Overview

For over a hundred years England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. France was a large, unwieldy kingdom, England was small and poor, but for the most part she dominated the war, sacking towns and castles and winning battles - including such glorious victories as Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, but then the English run of success began to fail, and in four short years she lost Normandy and finally her last stronghold in Guyenne. The protagonists of the Hundred Year War are among the most colourful in European history: for the English, Edward III, the Black Prince and Henry V, later immortalized by Shakespeare; for the French, the splendid but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London, Charles V, who very nearly overcame England and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did at last drive the English out.

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9781841196787

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Reviews

- 'Mr Seward shows us all the famous sights of those roaring times... and illuminates them with an easy scholarship, a nice sense of detail... and a most agreeable clarity of style.' New Yorker - 'Sharp with political and military sense.' C.P. Snow, Financial Times - 'A well-written narrative, beautifully illustrated, and which takes into account most recent scholarship. It is also a good read.' Richard Cobb, New Statesman

Shows us all the famous sights of those roaring times ... and illuminates them with an easy scholarship, a nice sense of detail. - New Yorker A well-written narrative, beautifully illustrated, and which takes into account most recent scholarship. It is also a good read. - Richard Cobb, New Statesman

For over a hundred years, England invaded France on a regular basis, claiming (with some justification) that her kings had a right to the French throne. France was a large, unwieldy kingdom. England was small and poor. Yet she dominated the war, sacking towns and castles and winning battles - including such glorious victories as Crecy, Poitiers and of course Agincourt. The protagonists of that war - or, more properly, wars - are among the most colourful in European history. On the English side, we have Edward III, his son the Prince of Wales (also known as the Black Prince) and Henry V, immortalised by Shakespeare and again, in Britain's hour of need, by Laurence Olivier. For the French, there was the splendid but inept John II, the sickly Charles V, who very nearly overcame the English, and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did at last drive the enemy out. Desmond Seward's critically acclaimed account of the war first appeared in 1978. Born in France, educated in England (at Ampleforth and Cambridge) Seward was ideally placed to tell the tale of this fratricidal conflict. He broke new ground in stressing its materialistic nature. For Englishmen, this was a war rich in spoils. The French remember it less fondly - for them it was, in Seward's words, 'a dreadful experience, which involved the entire community', a time when 'wolves entered Paris to eat the corpses'. Seward brings to vivid life not only the intrigue and pageantry of the two courts, but the blood and guts of battle (his description of Poitiers is particularly gripping). He also lays to rest some long-cherished myths - the role of Joan of Arc, for example, was less crucial than is popularly supposed. This is a book which manages to be both concise and scholarly, never sacrificing intellectual rigour on the altar of accessibility, and is amply illustrated with (mainly contemporary) maps, charts, tables and etchings. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Ampleforth and St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He is the author of many books, including The Monks of War, The Hundred Years War, The Wars of the Roses, and The Last White Rose.

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