The War of the Roses by Alison Weir

amyb · Post by **amyb** » Fri February 27th, 2009, 1:23 pm

If I was given the choice of writing a novel on a certain historic event, you can bet the event at the bottom of my list would be The War of the Roses. I don't think I could deal with such a convoluted, tangled story, with an ungodly amount of characters to keep track of...it would likely drive me mad. But, thankfully Alison Weir was of a different mindset and took the monster head on. And what a supurb job she did! Weir merged enjoyment and learning expertly and I can see how it would take a lot of work to not have it read as a text book. It was by no means a fast read, as it's all fact and no dialogue, but boring it was not. Nor was it one of those books that feels like a chore to read.

Weir starts the novel with the early origins of events that would eventually lead to the thirty-year battle for the throne of England, which dates back to King Edward III. The War of the Roses ends after the Battle of Tewkesbury. The Battle of Tewkesbury, fought on what is now known as Bloody Meadow would be the last meeting between York and Lancaster. The future of Lancaster, Prince Edward, was slain, his father King Henry VI had long been in prison (and shortly after this battle, the grave) and Queen Margaret was in hiding, then imprisoned in the Tower of London and finally ransomed by the King of France. For a woman that spent her a majority of her life surrounded by court and it's many minion and was quite comfortable in the role as a ruler, she lived her last days dependent on the meager funds she received from the King of France and died alone.. TWOTR is a sad note in England's history; sons fought fathers, brothers fought brothers, there was rampant betrayal and lies, lawlessness and violence ruled and havoc was wreaked upon towns, such as Towton.

I would recommend this to any history nut! Weir has a great writing style and it was very readable non-fiction. I admit I don't really care for her fiction novels; I thought Innocent Traitor was so-so and I couldn't finish The Lady Elizabeth, but now that I've read this one I'm excited to read the rest of her collection!

What I found most interesting (just shows it was more scheming and waiting to see what the other side will do next than actual fighting):

"There were, at most, thirteen weeks of fighting in the thirty-two years covered by both of the War of the Roses, while the total time spent campaigning amounted to approximately one year. Some of the battles were short, and non lasted longer than a day."

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Fri February 27th, 2009, 2:21 pm

Thanks for the review and I'm glad you found it readable.

My copy of this was called 'Lancaster and York' but it's the same book. I have to say that I found it very badly written when I read it several years ago and it is to date the only Weir book I've read, though I have a couple of others. Even though I was already somewhat familiar with the era and characters, I recall being unable to follow her thread much of the time or to gain any particular greater understanding of the period.

But a lot of people do find her readable and the popularity of her books can only draw readers into exploring history further. However, I understand her scholarship is generally deemed to be weak.

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Sat February 28th, 2009, 12:29 am

Lancaster and York is being re-issued July 2, 2009 in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lancaster-York- ... 60&sr=1-48

Amazon US also shows the book but says it is not currently available (can't pre-order it). It seems sometimes that means that it won't end up being available here.