The Wars of the Roses: A Concise History

At first, I felt the book went at a break-neck pace through years of changing alliances and shifts in power, not giving a novice enough detail to understand why the momentum would shift from one house to another. However, I greatly appreciated the real "meat" of the book in the last two chapters where Ross goes on to explain the effect of the wars on the culture of England. I teach World History to high school freshmen in a college prep environment. Each of my students is following a certain theme, and I will definitely direct some of them to the final chapters of Ross's book. For those following battles, there are diagrams of Barnet and Bosworth with paragraphs explaining tactics. For those following architecture, Ross explains how the wars did (or did not) affect building styles and plans of the nobility. For those following economic patterns, Ross explains how various groups (nobility, towns, merchants, etc.) were influenced by the wars and by foreign alliances made by Yorkists and Lancastrians. For those studying women's history, the Wars of the Roses more than any other (I think) show the "value" of marriage in military alliance. There is even a section showing how literature was affected and an interesting segment on Sir Thomas Malory (author of *Morte d'Arthur*). The last two chapters also help students understand the concept of the "new monarchy" and the declining power of the feudal nobility that occurred in the aftermath of the Wars. What is more, the paragraphs in the last chapter, in particular, will give great practice for younger students in their attempts to follow the development of an idea over several paragraphs, a great skill for ACT and SAT practice. I will definitely be getting a copy of this book for our school library!

I am a reasonably intelligent person, was a theater major in college, and have read more than my share of the tragedies and comedies of Shakespeare. I was, however, quite at a loss upon completing the first Act of RICHARD III. I was completely lost. The endless queue of corpses, pretenders to the throne, and partisans of one competing group or another left me completely bewildered and confused. I knew that Richard was unscrupulous and evil, and that he had managed the deaths of many of his relatives, but by and large I was unclear on all of the details.The fault lay not with Shakespeare but with my knowledge of English history. The depth of my ignorance about several periods of history is unfathomable. Among those areas of ignorance are several of the military conflicts in European history. I know that there was a Hundred Years War (that lasted considerably more than a hundred years), a Thirty Years War (that I believe was fought in the early 17th century for God knows what reason), and the Wars of the Roses. To be perfectly honest, until recently I had no idea when the Wars of the Roses were fought, between whom, nor why. Imagine my delight when I discovered that this was precisely the conflict with which most of Shakespeare's historical plays dealt. Learn about this period of English history, and I have the background I need to read RICHARD III and the other historical plays. After some brief research, this volume appeared to be one that would give me what I needed to know about the conflict.I have to admit that it did the trick. I have now restarted reading RICHARD III, and I not only understand Shakespeare's narrative, I know his account of things is extraordinarily wrong! Primarily he changes chronology to suit his purposes, and recreates historical scenes that could not have happened. There is no evidence according to Ross that Richard in any way plotted against either his brother Edward IV (he in fact seems to have been his staunchest supporter) nor that he machinated his brother Clarence's imprisonment (Clarence was the tool of Warwick, who pushed him forward as a pretender to the throne). Nor was there ever a time when Margaret could have made her long, impassioned speech. Actual historical chronology would have precluded it. In short, Shakespeare recreated history for dramatic effect, and painted Richard far, far blacker than he in fact deserved. He was not, however, a nice guy. Most historians agree that he probably did have his nephews murdered, and there is some evidence that he killed his wife Anne (daughter of Warwick) with the idea of marrying his niece Elizabeth (who in fact married Henry Tudor, later Henry VII). Shakespeare more or less gave the Tudor party line, and then some. Had Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth, he undoubtedly would have painted Richard as a great hero, and Henry Tudor as a black hearted villain.For those who like the books to be pleasant to look upon, I am happy to report that T

Ross draws upon his experience as a professor of Medieval History at the University of Bristol to provide the reader with a well written survey of the Wars of the Roses. He presents the reader with discussions of views held by chroniclers of the period, as well as those of modern historians. Ross divides the topic into five main categories: 1. the historical traditon of the wars; 2. the origins of the civil wars; 3. civil war and dynastic revolution; 4. the military aspects of the wars; and 5. the impact of civil war on English politics and society. The book is well illustrated with 126 black and white illustrations, a map and two battle plans. Genealogical tables help the reader understand the relationships amongst the houses of Lancaster, Tudor, Beaufort, York and Nevill. Although the bibliography is short, Ross enhances its value by short comments regarding each book or article. If the reader becomes confused by the use of titles to refer to the major players, a quick glance at the well written index where the title includes entries for the Christian and Surnames for the individuals holding the title. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a survey on the Wars of the Roses! Readers who are interested in biographies of the kings will want to read Ross' biographies of Edward IV and Richard III.

A well written book with excellent ilustrations. One of the best survey of the Wars of the roses. Highly recomended to anyone interested on the subject. He divides the book in five chapters, one dedicated exclusibly to the battles, and the last one is an accurate panorama of the Wars impact on the English people.