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The Brothers York

An English Tragedy

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The Brothers York

By: Thomas Penn
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Brothers York by Thomas Penn.

In early 1461, a teenage boy won a battle on a freezing morning in the Welsh marches and claimed the crown of England. He was Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York. The country, crippled by economic crisis, insurgency and a corrupt and bankrupt government, was in need of a new hero.

Charismatic, able and ruthlessly ambitious, Edward and his two younger brothers, George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty which laid the foundations for a renewal of English royal power. Yet a web of grudges and resentments grew between them, generating a destructive sequence of conspiracy, rebellion, deposition, usurpation and murder. The brutal end came on 22 August 1485 at Bosworth Field, with the death of the youngest brother, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor.

The Brothers York is the story of three remarkable brothers, two of whom were crowned kings of England and the other an heir presumptive, whose fatal antagonism was fuelled by the mistrust and vendettas of the age that brought their family to power. The house of York should have been the dynasty that the Tudors became. Its tragedy was that it devoured itself.

©2019 Thomas Penn (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Europe Great Britain Medieval England Royalty Tudor Middle Ages United Kingdom

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I found this history to be both rigorous and engaging, which is a hard trick to pull off. For people who read history all the time, it's incredibly well-sourced, weaving the original documents into the narrative seamlessly, and bringing the original authors to life in the narrative. For people who just want the story, it might move a bit slowly, but it's worth the effort.

The Wars of the Roses is a subject I have done a number of deep dives into, but I still learned a lot from this, particularly about England's role in Europe at the time. Most books on the period tend to concentrate on England alone, or give broad overviews. This one dives into the details to a level that seemed extraordinary, at points feeling like it was giving a day-by-day account of events. I always felt that the author had a grip on both the big and small pictures, and told the story in a way I could really follow.

Highly recommended, particularly if you're looking for something to bridge the gap between 'popular' and 'academic' history books.

Superb in both history and story-telling

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This is a fantastic a count of the Wars of the Roses. Highly recommended!

Fantastic book

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very informative and very well put together. The book went well not a lot of deal and was very well resirched.
The notation was very well matched.

Very informative

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One of the most thorough, accessible and well written books of the war of the rose I've come across.

Roy McMillan is a fantastic narrator.

A classic.

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This book is well researched, very well written, and beautifully read. Thoroughly engaging from start to finish.
Thrilled to have discovered this author.

Couldn’t put it down!

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