Team Lancaster vs. Team York

Source: Author Website

The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir (1995; Ballantine Books, 2011, 496pp.)

Starting with the fourteenth century reign of the semi-insane Richard II and ending almost 100 years later with the reign of the equally mentally ill Henry VI, Weir focuses on the swath of activity that occurred during the legendary wars for succession between the Houses of York and Lancaster (known as the Wars of the Roses).

I should begin my criticism by professing my profound respect for Weir as a writer and as a historian, and I would highly recommend her to anyone who loves British history
—but! This is not the book to start with. Due to the narrative's multitude of historical characters, things quickly becomes confusing, simply because you're not sure who's who. People are not referred to by their birth names (Joe Smith, for example), but by whatever title they hold at the time they're mentioned.

Now, this wouldn't be so bad if you were simply talking about a well-known monarch like Henry VIII. Everyone knows who he is. Folks like Henry IV, on the other hand, don't have it as easy. During the course of the narrative, Henry IV doesn't just stay Henry IV. He starts out as Henry Bolingbroke, then becomes the Duke of Hereford, and later calls himself Henry of Lancaster/Henry IV. And, lucky for the reader! He has a son named Henry Monmouth (later Henry V), who in turn, has an uncle named Henry Beaufort (his father's half-brother). That said, once you get into the rhythm of the narrative and are a bit familiar with the names, Weir's history makes for some very absorbing reading. (You just have to pay REALLY CLOSE ATTENTION to what you're reading AT ALL TIMES.) Recommended for established history buffs already familiar with the material. For similar books, I would also recommend Weir's Mistress of the Monarchy, which covers a portion of this subject material in greater depth.

John of Gaunt: The Biography (With Footnotes About the Swynford Affair)

Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir (Ballantine Books, 2009, 416pp.)
Historian Alison Weir crafts a biography of Katherine Swynford, medieval mistress, and later wife, of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and son of England’s Edward III. A love story most notably portrayed in Anya Seton’s 1954 novel Katherine, the widowed Swynford served as a governess to the duke’s children. She bore him four children, all of whom were legitimized when the couple married after the death of Constance, John’s second wife. Weir covers a fair amount of territory, including the Plantagenet family, the Peasants’ Rebellion, and the infamous Black Death, with a cameo appearance by Geoffrey Chaucer. Very little is actually known about Katherine, however, and unfortunately for the author, it shows. What she lacks in terms of Katherine’s physical appearance, hobbies, or personality, she makes up for in speculation, including her reactions to certain historical events. (Was Katherine fearful of catching the Black Plague? Did she really believe that John of Gaunt wasn’t off seducing other women in addition to herself?, etc.) What purports to be an account of a passionate love story reads more like a biography of John of Gaunt (a more historically known figure) with the love affair penciled in the margins. It is by no means a poorly written biography—far from it, in fact. It’s simply a well-written one with a tragically misleading title.