Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Biased account of Wars Of The Roses, October 18, 2001
There have been many books written on the English 15th century, some good, some bad, and some, like Mr Roswe's here, completely one-sided. The book is dedicated to one of the author's friends, whose ancestors fought in the conflicts, obviously on the Lancastrian side. Rowse makes all Lancastrians/Tudors out to be noble, pious godsends, and all the Yorkists to be devious, unworthy, decadent cads. Even more ridiculous, Rowse appears to have used Shakespeare's cycles of plays as his "fact" base! Can that possibly be topped? Why yes, as there is even a chapter in this book dedicated to launching cheap insults at anyone who doesn't follow his narrow-minded, bigoted point of view!! "History" books like this one should not be taken lightly though, as they can be very dangerous. And one more thing, this doesn't make me a revisionist, it makes me a tradiotionalist! The real revisionists are the ones who altered history from the 16th century on. Strong reccomendation to avoid this book at all costs.
|
|
|
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rescuing Shakespeare's Histories From Revisionism, November 30, 2000
A lively, detailed, and unapologetically traditionalist interpretation of the background of Shakespeare's history plays, by a respected Shakespearean scholar and historian. This book is an ideal introduction to the period for both history students and readers of the history plays; it includes, in addition to detailed accounts of the principal figures and events of the war, an examination of literary treatments (including Shakespeare's). Revisionists may be put off by Rowse's staunch defence of the Shakespearean view of the war, but traditionalists will enjoy it a lot. I found this book extremely helpful for my own studies of the War of the Roses and Shakespeare's treatment of it.
|
|
|
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good, well-written summary of 15th Century England, March 4, 2002
By A Customer
This book is well-written, with sensible judgements about individuals, events and social forces in England from the end of Richard II's reign to Henry VII. While other more recent, detailed studies are also available, Mr. Rowse's book is a good resource for someone who is beginning to study this period, and for those who want a well-written discussion of the transition between medieval forms of English monarchy and the Tudor period. His characterizations of persons such as Richard III and Henry VII seem to be generally fair and well-supported by other scholars.
|
|
|
|
