The Wars of the Roses

And the Lives of Five Men and Women in the Fifteenth Century.

During the fifteenth century, England was split in a bloody conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster over who should claim the crown. The civil wars consumed the whole nation in a series of battles that eventually saw the Tudor dynasty take power.

The much admired historian Desmond Seward tells the story of this complex and dangerous period of history through the lives of five men and women who experienced the conflict first hand. In a gripping narrative the personal trials of the principal characters interweave with the major events and personalities of one of the most significant turning points in British history.

With the help of magnificent illustrations, the turbulent civil wars of medieval England are recreated through the lives of five larger-than-life people of the times, from soldier William Hastings to Lady Margaret Beaufort.