who really care, trustworthy.
Edmund Marlowe, author of Alexander's Choice, a novel, https://www.amazon.com/dp/191457107X
April 28, 2013
There is an old phrase that goes `never hire two brothers to work for you, because they will always be more loyal to each other than they will ever be to you, and if they are not, who can trust a man who cannot trust his own brother?' The sons of the Duke of York were apparently not very trust worthy. Over all King Edward IV seems to have been a very good king, but his family problems would show why the House of York would not reign long after its founder.
This book is interesting not only for what it does talk about but also for what it does not. Ross never deals with the allegations of Edward's illegitimacy other than to mention that allegations exist. I personally believe that he was the Duke of York's son, but you would think a biographer would discuss it even if only to point out how ridiculous the allegations were.
Unlike Henry IV, I do not think it would be right to describe Edward IV as a self-made king, even though he was not born destined for the crown and had to win it twice. At first he comes across as an aristocratic teenager with good pedigree that is placed on the throne by powers greater than he, led by the Earl of Warwick. However, much like Emperor Claudius of Rome, once in power he clearly knows how to use it. Far from being Warwick's pawn he is a true king with his own ideas how to do things. Although he loses his throne in 1470 he comes right back the next year to recover it and from then on is as strong as ever.
King Edward IV's son-in-law, King Henry VII, is the king most accredited with creating a very powerful English monarchy; the reason Henry is able to do so is by respecting and adding on to the system that had already been established by Edward. Although Edward's life is adventurous, in some ways, he pales in comparison with the warrior kings Edward III and Henry V; however I think Edward IV's greatness is the fact that he did not involve his kingdom in any long foreign wars that would tact the English resources into poverty. In other words, unlike some other Kings of England he did not try foolishly prove to the world he was the rightful King of France. King Edward stayed at home and tried to improve his own kingdom. His ideas were so productive that Henry Tudor would go on to mimic them.
"To rescue the crown from financial abyss into which the Lancastrians had plunged it was no mean achievement. To die solvent was something no other English king had achieved for more than two hundred years. Henry VII had the great advantage of being able to build upon the foundations laid by his father-in-law. Indeed, the best testimony to the quality of Edward's financial policies is the degree to which the shrewd and calculating Henry held firm to them."(p.386)
His main problem seems to be with his own family. The reason the House of York was unable to entrench itself for the long term had to do with in-fighting amongst the its members. Edward had two younger brothers when he was king: Prince George, the Duke of Clarence and Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. The elder of the two (Clarence) tried multiple times to usurp his older brother and was many times forgiven, but he tried one rebellion too much and was executed under Edward's orders. The fact he put his own brother to death--no matter how justified--would soil his reputation. The younger seemly loyal brother was an asset to his rule and Edward trusted him. But the evil Richard would betray that trust after Edward dies, by deposing his brother's elder son and having both of his sons murdered. King Richard III would blacken the name of his lost brother who ruled England effectively for twenty years. Richard's plans would unravel as Henry Tudor, who increases his own legitimate standing by marring the eldest daughter of King Edward IV, overthrows him.
This is a great book detailing the events of the brutal Wars of the Roses the brought the English monarchy to great highs and lows in very short periods of time. The reader is left thinking that if only Edward had lived one more decade he would have been able to put his own son, King Edward V, securely on the throne and history might have taken a far different turn. Edward IV is a tale of triumph and tragedy
This book is interesting not only for what it does talk about but also for what it does not. Ross never deals with the allegations of Edward's illegitimacy other than to mention that allegations exist. I personally believe that he was the Duke of York's son, but you would think a biographer would discuss it even if only to point out how ridiculous the allegations were.
Unlike Henry IV, I do not think it would be right to describe Edward IV as a self-made king, even though he was not born destined for the crown and had to win it twice. At first he comes across as an aristocratic teenager with good pedigree that is placed on the throne by powers greater than he, led by the Earl of Warwick. However, much like Emperor Claudius of Rome, once in power he clearly knows how to use it. Far from being Warwick's pawn he is a true king with his own ideas how to do things. Although he loses his throne in 1470 he comes right back the next year to recover it and from then on is as strong as ever.
King Edward IV's son-in-law, King Henry VII, is the king most accredited with creating a very powerful English monarchy; the reason Henry is able to do so is by respecting and adding on to the system that had already been established by Edward. Although Edward's life is adventurous, in some ways, he pales in comparison with the warrior kings Edward III and Henry V; however I think Edward IV's greatness is the fact that he did not involve his kingdom in any long foreign wars that would tact the English resources into poverty. In other words, unlike some other Kings of England he did not try foolishly prove to the world he was the rightful King of France. King Edward stayed at home and tried to improve his own kingdom. His ideas were so productive that Henry Tudor would go on to mimic them.
"To rescue the crown from financial abyss into which the Lancastrians had plunged it was no mean achievement. To die solvent was something no other English king had achieved for more than two hundred years. Henry VII had the great advantage of being able to build upon the foundations laid by his father-in-law. Indeed, the best testimony to the quality of Edward's financial policies is the degree to which the shrewd and calculating Henry held firm to them."(p.386)
His main problem seems to be with his own family. The reason the House of York was unable to entrench itself for the long term had to do with in-fighting amongst the its members. Edward had two younger brothers when he was king: Prince George, the Duke of Clarence and Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. The elder of the two (Clarence) tried multiple times to usurp his older brother and was many times forgiven, but he tried one rebellion too much and was executed under Edward's orders. The fact he put his own brother to death--no matter how justified--would soil his reputation. The younger seemly loyal brother was an asset to his rule and Edward trusted him. But the evil Richard would betray that trust after Edward dies, by deposing his brother's elder son and having both of his sons murdered. King Richard III would blacken the name of his lost brother who ruled England effectively for twenty years. Richard's plans would unravel as Henry Tudor, who increases his own legitimate standing by marring the eldest daughter of King Edward IV, overthrows him.
This is a great book detailing the events of the brutal Wars of the Roses the brought the English monarchy to great highs and lows in very short periods of time. The reader is left thinking that if only Edward had lived one more decade he would have been able to put his own son, King Edward V, securely on the throne and history might have taken a far different turn. Edward IV is a tale of triumph and tragedy
February 19, 2024
Hate this bloke but on the other hand he was pretty crazy. I can’t get over the fact that him wanting to sleep with this one woman so bad probably led to the collapse of his entire dynasty whoops!
December 23, 2023
Excellent book on Edward IV. Likely the best you can from a purely biographical standpoint. Up there as one of my favorites in Yale Monarch series & honestly Edward IV himself definitely comes off as one England’s more interesting kings. You’ll certainly learn a lot about him and his reign. One of the English king’s I’d for sure travel back in time to have a beer with.
January 27, 2023
I was unfortunately very disappointed by this book. I will preface my review by saying I am not adverse to reading academic history of Medieval English kings, having already read the biographies from the same English Monarchs series of Edward II (Seymour Phillips), Edward III (mark Ormund), and Richard II (Nigel Saul.) Charles Ross’s work on Edward IV is the worst and by far the driest of the lot.
In particular the chapters towards the end that divert from the narrative and focus on Edward’s finances and his stance on law and order were difficult to get through. When reading academic history, you do expect some dry parts especially on financial matters, but I found the narrative of Edward’s life to be very lacking as well.
Ross barely mentions Edward’s controversial Queen throughout and almost no insight is given into her character or her activities. When Edward flees to the continent, Ross does not even mention that Elizabeth had gone into sanctuary at Westminster for a number of pages later after he has covered the resolution of the crisis. A reader with no knowledge of the period would be left wondering what happened to the Queen and the Royal children. It is only a number of pages AFTER mentioning her sanctuary that Ross finally tells the reader that Elizabeth had given birth while in sanctuary to Edward’s long awaited male heir. This is one of the major events of the reign and it is mentioned in passing many pages after the fact. He also talks much about how the Woodvilles were unpopular, but does not speculate or explain why.
I also found it frustrating how multiple times Ross mentions that Edward IV was the only king since 1066 to not clear the way for the succession of his son. I find this to be very misleading considering when King John died Henry III was only 9 years old and half the country had declared for Louis of France. Only the efforts of De Burgh and William Marshall saved the throne for Henry, king John did nothing. I also find it bizarre that Ross did not give any suggestions as to what Edward could have done to prevent the crisis other than live longer.
He does not mention Edward’s supposed secret marriage that ended up seeing his children declared illegitimate, which is strange to say the least.
Overall, this was a very dry book with major gaps in the historical narrative that gives almost no insight into the King’s family affairs or the succession crisis that followed his death and saw his brother take the throne.
In particular the chapters towards the end that divert from the narrative and focus on Edward’s finances and his stance on law and order were difficult to get through. When reading academic history, you do expect some dry parts especially on financial matters, but I found the narrative of Edward’s life to be very lacking as well.
Ross barely mentions Edward’s controversial Queen throughout and almost no insight is given into her character or her activities. When Edward flees to the continent, Ross does not even mention that Elizabeth had gone into sanctuary at Westminster for a number of pages later after he has covered the resolution of the crisis. A reader with no knowledge of the period would be left wondering what happened to the Queen and the Royal children. It is only a number of pages AFTER mentioning her sanctuary that Ross finally tells the reader that Elizabeth had given birth while in sanctuary to Edward’s long awaited male heir. This is one of the major events of the reign and it is mentioned in passing many pages after the fact. He also talks much about how the Woodvilles were unpopular, but does not speculate or explain why.
I also found it frustrating how multiple times Ross mentions that Edward IV was the only king since 1066 to not clear the way for the succession of his son. I find this to be very misleading considering when King John died Henry III was only 9 years old and half the country had declared for Louis of France. Only the efforts of De Burgh and William Marshall saved the throne for Henry, king John did nothing. I also find it bizarre that Ross did not give any suggestions as to what Edward could have done to prevent the crisis other than live longer.
He does not mention Edward’s supposed secret marriage that ended up seeing his children declared illegitimate, which is strange to say the least.
Overall, this was a very dry book with major gaps in the historical narrative that gives almost no insight into the King’s family affairs or the succession crisis that followed his death and saw his brother take the throne.
May 27, 2020
Excellent History of Edward IV
Ross has written a thorough and persuasive account of the reign of the first Yorkist king, Edward IV. Overall an effective monarch, Edward bungled his continental foreign policy and war with Scotland. He can be faulted too for not securing the throne for his twelve-year-old son, by leaving his wife's unpopular Woodville family and his powerful brother, Duke Richard of Gloucester, at daggers drawn upon his early and untimely death in 1483.
Ross has written a thorough and persuasive account of the reign of the first Yorkist king, Edward IV. Overall an effective monarch, Edward bungled his continental foreign policy and war with Scotland. He can be faulted too for not securing the throne for his twelve-year-old son, by leaving his wife's unpopular Woodville family and his powerful brother, Duke Richard of Gloucester, at daggers drawn upon his early and untimely death in 1483.
Want to read
March 12, 2018Recommended by Conn Iggulden in Ravenspur
May 29, 2019
4.5 stars.
April 19, 2024
Authorative and through history.
February 23, 2025
Remains my favourite monarch for personal reasons but in many ways all time bag fumbler at the end there
May 31, 2014
While a foundational modern work on Edward IV, Ross here is still limited by his own biases and the school of British Historical thought he came from. Students of Ross - and they are legion - will disagree with this assessment, I'm sure. But much has been learned since this influential biography was first released and, in this edition, re-released, and in light of more recent developments some of Ross' assumptions can strike the reader as quaint.
In some ways, this is because of the order in which this volume was approached. Having read, in essence, answers - other, newer books - to arguments raised in light of this book's publication, reading this after those cogent responses casts Ross in a poorer light than he perhaps deserves.
Thus, 3 stars. I liked it, but would caution others it needs to be approached with the knowledge its assumptions have, in some cases, been disproved.
In some ways, this is because of the order in which this volume was approached. Having read, in essence, answers - other, newer books - to arguments raised in light of this book's publication, reading this after those cogent responses casts Ross in a poorer light than he perhaps deserves.
Thus, 3 stars. I liked it, but would caution others it needs to be approached with the knowledge its assumptions have, in some cases, been disproved.
April 26, 2016
This is a very well written and well researched book. There are unfortunately not very many books on Edward IV and his life/reign. Most of the books out there seem to focus on the War of the Roses rather than his policies/finances/reign etc. This gives a nice overview of both his first decade before the Readeption and his second decade following the end of the Civil War. It does read a bit like a textbook at times and has a tendency to verge on the dry every now and again but it is well worth a read.
I recommend this for people who have an interest in this period of history and also for people who watched the abysmal White Queen mini series and want to know the reality behind the fantastical fiction!
A good , interesting book on the only English monarch since 1066 to fail to secure the throne for his heir to ascend after his death.
I recommend this for people who have an interest in this period of history and also for people who watched the abysmal White Queen mini series and want to know the reality behind the fantastical fiction!
A good , interesting book on the only English monarch since 1066 to fail to secure the throne for his heir to ascend after his death.
September 10, 2014
A thoroughly exhausted of study on Edward IV, very comprehensive and analytic regarding all aspects of his life. Doubtful there is a better study of Edward IV ever written.
January 17, 2009
Wars of the Roses
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews