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7+ YearsPublisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
ISBN 13 | 9780007213948 |
Book Subtitle | The Kings Who Made England |
Book Description | This brilliant new book explores the lives of eight generations of the greatest kings and queens that this country has ever seen, and the worst. The Plantagenets - their story is the story of Britain. A rich, sprawling cast of characters, the Plantagenets were both gifted and cursed by an inherited trait that made some brilliant rulers and statesmen, and others cowards, bullies and tyrants. They ruled over wars of conquest and wars of defence. They fought holy Crusades and bitter feuds with Rome. At times their subjects enjoyed prosperity, security, national glory and vast wealth; at others they suffered plagues, invasions, famines and ignominious defeat at the hands of their enemies. The Plantagenets were by turns beautiful and cruel, judicious and insanely paranoid, brilliant and a tragically flawed family. The Plantagenets is divided into three parts, each telling a gripping story of the three main eras of Plantagenet rule. Together they combine as a historical epic of the sort that has not been written of British history for nearly a century. Parts I, II and III, The Angevins (c.1 150 - 1272), The Edwards (1272 - 1360) and The English (1360 - 1399) look at fascinating characters such as Count Goeffrey V of Anjou, the first Plantagenet, Richard the Lionheart and his less famous older brother Henry, Edward the Black Prince and the stunning and influential princess Joan of Kent. In a book of dazzling scope and ambition, Dan Jones paints a psychological family portrait of the royal house of Plantagenet, creating a mesmerising new history of Britain before the Tudors. This is truly a definitive book building on the compelling style of his first book, Summer of Blood, bringing medieval Britain into vivid focus for the modern reader, and accessible to readers from age 9 to 90. |
Editorial Review | Dan Jones's The Plantagenets is outstanding. Majestic in its sweep, compelling in its storytelling, this is narrative history at its best. A thrilling dynastic history of royal intrigues, violent skulduggery and brutal warfare across two centuries of British history.' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, author of Jerusalem: The Biography 'Dan Jones tells the fascinating story with wit, verve and vivid insight. This is exhilarating history - a fresh and gloriously compelling portrait of a brilliant, brutal and bloody-minded dynasty.' HELEN CASTOR, author of She-Wolves 'Excellent...colourful and imaginative...it is unapologetically about powerful people, their foibles, their passions and their weaknesses... The Plantagenets is a wonderful gallop through English history in the traditional way. Powerful personalities, vivid descriptions of battles and tournaments, ladies in fine velvet and knights in shining armour crowd the pages of this highly engaging narrative' Evening Standard 'Bloody, brutal and brilliant' GQ magazine 'Action-packed narrative...a great story filled with fighting, personality clashes, betrayal and bouts of the famous Plantagenet rage...Jones is an impressively confident guide to this tumultuous scene...The Plantagenets succeeds in bringing an extraordinary family to life' Daily Telegraph |
About the Author | Dan Jones took a first in History from Pembroke College, Cambridge in 2002. He is an award-winning journalist and a pioneer of the resurgence of interest in medieval history. His first book on the Peasant's Revolt received widespread critical acclaim. This is his second book. He lives in London. |
Language | English |
Author | Dan Jones |
Publication Date | 04-07-2013 |
Number of Pages | 672 |
The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England Paperback English by Dan Jones - 04-07-2013