The Brothers York: A Royal Tragedy

by Thomas Penn

Overview

Vicious battles, powerful monarchs, and royal intrigue abound in this “gripping, complex, and sensational” (Hilary Mantel) true story of the War of the Roses—a struggle among three brothers, two of whom became kings, and the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Richard III.

In 15th-century England, two royal families, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, fought a bitter, decades-long civil war for the English throne. As their symbols were a red rose for Lancaster and a white rose for York, the conflict became known as the War of the Roses.

During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers–King Edward IV, and his two younger siblings George and Richard—who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible.

But with Edward’s ascendancy, the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation, and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, progenitor of the Tudor line of monarchs.

The Brothers York recounts a conflict that fractured England for a generation “with masterly skill” (The Wall Street Journal) in which “the tragedy and brutality of the Wars of the Roses jumps out from every page” (Financial Times). As gripping as any historical fiction, Thomas Penn paints “a dramatic portrait of 15th-century England...[and] brings keen understanding and a sharp eye for detail to his prodigiously researched, engrossing history of the decades-long fight between Lancaster and York” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451694185
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Pages:	688
Sales rank:	208,818
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Thomas Penn is publishing director at Penguin Books UK. He holds a PhD in medieval history from Clare College, Cambridge University, and writes for The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, and the London Review of Books, among other publications. He is the author of The Brothers York and Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England.

Table of Contents

Maps xiii

Family Tree xvi

Note on the Text xix

Introduction xxi

Part 1 Blood Royal Winter 1461 - Summer 1464

1 Three Suns 3

2 The Rose Stands Alone 33

3 The World is Right Wild 56

4 Two Kings of England 83

Part 2 Blind Affection Summer 1464 - Spring 1468

5 Now Take Heed What Love May Do 109

6 They Are Not to be Trusted 134

7 Love Together as Brothers in Arms 159

Part 3 A Season of Punishment Spring 1468 - Summer 1471

8 Robin Mend-All 189

9 The Matter Quickeneth 215

10 They Think He Will Leave His Skin There 244

11 The Knot is Knit Again 269

Part 4 Brother Against Brother Summer 1471 - Spring 1483

12 A New Foundation 299

13 Master of the Game 327

14 War Outward 353

15 The Most Extreme Purposed Malice 381

16 Diamond Cuts Diamond 409

17 They Have Taken Away the Rose of the World 437

Part 5 The Gaze of Our Inward Eye Spring 1483 - Summer 1485

18 Old Royal Blood 465

19 No Long Time in Rest 498

20 The Castle of Care 525

21 A Beginning or End 557

Epilogue 567

Acknowledgements 573

Notes 575

Bibliography 605

Index 637

List of Illustrations 657

Editorial Reviews

A gripping, complex and sensational story, told with calm narrative command. It's a story we think we know—but most accounts leave the personnel as frozen as portraits in stained glass. Here, the three York brothers spring to ferocious life, and you need strong nerves to meet them. With insight and skill, Penn cuts through the thickets of history to find the heart of these heartless decades.

Hilary Mantel

"Thrilling. . . . [Penn] brings a novelist’s verve to his telling of events. . . . Penn's history of betrayal, backstabbing and paranoia strikes notes that still resonate today."

The Guardian - John Gallagher

"An epic orgy of colour and character."

The Times (London) - Leanda de Lisle

04/20/2020

Medieval historian Penn (Winter King) delivers a panoramic chronicle of the rise and fall of the House of York in 15th-century England. From the dubious enthronement of Edward IV in 1461 to the killing of his younger brother, Richard III, by Henry Tudor’s forces in 1485, Penn recreates the jousting tournaments, battlefield clashes, and ever-shifting political alliances of the era, adding texture and color to the historical record. Though the York brothers—magnetic Edward, who crushed the rival house of Lancaster at the Battle of Towton; treasonous George, “ simmering stew of self-entitlement and personal inadequacy,” who was executed on his older brother’s orders; and cunning Richard, who quietly accreted power in the background before sending his nephews to the Tower of London and seizing the throne following Edward’s death in 1483—take center stage, Penn also draws distinctive portraits of their allies and rivals, including “ruthless” Richard Neville, earl of Warwick; Henry VI’s indefatigable wife, Margaret of Anjou; and French monarch Louis XI. Though a bit baggy, this rigorous and richly detailed account breathes new life into the Wars of the Roses. Medieval history buffs and fans of Shakespeare’s Richard III will be rewarded. Agent: Anna Stein, ICM Partners. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"This thrilling biography of the three sons of the Duke of York—who fought won and lost the War of Roses—proves that Thomas Penn is among the most gifted historians at work in England today. . . . This is juicy, impeccably researched work that ought to earn Penn a massive audience."

Lit Hub - John Freeman

"An exceptionally detailed and absorbing narrative history with a gallantly sustained human touch."

The Telegraph (UK)

"A gripping history . . . brings characters to life as real people."

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Superb. . . . The tragedy and brutality of the Wars of the Roses jumps out from every page.

The Financial Times

Pacy, engrossing and evocative in its details (of feasts and jousts as well as battles and diplomatic skulduggery)."

The Times Literary Supplement

"Gripping, richly contextualised and meticulously researched . . . a vital corrective to the ongoing, polarising battle over Richard III's legacy."

The Spectator

"The Brothers York is not just a magisterial work of sublime scholarship, it's a pure page-turner. . . . The wonderful thing about Thomas Penn is that he makes some of the most familiar stories in English history feel fresh and exciting."

Amanda Foreman

"Mr. Penn’s narrative is rich in detail, and he leads the reader through a dense and dark forest with masterly skill. . . . A gripping account of the brothers York and of the England they briefly governed."

The Wall Street Journal - Allan Massie

Riveting . . . a tremendous storyteller. . . . The tales of the Princes in the Tower have often been told, but rarely with as much wisdom and gusto as this.

Sunday Times (London)

★ 05/01/2020

King Edward IV of England (1442–61) is perhaps most well known to readers as the father of the "princes in the tower"—Edward and Richard—murdered by the Duke of Gloucester, Richard III. But William Shakespeare's play, Richard III condenses the time line of this period in England's history so much that it is easy to forget Edward was king for more than 20 years and died of natural causes. In this readable title, Penn (The Winter King) paints a picture of a fun-loving adonis, reminiscent of his grandson Henry VIII, who nonetheless had a dark side. The largest part of the book covers the early years of Edward's reign when all three "brothers York" were alive. Edward fancied himself a great diplomat and loved to play rivals off one another, whether the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy or his brothers Richard and Clarence. As he aged, Edward grew ever more prone to excesses and paranoia. Although his betrayal of Clarence is still shocking several centuries later, one can clearly see the events that led up that tragedy. Richard's subsequent betrayal of Edward's sons is likewise foreshadowed. VERDICT Penn's latest is a treat for dedicated readers of English history who know the outlines of the story covered but wish to learn more.—Cate Schneiderman, Emerson Coll., Boston

Library Journal

★ 2020-02-17
A dramatic portrait of 15th-century England, which was besieged by political upheaval, betrayals, and ruthless violence.

Penn, publishing director of Penguin Books UK and biographer of Henry VII, the first Tudor king, brings keen understanding and a sharp eye for detail to his prodigiously researched, engrossing history of the decadeslong conflict between the houses of Lancaster and York that ended, in 1485, with the advent of Henry VII. The brothers York were Edward, who reigned as Edward IV; George, duke of Clarence; and Richard, whose stealthy machinations gained him the crown after Edward died and his sons—Edward’s heirs—mysteriously disappeared under Richard’s watch. When Edward ascended to the throne in 1471, after the murder of the Lancastrian Henry VI, the brothers were heralded as representing a “new Yorkist unity” whose “fraternal love” was evidence “that the rightful order of things had been restored.” That bond, though, proved fragile, as the lust for land, wealth, and power came to shape the brothers’ relationships with one another, their political alliances, and their marriages. Knowing that family ties did not ensure loyalty, Edward heaped land grants and sumptuous goods on George to buy his faithfulness. As Penn writes, he “would be enveloped in Edward’s smothering love; in return he would give the king his unconditional obedience.” But when Clarence married an heiress, his need for his brother’s largesse diminished, and he became susceptible to treasonous plots. After a decade of Clarence’s defiance, Edward finally had enough; being the king’s brother could not save him from an ignominious fate. As for Richard, the young man praised for his “reckless bravery” grew into a violent, arrogant, and devious politician with his eye on nothing less than the throne. Besides chronicling intrigues, conspiracies, and shifting alliances among a large cast of characters, Penn details the “messy reality of life” among the nobles and their subjects: births and deaths, festivals and weddings, feasts and tournaments, famines and illness, and, not least, the unstoppable gossip that circulated constantly.

Rebellious decades come to life vividly in a taut, spirited history.

Kirkus Reviews