Lancaster and York. For much of the fifteenth century, these
two families were locked in battle for control of the
English throne. Kings were murdered and deposed. Armies
marched on London. Old noble names were ruined while rising
dynasties seized power and lands. The war between the royal
houses of Lancaster and York, the most complex in English
history, profoundly altered the course of the monarchy.
Alison Weir, one of the foremost authorities on British
history, brings brilliantly to life both the war itself and
the larger-tha-life figures who fought it on the great stage
of England. The Wars of the Roses is history at its
very best—swift and compelling, rich in character,
pageantry, and drama, and vivid in its re-creation of an
astonishing period of history.