Overview

From the author of She-Wolves, the epic story of a rivalry that brought the nation to the brink of disaster - and back again Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. Their lives were from the beginning entwined. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side- a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king. Yet they soon grew up to be opposites- Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, and the stage was set for a final confrontation. This is a story about a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe - and two men whose lives were played out in parallel, to devastating effect.

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9780141991641

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Reviews

A brilliant achievement.... not just a glorious work of history but a gripping and haunting tragedy. She is not, of course, the first writer to have made a drama out of the crisis that brought the Lancastrians to power, but it is the measure of her genius for narrative and character that the tale she tells does not remotely suffer from comparison with Shakespeare... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut -- Tom Holland * The Spectator * The Eagle and the Hart is packed with drama and incident, but it’s also written with an electrifying sense of the tensions between individuals and institutions, innovation and tradition, legitimacy and tyranny. This is a masterpiece of narrative history -- Matthew Lyons * The Telegraph * The Eagle and the Hart is a meticulous account of the precariousness of kingship and the psychology of power. It is also a rattlingly good story, told with scholarship and humanity by one of our finest historians -- Helen Carr * The Spectator * Luminous... a rich and vivid history of the Plantagenet cousins and rivals for the English throne... Helen Castor is a historian of great nuance and meticulous scholarship -- Kathryn Hughes * The Guardian * An exhaustively researched and beautifully written account... The Eagle and the Hart reads not just as a political epic but as a timely reflection on both the dangers of egomaniacal rulers and the challenges facing those who replace them -- Katherine Harvey * The Times * A compelling narrative... which conveys the complexities of politics in this fascinating time in exemplary style, with a sharp eye for personality and a profound understanding of the period -- Jonathan Sumption * The Literary Review * The book is astonishingly good. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is both a gripping, moving, deeply humane study of two contrasting cousins, and a clear-eyed dissection of late medieval England’s polity -- Dan Jones * History, Etc * Among the front rank of writers producing thoughtful and engaging popular history, Helen Castor... examines complex events and an extensive cast of personalities in clear, uncluttered prose -- Stephen Brumwell * Wall Street Journal * The Eagle and the Hart brings the 14th century to life in all its gaudy colour, terrifying bloodletting and high drama. A book to feast on * The London Standard * An utterly gripping and compelling tale of a deadly rivalry, told with Helen Castor's characteristic verve and exceptional scholarship. The intrigue, turbulence and sheer drama of the Plantagenet age is brought vividly to life throughout. One of the best history books I've read in years -- Tracy Borman

A riveting account of Richard II and Henry IV’s rivalry... The book of the year -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph (#1 in The 50 best books of 2024 – ranked) * A wonderful narrative history of England... rich in medieval colour and human detail * The Times Best History Books of the Year * A beautifully humane medieval political thriller which happens also to be true -- Dan Jones * Daily Express Books of the Year * My clear stand-out this year was The Eagle and The Hart... Castor retains the drama of the events superbly -- Robbie Smith * The London Standard, Books of the Year * Helen Castor is a master storyteller not only of what she sees as ‘the tragedy’ of their relationship [of Richard II and Henry IV] but also of this most turbulent period in English history, a real-life game of thrones and violent power plays in which one wrong move would cost a careless duke or earl his head and a king his crown. Who said medieval history was boring? -- Tony Rennell * Daily Mail Books of the Year * Helen Castor’s The Eagle and the Hart concerns two men – the 14th century king Richard II and his cousin who would be king instead, Henry Bolingbroke – yet it encompasses dozens of characters, hundreds of subplots and some of the most momentous years in English history * Prospect, History Books of the Year * My book of the year is Helen Castor’s spellbinding The Eagle and the Hart, a beautifully written and convincingly argued study of first cousins and bitter rivals Richard II and Henry IV. In her ability to evoke time and place, and to get under the skin of medieval power politics, Castor is without equal -- Saul David * Aspects of History, Books of the Year * Helen Castor’s The Eagle and the Hart is the utterly addictive, gripping tale of a deadly rivalry between two cousins: the “thin-skinned narcissist Richard II” and the charismatic, chivalric Henry IV. The intrigue, turbulence and sheer drama of the Plantagenet age is brough vividly to life throughout. Told with characteristic verve and exceptional scholarship, this is one of the best history books I’ve read in years -- Tracy Borman * BBC History Magazine Books of the Year * A brilliant achievement.... not just a glorious work of history but a gripping and haunting tragedy. She is not, of course, the first writer to have made a drama out of the crisis that brought the Lancastrians to power, but it is the measure of her genius for narrative and character that the tale she tells does not remotely suffer from comparison with Shakespeare... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut -- Tom Holland * The Spectator * The Eagle and the Hart is packed with drama and incident, but it’s also written with an electrifying sense of the tensions between individuals and institutions, innovation and tradition, legitimacy and tyranny. This is a masterpiece of narrative history -- Matthew Lyons * The Telegraph *

Author Information

Helen Castor is an acclaimed medieval and Tudor historian. Her books include the prize-winning Blood & Roses, She-Wolves- The Women Who Ruled England before Elizabeth, and Joan of Arc, dubbed 'a triumph of history'. She has presented a range of radio and television programmes for the BBC and Channel 4, including documentaries based on She-Wolves and Joan of Arc. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow Commoner of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and was a judge for the 2022 Booker Prize. She has one son, and lives in London.

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