Yorkist Age: Daily Life During the Wars of the Roses [Paperback]

Paul M. Kendall (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (October 1970)
• ISBN-10: 0393005585
• ISBN-13: 978-0393005585
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,555,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kendall Teaches As Few Others Do, July 17, 2005

By 

Readalots (South Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yorkist Age: Daily Life During the Wars of the Roses (Paperback)

Kendall's is a superb book about everything Yorkist in 15th century. With 504 (paperback) pages he speaks to the history, culture, society, politics, and cosmology of England's lords, gentry, and commoners from Henry VI through Henry VII.

Showcasing (in the Epilogue) the War of the Roses, Kendall provides drawings and photographs for the main players, their haunts, and their strategies for securing the crown. His list of "Principal Persons" (just prior to the prologue) is helpful and should be used as future reference material.

Although he provides significant history, Kendall also relishes telling the anecdotal stories of "Robin Hood" and "May Day" (page 237). He describes the cultural origin of "halloween bells" (page 245), "Easterlings" (page 308), and 15th century bathing (page 339). In the chapter "The Fabric of Life", Kendall even proffers 15th century cooking recipes (pages 355 to 360) for poultry, venison, and boars head.

The book is somewhat lengthy- its size requires a commitment- however it is well worth a read. I never got bored turning it pages. It teaches as few others do.

To the student of history or novice reader on Britain this book is very recommendable.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of daily life in late-15th-century England, April 4, 2005

By 

Eric Oppen (Iowa Falls, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yorkist Age: Daily Life During the Wars of the Roses (Paperback)

The "Yorkist" period of English history is often overlooked---it's overshadowed, in many peoples' minds, by the more spectacular eras of Henry V before it, and the Tudors afterward. However, a lot of what the Tudors did was to build on the foundations laid at this time, and much of what came to fruition under the Tudors was started under their predecessors.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Yorkist Age, June 9, 2010

By 

Chretien "Chretien" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yorkist Age: Daily Life During the Wars of the Roses (Paperback)

Paul Murray Kendall's Richard III and The Yorkist Age are the classics for anyone interested in Richard III, the "princes in the Tower," Elizabeth Woodville or the origins of the Tudors. Not only is Kendall's scholarship incomparable, but he writes with the verve and immediacy of a novelist.