Book Description
This is the first single-volume account of the 15 battles of the Wars of the Roses, from St. Albans in 1455 to Stoke Field in 1487, with an emphasis on the strategy and tactics employed. ... Read more

Book Description
This book presents a fresh interpretation of the period, reconstructing the reign of William III through the eyes and in the words of those who lived through it. ... Read more

Book Description
The author of two highly praised novels, The Spiral Dance and American Woman, R... Garcia y Robertson returns with a charming time-travel romance sequence. In Knight Errant, Robyn Stafford, a young American woman hiking in England near the Welsh border, was swept back in time to the 1460s, the age of the War of the Roses. There she fell in love with a young knight, Edward, son of the Duke of York. Cast back in time by witchcraft, Robyn, a young executive from Hollywood, raised in Montana, has chosen to stay there out of love for Edward, who has promised to marry her.Now in Lady Robyn, Robyn's fantasy of courtly romance comes up against the brute reality of medieval politics: the politics of murder, warfare, and betrayal. The War of the Roses is no longer a textbook subject, it's messing up her life, and so is the noble witch who, though he doesn't know it, is Edward's enemy. Edward's father Richard is making a bid for the throne, and if he wins it, Edward will be heir apparent. And if Robyn marries him, she will someday be queen and her children heirs to the throne as well. In the 1460s, that means living with the constant threat of death. The survival rate for heirs is not high. Will Robyn reject her love or risk the lives of her children to be?This is an engrossing time-travel romance in the mold of Diana Gabaldon's bestselling timeslip tales. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Lady Robyn
This was a well written 2nd book to a 3 book series. Robyn is a satisfying character with depth and the plot leaves you wanting more. It is necessary to have the 3rd book waiting on your TBR pile, so immediate consumption is possible. Nicely done Mr.Robertson... Nicely done indeed.

Medieval muddle
As a time-travel romance, this is great fun. Historically, it's pretty good. But if I was in Robyn's situation, I'm not at all sure I could be strong enough NOT to check on my medieval boyfriend's future...

Didn't work
I won't go into the plot or story line! I picked this up at the library and was dismayed to see that it was part 2 of a trilogy. I don't usually like to start in the middle but figured what the heck.

I won't bother reading the rest of them.

His use of witchcraft as a device for the unity of women was interesting if not ignorant of knowledge of the time, and or course of witchcraft itself. The book is poorly researched in this area and it shows.

Had Robyn truly been transported into the middle ages she would never have evaded execution. Her open use of 20th century technology would have seen her burnt at the stake at first opportunity. People dealt with the unknown by through superstition. Her wristwatch, and even her coffee were enough to send her to her death, and unlike the book she would have found most people recoiling in fear from her.

This book didn't work for me. High humor, maybe, but when I read I like to be carried away by plausibility...to imagine that it just MIGHT could happen. All I found here were instance after instance to execute Robyn.

If you're interested in a plausible time travel book read the series byDIANA GABALDON, not only plausible but outstanding. In this genre she's the hands down champ.

engaging time travel romance
For someone born in mellow California in the twentieth century, Lady Robyn of Pontefract has reasonably adapted to living in the fifteenth century.She blames no one but herself for her present displacement as her white witch dabbling transported her to 1461 and the War of the Roses.To avoid blunders, she uses her palm pilot to help her keep score between the Lancasters and the Yorks though often she errs on whose side someone belongs.

Robyn has become engaged to Prince Edward, but problems exist for the duo.His family believes she is beneath him and wants their relationship to end.Meanwhile, aristocratic men want her killed as a witch, jailed for betting on the wrong side, or seek sex with her.Though a kind nurturing soul to all she meets, the noble female spouses want her dead.With reality intruding on history classes and romantic images, Robyn feels happy about her life, but would not mind returning to fast food California.

This is an engaging time travel romance that is clearly for fans of the series.New readers will feel more displaced than Robyn did when she first appeared in 1461.Robyn is a pragmatic and delightful lead protagonist and the rest of the ensemble either provides insight into her or the chaotic era.Fans of R. Garcia Y Robertson will enjoy the latest entry, as it is a fun tale.

Harriet Klausner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Greatest Quick Read of the Wars of the Roses
This book was excellent.I was interested in finding more out about England during the 15th century, and this was the prefect book to come to.It is a nice, thorough overview of the time period, in a language that's both entertaining and understandable. ... Read more

Book Description
This fresh reassessment looks beyond the immediate effects of World War I to consider the war as a catalyst of coming change, as a revolutionary influence, and as a force for reaction. The contributors also address the interpretive problem of identifying the onset of developments specific to
the interwar period. ... Read more

Book Description
The final volume in a trilogy of historical source books covering 1450-1485, this work focuses on the reign of Henry VI, whose manifest shortcomings provided a pretext for the start of the Wars of the Roses in the 1450s. The Wars have been viewed as a dynastic struggle, but more recently such interpretation has been rejected. A vigorous debate has flourished concerning the origins and nature of the Wars and this volume offers a framework for interpretation and a selection of passages from contemporary sources. The aim is for readers to appreciate just why the rule of Henry VI brought about the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, what the struggles were like and how they culminated in the end of the House of Lancaster. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Really interesting and comprehensive
This book is really fun to read. I wouldn't say you would read it like a novel, or even a biography, but it is fun to peruse every once an awhile.
It explains the backround of Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, and Richard, Duke of York. Then it takes you through the wars of the roses through quotes, letters, and chronicles, all written or said as it happened.
It's really good. A definate buy for anyone who wants to learn about this time, or already knows a lot! ... Read more

Book Description
Based largely on the words of contemporary chroniclers, poets and eyewitnesses, this study recreates fifteenth-century Wales caught up in the War of the Roses. This vividly written narrative is considered the classic account of the conflict between Lancaster and York. ... Read more

Book Description
Richard III is undoubtedly the dominant personality in this collection of essays, but not in his capacity as king of England. Richard was Duke of Gloucester far longer than he was king. For most of his career, he was a subject, not a monarch, the equal of the great nobility. He is seen here in the company of his fellows: Warwick the Kingmaker, Clarence, Northumberland, Somerset, Hastings a the Wydevilles. His relations with these rivals, all of whom submitted to him or were crushed, show him in different moods and from various vantage points. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, well-written summary of 15th Century England
This book is well-written, with sensible judgements about individuals, events and social forces in England from the end of Richard II's reign to Henry VII.While other more recent, detailedstudies are also available, Mr. Rowse's book is a good resource for someone who is beginning to study this period, and for those who want a well-written discussion of the transition between medieval forms of English monarchy and the Tudor period.His characterizations of persons such as Richard III and Henry VII seem to be generally fair and well-supported by other scholars.

Biased account of Wars Of The Roses
There have been many books written on the English 15th century, some good, some bad, and some, like Mr Roswe's here, completely one-sided. The book is dedicated to one of the author's friends, whose ancestors fought in the conflicts, obviously on the Lancastrian side. Rowse makes all Lancastrians/Tudors out to be noble, pious godsends, and all the Yorkists to be devious, unworthy, decadent cads. Even more ridiculous, Rowse appears to have used Shakespeare's cycles of plays as his "fact" base! Can that possibly be topped? Why yes, as there is even a chapter in this book dedicated to launching cheap insults at anyone who doesn't follow his narrow-minded, bigoted point of view!! "History" books like this one should not be taken lightly though, as they can be very dangerous. And one more thing, this doesn't make me a revisionist, it makes me a tradiotionalist! The real revisionists are the ones who altered history from the 16th century on. Strong reccomendation to avoid this book at all costs.

Rescuing Shakespeare's Histories From Revisionism
A lively, detailed, and unapologetically traditionalist interpretation of the background of Shakespeare's history plays, by a respected Shakespearean scholar and historian. This book is an ideal introduction to the period for both history students and readers of the history plays; it includes, in addition to detailed accounts of the principal figures and events of the war, an examination of literary treatments (including Shakespeare's). Revisionists may be put off by Rowse's staunch defence of the Shakespearean view of the war, but traditionalists will enjoy it a lot. I found this book extremely helpful for my own studies of the War of the Roses and Shakespeare's treatment of it. ... Read more

Book Description
R. Garcia y Robertson's delightful saga of time travel and romance, which began with Knight Errant and continued through Lady Robyn, grows even more irresistible as Robyn Stafford, a savvy Hollywood exec mystically transplanted to 15th century England, works overtime to secure happiness and true love amidst the fratricidal madness of the War of the Roses.Once a thoroughly modern Californian (and former Miss Rodeo Montana), Robyn has come to savor her new life as Lady Robyn of Pontefract, betrothed to the dashing young Edward Plantagenet, Earl of March, Duke of York, and heir to the English throne. Temporarily stranded back in 21st century, she wastes no time getting back to 1461, albeit with a few unexpected bumps along the way.But her troubles hardly end when she makes it back to Merrie Olde England and the arms of her beloved knight errant. War is in the air, with a rebellious Tudor army challenging Edward's forces at home, and a French invasion force gathering in the north, preparing to march on London. Having witnessed firsthand the deadly realities of medieval politics, Robyn is in no hurry to see Edward claim the throne, but, like it or not, he is the heir apparent, and Robyn must use all her wits to keep their love alive -- even if it means inventing tabloid journalism several centuries early! Look out, London! Lady Robyn has returned, so the Middle Ages had best mind its manners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Skip reading the whole thing and just read the synopsis
I have gotten through the first two books in this series and this was such a let down. It took me forever to read it. I enjoy historical fiction and I enjoy romance and this flunked both categories. Is girl-on-girl action a new trend in romance novels that I've missed? Just a bad book from start to finish.

Trilogy?Really??
I'm a great fan of this trilogy, which at its best is sparky, inventive, and enormous escapist fun.But as other reviewers have pointed out, the third instalment comes no closer to a conclusion than before.

The first book of the series, Knight Errant, begins in 1459, when Edward of March is sent to the 21st century by witchcraft.The first scene in the Middle Ages proper takes place in April 1460.The third book of the series takes us up to late February 1461.Three novels to cover ten months!By the end of this one, Edward of March is *still* not King of England.All the elements for future conflict are set up: Elizabeth Wydville, Edward's real wife historically, is a major character, and even his future mistress Jane Shore appears.But Edward didn't marry Elizabeth until 1464.At this rate, it'll take another forty novels or thereabouts to get us to their wedding!

It's really disappointing to get through all three novels and still have no hint of a resolution.I don't know if Robertson is planning a fourth, but really, how long can they go on?Robyn's spats with Gilbert FitzHolland are getting very tedious, as the reader knows by now that a) whichever part of England she's in, FitzHolland will miraculously be there too, and b) that she'll always escape from him.

Robyn's modern Californian friend Heidi is a character in this one, which is unfortunate, as she does very little except hit on Robyn and perform intimate acts on Owen Tudor.On the plus side, the appearance of Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset livens the narrative up considerably.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to accept Robyn's ignorance about the Wars of the Roses, given her familiarity with Shakespeare, whose plays she can quote endlessly from memory, including some of the history plays.Even if she knows very little about Richard III, surely anyone would know that he's often said to have murdered his nephews?Why would she not realise the identity of Edward's young brother?

In many ways, I'm so enamoured of this whole series, for its freshness, originality and downright enjoyability - but I really can't recommend them any more.There's only so many Yorkist-Lancastrian battles described in minute detail, so many love scenes between Edward and Robyn, so many scenes where FitzHolland threatens to kill her, so much witchcraft, a reader can take.

Much of the writing seems self-indulgent, and the numerous typos are pretty distracting.Edward's romantic persona seems increasingly at odds with the ruthless soldier and politician he is.And his love for Robyn, a woman much his senior and a witch from the future to boot, starts to seem increasingly implausible - as does all the characters' placid acceptance that Robyn comes from 'Holy Wood, far beyond Brazil' and has wondrous gadgets from 500-odd years in the future.

If a fourth book ever appears, I will read it, to see how the story ends - because the fourth one really *has* to be the last.Please, Mr Robertson - finish the story, tie up all the loose ends, and put me out of my misery!

It's up and down.....
This third book in R. Garcia Y Robertson's series, is both up and down, literarily and personally.One has to commend the author for being a MAN writing a WOMAN'S story, so the story is kind of fun in that regard.But the book was slower than the first two, and as a student of history, I know it can't end well for the main heroine.Since Edward marries her nemesis (unless the author SERIOUSLY rewrites history) I don't know how he will conclude this series, though I am still curious.I would suggest this if you are looking for an easy summer read, with more thrills than your average beach read - though history buffs beware!It's disappointing.Read Gabaldon for the drama or Penman for the history... this just falls in between and behind.

Good, but looking for more
I read through the first two books quite rapidly because I thought they were very romantic and interesting.I never knew much about the Wars of the Roses, and after reading the books i read more about them with great interest.Of course after reading about the true history I desperately hope that Robyn will change history for the better.Especially after i read who Edward really married.
I really enjoyed this third book until the end, I can now see why the other reviewers were disappointed.I was swept along in a compelling romance only for it to be knocked down at the end.I left dissapointed and upset for Robyn.I'm sure there's going to be a continuation of the series from what I've read on other web sites, and i do hope the author will "make it up" to us, continuing on the romantic adventurous theme of the first two books and the first half of the third.
I did enjoy the series and i recommend them to anyone who enjoys historical romance.I enjoyed the focus on women and the witcraft Robyn gets into, that part just gets better especially with the witches flight to Avignon.

Disappointing...
...I've plowed through all three books in this series in the past two weeks, and this one was by far the most disappointing. Since I was under the impression this was a trilogy, I kept waiting for the loose ends to be tied up, but the book ended so abruptly and oddly that I, like another reviewer, checked the book to make sure it wasn't missing pages.

Although the historical details are interesting, and the character of Robyn is more and more appealing, the narration throughout the series is flat, and many of the characters are one-dimensional, particularly Edward. The author likes to tell us things that we wouldn't know otherwise, and he repeats key plot points throughout the books, as if he thinks the reader can't keep up.

Other minor irritations are the alarmingly frequent misspellings, typos, and incorrectly structured sentences. I'm talking frequent to the point of distraction from the story.

I'll probably read book four if there ever is one, because I'm so far in now, I need to see how the story is resolved, particularly in light of historical facts. But I certainly hope book four is better than this one. ... Read more

Book Description
"Weir does a masterful job of leading the layman through the entwined family trees of England's powerful families and the many usurpers to the throne. . . . [She] has perfected the art of bringing history to life."
--Chicago Tribune
Lancaster and York. For much of the fifteenth century, these two families were locked in battle for control of the British throne. Kings were murdered and deposed. Armies marched on London. Old noble names were ruined while rising dynasties seized power and lands. The war between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York, the longest and most complex in British history, profoundly altered the course of the monarchy.
Alison Weir, one of the foremost authorities on the British royal family, brings brilliantly to life both the war itself and the historic figures who fought it on the great stage of England. The Wars of the Roses is history at its very best--swift and compelling, rich in character, pageantry, and drama, and vivid in its re-creation of an astonishing, dangerous, and often grim period of history.
"[A] spellbinding chronicle. . . Weir's dark, glorious pageant restores the personal dimension to an oft-told tale without losing sight of a war that shattered feudalism, paved the way for capitalism and weakened the monarchy."
--Publishers Weekly
"[Weir is] skilled at delineating the many memorable characters of the age. . . . It's a tribute to her skill that she leaves you wanting more."
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Wonderful Book
Loved this book, if you love history, you will love this well-researched and thorough book. Very interesting and vivid.

War of The Roses
This book was helpful showing the root causes of the War of Roses in the 14th Century. Edward III had a plethora of sons.The most qualified to be king was 4th in line; John of Gaunt.Due to primogeniture the chance of him gaining the throne were slim in his lifetime.His descendants, legitimate and illegitimate had other ideas. Edmund of York's progeny were ambitious and had claims.Edward the Black Prince, heir to the throne, died prematurely.His son became King Richard II.He died without issue.The reader was able to follow so far.

It was more difficult to keep up afterwards because the geneology tables, in the appendix, were illegible.The author's opinion on King Richard III's role on the death of his two nephews detracted from this account.I am not a Richard partisan or detractor. she had this as an open and shut no questions asked case. An unbiased historian would have him on the suspect list, but, there is a reasonable shadow of a doubt.I know that the author goes into length in the sequelThe Princes in the Tower.Another excellent account is Josephine Tey'sThe Daughter of Time.I know it's fiction but she cites available sources for research.

The author showed that King Henry VI was well meaning but the wrong monarch at the wrong time.I had thought that Henry VI was born 500 years too early.You could envision him supporting causes and other duties expected of today's British royalty.His wife, Margaret of Anjou, was shown to be so blinkered by focusing on preserving her family's position to the detriment of the Britain as a whole.King Edward IV was done well.This was helpful in following history, bringing to life the key players.

I will probably read other accounts of The Wars of the Roses.This is a biased, but readable, perspective.

So many names and titles
Really interesting period of English history is covered thoroughly by Ms. Weir.There are, however, so very many characters it becomes sometimes difficult to know to whom the author is referring.For instance, the "Duke of York" is frequently mentioned in the book, but WHICH Duke of York is she referring to (since there was more than one)?
Many of the Royals have names and titles; she freely uses a name without the title, or vice versa, making it a bit confusing to know who she's talking about, and it's necessary to thumb back to previous pages to figure this out. Even though a lineage chart is provided at the end of the book (and it's quite helpful), the print is so small as to require a magnifying glass.A little bit more clarity with all these names and titles would be helpful, but this is a History Book.

clear narrative weaves through complex times.
the wars of the roses (bout one: the house of lancaster vs. the house of york. bout two: the house of york vs. the house of tudor.) cover a very complex time in english history. i have read 5 books so far that cover this era, and alison weir's is by far the best at bringing the big picture into focus. it is also the best narrative. she makes this tangled mess of an era into a great story. this was a history book that i actually loved reading. highly, highly recommended.

Traipsing thru history
As a big fan of English history, I enjoy much of Alison Weir's work.This effort, however, did little to help clarify or enlighten the dynastic feuding and historical impact/importance of the "wars of the roses."While exhaustive in factual detail, Weir's gift for storytelling is absent here and the book quickly becomes a plodding read, unlike the richly coloured saga I'd hoped to discover. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Between 1455 and 1485 the dynastic struggle in England between the houses of York and Lancaster, known as the Wars of the Roses, devastated the country and decimated the ranks of the nobility. Medievalist Desmond Seward examines the history through the biographies of five individuals. His choice of subjects mixes nobility and common soldier, and includes two extraordinary women. The result is a vividly human picture of a distant time and place. The text is supplemented with useful illustrations and background information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Intriguing account of several lesser known people during the Wars of the Roses ...
While I enjoyed Seward's approach to this topic - he examines the civil strife as it affected the lives of William Hastings, Margaret Beaufort, John Morton, John de Vere and Jane Shore - it's not a book for those without some knowledge of the Wars of the Roses. The transition is often difficult to follow. It's as if the book were edited to reduce the size of the content so that a paragraph may contain a series of pronouns with no obvious name to attach to them.

I also found the citations to information stated as fact to be inconsistent. Some claims were cited; many were not. Although certainly by the sections on Richard III, it was obvious that the majority of his sources were the controversial early chroniclers, such as Sir Thomas More.

Despites these problems, I enjoyed the book. I don't necessarily swallow Seward's interpretation of events, but they do inform about the traditionalist viewpoint. He could have toned down his bias against the Yorkists, but that would have made for very dry reading.

If you have a basic handle on the time period, or if you're a student of Ricardian history, this book adds to the body of literature available because of its focus on the lives of lesser known players.

Informative but read something else first
Seward has taken five key players in the Wars of the Roses and told their stories.The result is entertaining and full of good factual information, but as a story it is so lopsided as to be useless if you're not already familiar with the history of the period.

Seward writes well enough, though his style's not as entertaining as Alison Weir's (whose history of this period is a much better place to start).The problem is not his style, though; there are simply too many threads in the story for this to be a good way of telling it.Seward tries hard to make the historical sequence mesh with the stories of his five protagonists; he cuts the story into chapters which are in chronological order and each of which revolves primarily around one of the five.However, the points at which the book flows most smoothly as history are exactly the points where he focuses least on his protagonists.

If you don't think of this as a history of the Wars of the Roses, though, and instead think of it as five interlaced biographical sketches, this is a very worthwhile book.Because of the focus Seward has chosen, there is a lot more detail about these individuals than you will find in most of the histories.The men in particular stand out: the Earl of Oxford, William Hasting, and John Morton.The women (Margaret Beaufort and Jane Shore) are less memorable, sadly; mainly because there is so little actual information about them, and they were perforce only indirect players in much of the political manoeuvering of the age.

Recommended; but read something else first -- this is better as background material than as an overview of the period.

A supplement to others on the subject
Although Seward's approach to the Wars of the Roses was well researched and loaded with facts, his approach is disappointing.Seward relates the history of the Wars through the lives of five bit players:Margaret Beaufort (Henry Tudor's mother); William Hastings (Edward IV's friend & advisor); John Morton (Henry's advisor); John DeVere, Earl of Oxford (a Lancastrian); and Jane Shore (Edward IV's & William Hastings' mistress).The end result is disappointing because Seward is forced at many points to tie the bit players into the narrative through assumptions. In fact, Jane Shore's role is minimal; most of these sections are actually about her father, John Lambert.

On the plus side, Seward provides the reader with a number of features which leads the reader to a better understanding of the Wars and the players involved: a chronology; a who's who of the major and minor players which is accompanied by short biographies; and genealogical charts.

This book should be viewed as a supplement to other books on the Wars.The following books provide the reader with a much better understanding of the Wars of the Roses: 1. The Wars of the Roses by Charles Ross.This is a great survey of the period written by a professor of medieval history.2. The Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses, edited by Elizabeth Hallam.A superbly written and illustrated survey which is unfortunately out of print.3.The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir.Weir's book brilliantly covers the preludes to the Wars and the Wars through the reign of Edward IV.

Disappointing Polemics
Having read the author's excellent work on the military religious orders, I frankly expected much more on this, a familiar topic.I was extremely disappointed.In addition to misstatements of fact, his main objective seemed to be to blacken the name of every Yorkist who gained the throne, as well as that of Richard, duke of York.Further, he makes the rather unpleasant Henry VII Tudor virtually into a god.All in all, the book appears to display an unfortunate animus and is overly concerned with Richard III, a subject handled with much greater dexterity by Weir and others, whether or not you agree with their conclusions.This was not a book on the Wars of the Roses, but on the general familial and cultural milieu which formed the character of Richard III.It should have been so titled.

A great supplement
This history follows five second tier players through the War of the Roses:William Hastings, Edward IV's best friend; Jane Shore, their mistress; Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry Tudor - the top Lancastrian during the second phase of the war; Archbishop Morton, Henry's crafty advisor and the Earl of Oxford, a ranking Lancastrian.

This is not a good introduction to the war, not really revolving around the major players like Edward, Henry, Margaret of Anjou and Richard III - but if you are already familiar with the basics (read: Allison Weir), this should be the second book on your shelf about the subject. Each of the five protagonists changed the tide of the war at some point in either the battlefield, bedroom or negotiating room, and Seward makes their stories as riveting as the latest tabloid even when you know what's going to happen next.Especially interesting is the summary about the rest of the lives of the four survivors - most accounts of the war end with Richard III's death, their fates lost in the shuffle.Here, in this book, they get their due. ... Read more