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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Hendrik V - Het leven van Engelands grootste koning by Dan Jones
2 reviews
informative
slow-paced
This book is a dense beast! That being said, if you're looking for a thorough recounting of Henry V's rule and conquest of France during the Hundred Years' War, this is it. Literally starting with Henry's birth and ending with his death, Jones explores in great detail the life of what some consider England's greatest monarch. The book is split roughly in two; the first half about his father, Henry IV's sezuire of the throne from Richard II and Henry's life as Prince of Wales. The second half follows his reign as king and attempts to conquer France.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Kidnapping
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
Context: I’ve read so much over the decades about the Tudors and The Anarchy it’s about time I read about something that happened in between.
In the introduction Mr Jones writes that he is going to do something different. He is going to write a biography of a long dead person in the present tense. In my opinion it worked very well.
This is a clearly written engaging history. He cites his sources as footnotes and does not put words in peoples mouths. He is careful to note that a person may or may not have been at this place or this event. I did get a little confused in the battle scenes but I don’t really have a very good understanding of battle anyway.
One can always argue that a historical person has be deified or villainised by biographer and I an no Medieval scholar but I think this book is a good way to become more familiar with the people and events of Henry V’s life and reign.
Mr Jones did make an effort to include the lives of the women surrounding Henry V, but that is always a struggle when writing about Medieval England. I really need to see if I can find a decent biography of Alice Chaucer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Sexism, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, Deportation
Moderate: child marriage, child birth.