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krystyne88's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
3.5
His writing is clear, well researched, and unbiased. I feel like I get a scarily accurate view of life during the wars of the roses.
mcr1955's review against another edition
3.0
Well written with lots of detail. The details allowed me to experience the 3 brothers as 3 dimensional human beings. However, with this came an absolute disgust as their greed and self-dealing. These people were truly awful and about half-way thru the book, I couldn't take anymore.
ktuco1's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
These three brothers possessed such surpassing talent that, if they had been able to avoid conflict, their triple bond could have been broken only with the utmost difficulty.
The quote above highlights exactly what the ultimate tragedy of the Brothers York (Edward, George, and Richard) was, that in their three respective quests for glory and power, the bonds of family and blood weren't enough to hold them together and in that, they lost the throne and some of them, their lives.
I like to think that I know a lot about the Wars of the Roses and the Yorks/Lancasters (I've read my fair share of books about it) but this book went into even more detail and provided more names to this incredibly complex part of English history. I greatly appreciated that but I think that I've also read too many books about this period because I felt like I've already read this book, and that kinda hampered my enjoyment of it. I wish I had read it earlier when I didn't read as many books about the Yorks/Wars of the Roses.
Also, I thought this book would go more in depth biographically of the three brothers concurrently with each other as events went on but it went more chronologically with their importance during certain events, if that makes sense. Like the vast majority of the book was about Edward IV because he was older than his two brothers and ruled the longest out of them, when I was expecting to have some discussion on what the other two brothers thought or did during certain events but that didn't happen really. It was more of a general timeline of the conflict rather than biographies as the title suggests.
But it's a great place to start if you want to know more about this period or about any of the York brothers!
These three brothers possessed such surpassing talent that, if they had been able to avoid conflict, their triple bond could have been broken only with the utmost difficulty.
The quote above highlights exactly what the ultimate tragedy of the Brothers York (Edward, George, and Richard) was, that in their three respective quests for glory and power, the bonds of family and blood weren't enough to hold them together and in that, they lost the throne and some of them, their lives.
I like to think that I know a lot about the Wars of the Roses and the Yorks/Lancasters (I've read my fair share of books about it) but this book went into even more detail and provided more names to this incredibly complex part of English history. I greatly appreciated that but I think that I've also read too many books about this period because I felt like I've already read this book, and that kinda hampered my enjoyment of it. I wish I had read it earlier when I didn't read as many books about the Yorks/Wars of the Roses.
Also, I thought this book would go more in depth biographically of the three brothers concurrently with each other as events went on but it went more chronologically with their importance during certain events, if that makes sense. Like the vast majority of the book was about Edward IV because he was older than his two brothers and ruled the longest out of them, when I was expecting to have some discussion on what the other two brothers thought or did during certain events but that didn't happen really. It was more of a general timeline of the conflict rather than biographies as the title suggests.
But it's a great place to start if you want to know more about this period or about any of the York brothers!
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
Enthroned as a baby Henry VI is a weak and powerless king. When his nobles kill his Uncle, the Duke of York, it sets off his demise because York's three remaining sons are out for vengeance. The eldest is Edward, tall, strong and a powerful leader in waiting, who takes the throne after the bloody battle of Towton in 1461. Over the next decade Edward fights to hold onto his throne as the supporters of Henry wage war but Edward has the support of his two younger brothers, Clarence and Richard. Between them these brothers direct the course of English history for a quarter century.
This is a masterly book. There is some criticism of Penn's portrayal of Richard but it is a balanced biography, Richard is shown as a capable administrator and soldier as well as a manipulative uncle. The mercurial nature of loyalties is shown brilliantly and the research is second to none. Unlike many worthy studies Penn has a modern writing style which draws the reader in and, by use of modern idiom, engages.
This is a masterly book. There is some criticism of Penn's portrayal of Richard but it is a balanced biography, Richard is shown as a capable administrator and soldier as well as a manipulative uncle. The mercurial nature of loyalties is shown brilliantly and the research is second to none. Unlike many worthy studies Penn has a modern writing style which draws the reader in and, by use of modern idiom, engages.
simonmee's review against another edition
4.0
You'll never run short of books about the Wars of the Roses, but this is a pretty lively tale, even when they are talking about a limp afterthought of a performance.
The genealogy of the sons of Edward III (and the hangers on) can be pretty tough to map out in writing, so for the most part Penn leaves it to you to look at the tree at the front, helped perhaps that he's focused on the York part of it. That being said, the breezy style works well throughout, whether about the shipping East of buillion causing currency shortages, acts of resumption, trade treaties and a...
quarrel by which of the lords got to sleep with the innkeeper's daughter, became a full blown row...
...and yes, the clash of the political and the personal gets full reign. The interplay of Earl of Warwick with France and Burgundy (the quasi-independent duchy with rulers such as "the Fearless", "the Good" and "the Bold") gives life to a side character, where his personal aims influenced international diplomacy. The extra bit of spice is a diplomatic incident threatening to unfold when a Woodville rams his sword down a horse's throat.
Edward IV, the only one of the three to die in his bed, gets the treatment his flawed character demands for, there being something brittle at the heart of Edward's sense of himself and his kingship. Richard III never really gets a good run of things, even during his dukedom, and Clarence remains a wastrel. None of this is really revelationary, so this repackaging of a well covered story relies on the writing style. Since I'm now intrigued by the Papal monopoly on alum, I think Penn got there.
The genealogy of the sons of Edward III (and the hangers on) can be pretty tough to map out in writing, so for the most part Penn leaves it to you to look at the tree at the front, helped perhaps that he's focused on the York part of it. That being said, the breezy style works well throughout, whether about the shipping East of buillion causing currency shortages, acts of resumption, trade treaties and a...
quarrel by which of the lords got to sleep with the innkeeper's daughter, became a full blown row...
...and yes, the clash of the political and the personal gets full reign. The interplay of Earl of Warwick with France and Burgundy (the quasi-independent duchy with rulers such as "the Fearless", "the Good" and "the Bold") gives life to a side character, where his personal aims influenced international diplomacy. The extra bit of spice is a diplomatic incident threatening to unfold when a Woodville rams his sword down a horse's throat.
Edward IV, the only one of the three to die in his bed, gets the treatment his flawed character demands for, there being something brittle at the heart of Edward's sense of himself and his kingship. Richard III never really gets a good run of things, even during his dukedom, and Clarence remains a wastrel. None of this is really revelationary, so this repackaging of a well covered story relies on the writing style. Since I'm now intrigued by the Papal monopoly on alum, I think Penn got there.
adkwriter15's review
I know it really seems odd to DNF that far into a book, but I am just very bored and not into this at this time. I don't think it's a bad book, I just don't have the interest right now.
katymvt's review against another edition
3.0
Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book published in 2020.
Pretty interesting, but I found myself checking out a few times.
Pretty interesting, but I found myself checking out a few times.