Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. The fifteenth century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. I'd pick from between the three, depending on whether you want the Easy (Jones), Medium (Weir), or Expert (Hicks) difficulty version of the story.The author of the New York Times bestseller The Plantagenets chronicles the next chapter in British history-the actual historical backdrop for Game of Thrones It's probably the "best" in terms of historical research and analysis, being far more critical of the contemporary sources (mostly written in Edward IV's reign) than either Weir or Jones, but it's a little clumsily written (a fair amount of repetition and the occasional reference to future events that somebody unfamiliar with the time period may get confused by) and ponderous at times, so might only interest people really interested in the topic. ![]() I also think it's a good place to mention Michael Hicks' Wars of the Roses. His book tends to have a bit of a "York wasn't such a bad guy" tone to it, and in doing so he doesn't really dig deep into any of the nuance and motivations for York's actions, nor the terms of his (repeated) punishments for what was essentially treason. Jones, however, in his attempt to tell a "story" rather than an academic historical account, tends to gloss on a fair number of things. ![]() Dan Jones's book is a relatively easy read with a very polished narrative for easy consumption.
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