Henry VI

Bertram Wolffe's biography on Henry VI actually read more like a study of politics instead of a biography of a king. The politics involves the inner working of the court of Henry VI as he grew from a child king to an adult king. We really don't get to know Henry personally but understand him by his official actions as King of England and working of his advisors, favorites and office holders. But one thing the author make very clear in this book was that Henry VI was truly an incompetent man and his ineptitude as a ruler marked him as an unworthy monarch. But its also clear that he was let down by almost everyone around him. Premature death of his father left a power vacuum around the young king and Henry was unlucky enough to have self-interest men around him who probably ruined him during his formative years. Foundation of his father kept things stable for awhile but cracks began to show because Henry wasn't capable and neither were men around him. In some ways, he seem to compared favorably with Henry III although the third Henry was more lucky. If there is a major weakness in this book, it appears that the book get weaker as Henry VI get weaker on the throne. His last ten years get a mere 15 pages even although it was probably one of the more exciting parts of his personal life. This book appears to be well researched and well written but it seem to be geared toward people who are well versed in English mediveal history. A novice reading this book may feel bit overwhelmed by massive amount of information regarding English mediveal politics of this time period. Overall, this book does come highly recommended, although not a great biography of any sort, its a great study of English politics prior to the War of the Roses. Its explained the working of the English policies and reflects well why they lost all that Henry V have won for them.