Summary
The Plantagenets reigned over England longer than any other family--from Henry II, to Richard III. Four kings were murdered, two came close to deposition, and another was killed in a battle by rebels. Shakespeare wrote plays about six of them, further entrenching them in the national myth. Based on major contemporary sources and recent research, acclaimed historian Desmond Seward provides the first readable overview of the whole extraordinary dynasty, in one volume.
Author Notes
Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Cambridge. He is the author of many books, including The Hundred Years War; The Wars of the Roses; Eleanor of Aquitaine; Caravagio ; and The Plantagenet s. He lives in England.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Seward, who has written on the Tudors and the Hundred Years' War, gives a whirlwind overview of the Plantagenet kings, from Henry II through Richard III (1154-1485). The book focuses on men, battles, and politics in a manner that ignores the past 50 years of medieval scholarship. While he relies on period accounts and chronicles, Seward (The Last White Rose) doesn't account for the biases of his sources; a book praising Thomas a Becket, for example, is a hardly a reliable source information on Geoffrey of Anjou, the father of Henry II. Elsewhere Seward proposes motives and beliefs for individuals without providing citations. Strong queens, such as Matilda, the mother of Henry II, are "viragos," while other queens are disparaged as termagants, lustful, arrogant, cruel, or scheming. Even Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's wife, is barely mentioned. Horrendous punishments, however, are described in gleeful detail, as is an account of Edward II's murder that is now dismissed by most historians. Seward also reinforces long-demolished stereotypes about the Middle Ages: that all Jews were money-lenders and lived under the constant threat of persecution; that belief in black magic and omens was rampant; and that life was uniformly dirty, superstitious, and violent. There are many scholars and even novelists who have portrayed the Plantagenets and the period more accurately. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Historian Seward (The Last White Rose: The Secret Wars of the Tudors,2014) again serves up a neat, clearview of an English dynastythis time, the Plantagenets.Turning to as many contemporary sources as possible, the author in particular initially quotes the chronicles of Matthew Paris and Roger of Wendover, monks of St. Albans, a well-placed monastery at the intersection of two of Englands busiest roads, who witnessed history unfolding. The author deftly covers 300 years of English history and more than a dozen kings, noting how, due to a multicultural world that is embarrassed by patriotic historythe Plantagenets have faded from peoples memory. Readers well-versed in Plantagenet history will delight in the efficient completeness of this narrative. The author covers most of the bases, although a bit more attention might have been paid to Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of historys strongest women. Seward succinctly chronicles the successes and failures of these kings, from Henry IIs manic energy to Edward IIs complete uselessness to Henry Vs heroic victories over the French. The author also recounts the immense changes that took place in the world during the time period, beginning with Henry IIs accession in 1154 and ending with the great age of exploration that began in 1492, just seven years after the fall of Richard III at Bosworth. During that time, England twice gained and lost vast lands in France, fought the Hundred Years War against the same, and alternately subdued and surrendered to the Scots, Irish and Welsh. The bitter civil war between the Lancaster and York families finally ended with Henry Tudors ascension and unification of the families.Seward is a good author to turn to for ease in reading history; his writing style is quick, vibrant and delightfully pithy in its simplicity of phrase. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The Tudors are popular these days, but the Plantagenets are gaining ground, as seen in the increasing number of books, movies, and television series based on the royal family that ruled England longer than any of the sceptred isle's other dynasties. Even in the face of Tudor bragging rights, namely, the vivid Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, what the Plantagenets had to offer their own set of colorful personalities does not pale in comparison. Seward is a well-respected historian for the nonspecialist, which is his intended audience here as he presents the highs and lows of the three-centuries-long Plantagenet clan, painting a sequence of precise, three-dimensional portraits that put forth in easy terms what each king did for or against the progress of the English nation. Out from the disorderly mess of the reign of King Stephen emerged the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, of whom Seward concludes, no English ruler has ever left a deeper, more lasting mark. The dynasty eventually fell to the Tudor insurgency, but some of them were among the greatest Englishmen who ever lived. This is popular history at its most buoyant and informative.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Seward, popularizer of famous European elites, may have written this to compete with Dan Jones's The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England (CH, Oct'13, 51-1092). Like Jones, he writes yet another ripping good whirlwind of a yarn about the lusty, violent, yet paradoxically venerable Plantagenet kings. Unlike Jones, however, Seward writes not to entertain but rather to rescue these kings from the current "multicultural world" that is "embarrassed by patriotic history" (p. 292). He avers that he has used "quotations from earlier historians when they are more telling than those from modern academics" and celebrates his "very personal interpretation" of these monarchs (p. xx), thus reviving idiosyncratic 19th-century aristocratic literary history rather than engaging with the last century of scholarship by research historians. Citing a few contemporary historians now and again as they suit him, Seward still essentially offers an uncritical interpolation of medieval chronicle sources and thereby perpetuates their biases and "politically correct" attitudes as his own. Women are largely absent, strong queens are "viragos" and arrogant schemers, and crude stereotypes of Jews and superstitious commoners abound. Readers are better advised to consult Jeffrey Hamilton, The Plantagenets: A History of a Dynasty (CH, Apr'11, 48-4695). Summing Up: Not recommended --Joseph P. Huffman, Messiah College
Library Journal Review
The Plantagenet dynasty, a union of several European familial houses, retained a grip on the British throne for more than three centuries despite constant wars (including the Hundred Years' War and the Scottish Wars of Independence), upheavals amongst local vassals, and the rulers' own personal flaws. By Seward's (A Brief History of the Hundred Years War) own admission, this title is specifically aimed at the nonspecialist, packing the Plantagenets' 300-year history into a tidy volume that briefly touches upon the highs and lows of the dynasty's 14 rulers. The result is a history that provides a fairly vivid overall picture of the kings themselves, yet the cost of omitting much of the in-depth details of their reigns means that most information is more akin to light sketches than scholarly narratives. VERDICT As in his previous works, Seward has a tendency to present his viewpoint on historical figures (or the viewpoint of his particular sources) as irrevocable fact. However, the breadth of history covered and the author's succinct style will likely make this a satisfactory choice for casual readers seeking a full but accessible history of this dynasty.-Kathleen McCallister, Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
