The Warrior King and the Invasion of France

by Desmond Seward

Overview

In the course of the Hundred Years War, Henry V was the English figure most responsible for the mutual antipathy that existed between France and England. His art of attacking an opponent by making total war on civilians, as well as soldiers, created tremendous distrust and enmity between the two countries, which survives even to this day. He was a man of many contradictions, a perverse mix of rigorous orthodoxy—exemplified by his fanatical and intolerant religion—and of neurotic insecurity, stemming in part from the dubious nature of his claim to the English throne.Henry V owed his popularity at home to victories against the French that gratified an emerging English nationalism. A tremendously ardent military strategist who experimented with ballistics and built the first English navy, at the time of his early death at the age of thirty-six he controlled one-third of modern-day France. Utilizing new discoveries from local French historical societies, Desmond Seward draws a portrait of Henry V that shows him as a brilliant military strategist, ambitious conqueror, and, at least briefly, triumphant warrior king.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605987255
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	11/15/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Desmond Seward was born in Paris and educated at Cambridge. He is the author of many books, including The Hundred Years War; The Wars of the Roses; Eleanor of Aquitaine; Caravagio; and The Plantagenets. He lives in England.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgements ix

Maps x

Genealogical tables xii

Chronology xv

Introduction xvii

I The Usurpers 1

II Prince Henry and Prince Owain 13

III 'He Would Usurp the Crown' 27

IV 'No Lordship' 36

V The English Armada 51

VI 'Our Town of Harfleur' 64

VII 'That Dreadful Day of Agincourt' 70

VIII To Teach the Frenchmen Courtesy' 84

IX The Fall of Caen 98

X The Fall of Rouen III

XI The Norman Conquest - In Reverse 121

XII The Murder of John the Fearless 130

XIII 'Heir and Regent of France' 143

XIV The Fall of Paris 1420 152

XV Lancastrian Normandy 159

XVI 'Rending of Every Man Throughout the Realm' 170

XVII Meaux Falls 182

XVIII Lancastrian France 196

XIX Death 209

XX 'Epilogue 217

Glossary 221

Notes 225

Bibliography 234

Index 240

Editorial Reviews

An insightful look into an England that was very different, but one that still resonates with our own times.

Sun News Miami

Seward shines a revealing light across the landscape of Tudor politics.

The Times Literary Supplement (on 'The Last White Rose')

Seward reminds us of a style that has been all but lost in this thundering account.

Philippa Gregory

History as it should be written: without hindsight or embellishment, but with erudition and a sense of immediacy that makes it a gripping and original read

Jessie Childs

An entertaining and valuable exploration of the early Tudor period.

The Literary Review (on 'The Last White Rose')

Gripping and enthralling. No writer of fiction,
however imaginative, could dream up more spellbinding plots than what actually happened, so skillfully recounted here.

Robert Hutchinson