Tagged: wars of the roses
Look What Just Arrived! (#19)
Wow, it’s been a while since I showed off my new books but then again I haven’t really bought many new books since Book Expo America. However, now that I’m in the city and have full access to used book shops and Indigo’s great sales, I couldn’t resist. So here’s what I picked up recently:
- Parasite by Mira Grant
- Spirit’s Chosen by Esther Friesner
- The Girl Who Loved Camellias by Julie Kavanagh
- The Queen’s Lover by Francine Du Plessis
- The Iron King by Maurice Druon
- Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland
- Egyptian Mummies by G. Elliot Smith and Warren R. Dawson
- The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch
Obviously, I’ve already read Parasite but when I saw that a hardcover copy was on sale for $8, I couldn’t resist. I know that I will always prefer physical copies of books to ebooks, no matter how heavy physical copies are when I move house. Spirit’s Chosen was an impulse buy because of the sale price but I’ve also heard good things about Esther Friesner and hope to learn more about the mythical Himiko, the woman who united Japan. The Queen’s Lover was also an impulse buy.
The Girl Who Loved Camellias was a book that I had no idea existed but stumbled upon while I was browsing. I love Verdi’s opera La Traviata so I’ve always been fascinated with the life of Marie Duplessis, the inspiration for Violetta. When I saw the biography by Julie Kavanagh, I couldn’t resist. The same is virtually true for The Iron King by Maurice Druon. Sure, George R. R. Martin has endorsed it because it encompasses the Wars of the Roses (his historical inspiration for A Song of Ice and Fire) but what really cemented it for me was the blurb. Tracing the Wars of the Roses all the way back to the reign of Philip the Fair is bold but from the excerpt I read, I think Maurice Druon can do it. I’m very much looking forward to starting this book.
Egyptian Mummies and Plutarch’s book were very, very cheap in the used bookstore so I couldn’t resist. As you guys know, I’m obsessive when it comes to ancient Egypt. But I’m also starting to branch out into more Greek history so a primary source like Plutarch is just the thing I need right now.
Rubicon is one of those books I stumbled across in the used bookstore and snapped up immediately because I love almost anything to do with the late Roman Republic and the early Imperial period. It’s also going to be a helpful resource for next week’s upcoming monster of an article. Stay tuned for that if you love Roman history and/or overanalyzing television shows!
So, what do you think of my haul? See anything you like?
Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Wars of the Roses: the brand new historical series from Conn Iggulden – internationally best-selling author of the Emperor and Conqueror series.
King Henry V – the great Lion of England – is long dead.
In 1437, after years of regency, the pious and gentle Henry VI, the Lamb, comes of age and accedes to the English throne. His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king -Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom.
Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England’s territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real.
As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what can save the kingdom before it is too late?
I have to say that Stormbird really takes place in the civil unrest that leads up to the official War of the Roses. It’s all about the weak rule of Henry VI sowing the seeds for discontent with the current regime and the rise of the Yorks as the sort of official opposition to the throne. So it really sets up the war and we see the beginning of it, but we haven’t really gotten into the period that’s the most famous yet.
With that little preamble out of the way, I have to say that I really did enjoy pretty much all of the characters in this book. They were all different in their own ways and they all had believable motivations and character arcs that made you want to know what happened to them. Margaret of Anjou, typically the scheming evil queen in most stories about the period, came off as a devoted wife who tried to do the best she could for her country. Henry VI is a pious, weak fool of course but he’s far more sympathetic than he’s usually portrayed, particularly during his descent into madness. Yet I’d have to say my favourite character was Derry Brewer, the Machiavellian spymaster who tries his best to find and thwart any plots against the regime. He’s a fascinating character and in some ways, I wish I had learned way more about him.
Oddly enough for Conn Iggulden, he manages to tell a good story (like with his Conqueror and Emperor series) but at the same time maintains a reasonable level of historical accuracy (unlike the two aforementioned series). I’ve never really taken his books seriously because although I enjoyed them, they were quite inaccurate, but at the end of Stormbird I actually felt like I had learned something. Lots of things in fact. I don’t know all that much about English history but I know the main War of the Roses period quite well. Except that Conn Iggulden brought to life the relatively obscure (in fiction at least) beginning of the war. He definitely deserves praise for that.
One of the strengths and conversely the downsides of Stormbird is the fact that it encompasses so many different events. You see things from Margaret of Anjou’s point of view as her marriage to Henry VI is being negotiated, you see the English rebellion against the French as their lands are being ceded, you’re at the forefront of the Jake Cade rebellion, etc. He gives us such a sweeping view of the period and really brings home the point that ordinary people at the time were affected adversely by the machinations of their lords. But in doing so, in trying to encompass such a wide range of events and times, Conn Iggulden also drops the ball occasionally. What I mean by that is he drags the plot on in some places (Margaret’s marriage negotiations) while neglecting some very interesting events. This tends to make the plot sag in the middle and even though it was a fascinating historical period, I had a really hard time slogging through it. That’s unfortunate because Stormbird is otherwise a pretty decent book.
So here we have a reasonably historically accurate take on an obscure period with fascinating character portrayals that are far from the mainstream portrayals. Conn Iggulden is an excellent storyteller and although the book does drag in the middle, overall the plot was fairly well paced.
I give this book 4/5 stars.