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The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-Made King Hardcover – International Edition, August 7, 2007

by Ian Mortimer (Author)

42 customer reviews

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An author with a strong track record now tackles the turbulent reign of Henry IV, the first Lancastrian king.

By 1405, King Henry IV had already survived at least eight plots to dethrone or kill him in the first six years of his reign. Henry had not always been so unpopular. The son of John of Gaunt, he was courteous, confident, well-educated, musical and spiritually fervent. In 1399, at the age of thirty-two, he was enthusiastically greeted as the saviour of the realm when he ousted from power the insecure and tyrannical King Richard II.

Therein lay Henry’s weakness. By making himself King he had broken God’s law and left himself starkly open to criticism. Enemies everywhere tried to take advantage of his questionable right to the crown. Such overwhelming threats transformed him from a hero into a duplicitous murderer: a king prepared to go to any lengths to save his family and his throne.

But against all the odds, what Henry achieved was to take a poorly ruled nation, establish a new Lancastrian dynasty, and introduce the principle that a king must act in accordance with Parliament. He might not have been the most glorious king England ever had, but he was one of the bravest, and certainly the greatest survivor of them all.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Jonathan Cape (August 7, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0224073001
ISBN-13: 978-0224073004
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,521,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3083 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Europe > Great Britain
- #10256 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

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4 star		26%
3 star		7%
2 star		5%
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful

A rich portrait of an obscure king

By W. McArthur on April 4, 2009

Format: Paperback

Henry IV is known primarily for grabbing the throne and holding on to it long enough to pass it on to his more famous son. Nevertheless, he is a pivotal figure in English history, and I can think of no better introduction to him than this vivid biography. When I started it, I had just finished a biography of Richard II, the king he replaced. It was fuill of typically academic hedging like "some sources say he was in York at this time, others that he was in Calais." Mr. Mortimer quotes the conflicting sources in a case like this, then tells you that his credit card receipts (or the medieval equivalent) place him in Calais. The breadth of his sources, and his willingness to select from them to create a coherent narrative and compelling psychological portraits of his characters make this one of the best biographies I have ever read. Whether you are reading for pleasure or information, you can't go wrong here.

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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful

Henry IV: saviour or usurper?

By Jennifer Cameron-Smith on December 28, 2007

Format: Hardcover

For many of us, Henry IV is the king who deposed Richard II, fathered Henry V and features in three of Shakespeare's historical plays. He reigned as King of England from 1399 to 1413 and while the significant events of his reign are documented in history, the man himself largely remains in the shadows.

In this book, Ian Mortimer sets out to bring Henry IV out of the shadows by providing both context and perspective for his actions. Mortimer's research and energetic writing do shed light, but it is not quite enough to infuse Henry IV with personality and life. The people around Henry IV largely remain in the shadows and it is their perspectives that would enable us to get a clearer picture of the man who was the king.

Ian Mortimer has provided comprehensive notes and a wealth of information in his select bibliography. This book is a wonderful starting point for those who want to know more about the life and times of Henry IV. I hope that at some stage someone will write a book that will be able to shed more life on the man himself.

Was Henry IV a usurper or a saviour? Ian Mortimer has a view, and while I largely agree with him I'm not entirely convinced. Yet.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

An excellent work

By Chris Turner-Neal on May 25, 2009

Format: Paperback

Ian Mortimer creates a readable and thoroughly researched biography of Henry IV, the first English monarch since the Norman conquest to overthrow the sitting monarch and successfully assume kingship in his place. Mortimer attempts to explain Henry the man as well as Henry the king, resulting in a nuanced and fascinating look at a king often overshadowed by his more glamorous son. The narrative is enjoyable and well-paced, with occasional stops to explain an obscure or often-misunderstood point. Mortimer also explains his conclusions clearly; specific textual evidence is always cited and explained. Not exactly a light read, but a treat for anyone with an interest in medieval history.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

Strong narrative of a king trying to survive

By Daniel Putman on June 5, 2011

Format: Paperback

On the back cover of Mortimer's Henry IV, the author is described as a "narrative historian" by the BBC History Magazine. Mortimer uses this style of writing in both this book and his book on Edward III. It ties events together into a story format and tries to get inside the thought processes of the participants much more than many history books. As such there is always the danger of making fact what the king "might" have been thinking. On the other hand, it makes for smooth and engaging reading. I enjoyed this book a great deal, more than his earlier work on Edward, because I found the narrative less biased in favor of the subject and the claims about Henry's "fears" were, to me, well-documented. The book is an excellent read that delves into the complexities of this man and his time. It is objective about the main character while at the same time generating sympathy for the man - a tough combination to pull off. Henry overcame more than a half dozen attempts to overthrow him after he started out being called a "savior" by the people. I especially enjoyed Mortimer's description of Henry's complex relationship with Richard II, Henry's close friendship with Archbishop Arundel and the father-son conflicts and resolution with the future Henry V. Mortimer does an impressive job of bringing these to life. The book would make an excellent introduction to someone interested in the joys and fears, the triumphs and failures, of a medieval king.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Readable and Educational

By Miranda Good on October 26, 2013

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

After reading Edith Pargeter's excellent work of HF "A Bloody Field By Shrewsbury" featuring Henry IV, I thought to learn more about this most interesting medieval English king. I found this site to be an excellent resource in looking for a "straight" biography. Likewise, the many positive reader reviews here encouraged me to read this one and I was rewarded for doing so. Mortimer offers an excellent blend of scholarly history (as evidenced by his numerous, detailed appendices) and psychological insight. Too often I find biographies of medieval persons to be either bogged down in arcane research notes or gossipy and based on the writer's biases and suppositions. Mortimer finds a balance between these less satisfactory approaches with a resulting depiction of Henry of Lancaster which is both reasonably personal and historically reliable. Mortimer's clear interest in his subject translates well to his reader and I came away with respect, appreciation and even fondness for Bolingbroke, not as usurper, but as breaker of long tradition who succeeded in removing a tyrant from the throne and establishing a new dynasty of his own family with permanent impact on the course of English history. Works such as this make learning history enjoyable and rewarding.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Not about raping and pillaging------

I really liked this book. More than his battles, Mortimer spends time on H IV's moral struggles, his attempts to repair the Englad he inherited from Richard II. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Judith N. Alger

Home Run Again

What an interesting life Henry IV had. Thank you Mr Mortimer for shedding so much light on an overlooked king. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Julie Murphy

Very good biography

Quite a good history of Henry and of Richard II and their times. Not always really easy reading but rewards effort. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Donald T. McDougall

I liked this historical narrative

I liked this historical narrative. I have a soft spot for Henry 4, because he always felt guilty about taking the throne from Richard. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Martha Shaak

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.....Denied?

A great book and captivating to read, highly recommended. However, he has a big booboo in Chapter 19 of the book where he states: "The Roman Emperor Claudius never came to... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Catamaran'78

Informative and entertaining

I have read three of Dr. Mortimer's books and they have all been quite good. He is an excellent writer and breaths life into characters who are centuries dead.

Published 7 months ago by JDM

Righteous???

People seem to have similar life issues whether they are royalty or commoners, regardless of in which century they live. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Amazon Customer

Must read for true lovers of history!

With the recent influx of so many "historical fiction" authors and books, there has also been a huge increase in historical romance novels claiming to be historical fiction. Read more

Published 10 months ago by deborah

The book was a history but I worked through it ...

The book was a history but I worked through it and learned more than I ever knew of HenryIV and Richard II.

Published 11 months ago by carole j. scroggins

Wonderful and educational

I made a goal for myself to learn more about history and I came across this book and thought it would be an interesting place to start. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Lois W