Conquest
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** 'Juliet Barker's new book is a magnificently readable account of the last four decades of that war, and a reminder that the reality was much nastier than the myth ... Barker disentangles the dark threads to tell a story that never flags. I thought Agincourt was a superb book, but Conquest is even better. Once upon a time there was an English kingdom in France and Juliet Barker has brought it to extraordinary life' Bernard Cornwell, Mail on Sunday ** 'There was a need for a good history of the failed enterprises of the English. Juliet Barker's book supplies it handsomely' Literary Review ** 'Barker's kaleidoscopic narrative of Henry VI's reign reveals the brutal realities of medieval warfare that lay behind the chivalric ideals to which the leading men of the time paid lip service' Nick Rennison, Sunday Times ** 'This book is as gripping as its predecessor' Independent ** 'It is easy to fall in love with Henry V and his achievements rather than to question the responsibility of conquest. Barker keeps a steady head. Her prose is snappy and elegant' Evening Standard ** 'Immensely well-researched account' Financial Times Magazine ** 'Any historical novelist looking to set a swords'n'arrows actioner in a time and place not already hackneyed to death should read Juliet Barker's brilliant account' Mail on Sunday
Product Description
Author of the best-selling AGINCOURT, Juliet Barker now tells the equally remarkable, but largely forgotten, story of the dramatic years when England ruled France at the point of a sword. Henry V's second invasion of France in 1417 launched a campaign that would put the crown of France on an English head. Only the miraculous appearance of a visionary peasant girl - Joan of Arc - would halt the English advance. Yet despite her victories, her influence was short-lived: Henry VI had his coronation in Paris six months after her death and his kingdom endured for another twenty years. When he came of age he was not the leader his father had been. It was the dauphin, whom Joan had crowned Charles VII, who would finally drive the English out of France. Supremely evocative and brilliantly told, this is narrative history at its most colourful and compelling - the true story of those who fought for an English kingdom of France.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 75 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Juliet Barker's 'Conquest' aims to provide a coherent narrative of a remarkably dramatic, but strangely neglected, era in Anglo-French history. This is no easy task. In contrast to her best-selling 'Agincourt', which essentially focused on a single campaign waged over a few months, 'Conquest' spans more than three decades. With this time-frame, it's a formidable challenge to make sense of the twist and turn of military and political events, let alone do justice to a vast and ever-changing cast of characters. The author has certainly achieved her stated objective: a careful scholar and an accomplished writer, she tells the complex story clearly, in measured and elegant prose.
So, why four stars rather than five? The dust-jacket shows a gore-flecked man-at-arms defending the banner of St George. This striking image is appropriate to the book's subject, but, in my opinion, gives a less accurate idea of its contents. 'Conquest' is as much concerned with the financing and organisation of the rival war efforts as with the fighting itself. Such material, which reflects the interests of academics who've worked on 'Lancastrian Normandy' since the 1920s, has a place within a narrative pitched at a broader readership, but not to the extent where loans and subsidies edge out the cut and thrust - the drama of raid, siege, ambush and battle.
Even the descriptions of the war's major clashes, while crisply written, tend to be frustratingly concise: Verneuil in 1424, the 'second Agincourt' won by Henry V's younger brother, John Duke of Bedford, which left more than 7000 enemy dead in exchange for a handful of Anglo-Normans, rates a few paragraphs; the catastrophic English defeat at Patay in 1429, which Barker convincingly argues was more significant than Joan of Arc's legendary relief of Orleans that same year, fares no better. Given that credible eye-witness testimony survives for both episodes, the author might have made more of it. Perhaps, with so much to cram into the book, there was simply not the space to do so. Possibly for the same reason, some of the personalities thrown up by the conflict - for example, La Hire and Poton de Xaintrailles on the French side, and John Talbot and Matthew Gough among the English - remain rather two-dimensional. Joan of Arc, inevitably, is an exception to this rule. Here, she receives detailed and thoughtful coverage that assesses her emergence and impact realistically, within the context of her own times.
Despite my criticisms, I'm not suggesting that 'Conquest' is a dry book - far from it. Plenty of stories, taken from a wide range of sources, illuminate the experiences of those caught up in the ill-fated venture. It also creates a strong sense of how, after the premature death of Henry V, his cause was increasingly championed by a bunch of tough, professional soldiers whose own stake in Normandy was not shared by most of their countrymen. Their story, and that of their equally-determined opponents, is a fascinating one. 'Conquest', which is also handsomely produced and illustrated, tells it well, and will certainly reward the reader willing to stray off the well-trodden road to Agincourt.
So, why four stars rather than five? The dust-jacket shows a gore-flecked man-at-arms defending the banner of St George. This striking image is appropriate to the book's subject, but, in my opinion, gives a less accurate idea of its contents. 'Conquest' is as much concerned with the financing and organisation of the rival war efforts as with the fighting itself. Such material, which reflects the interests of academics who've worked on 'Lancastrian Normandy' since the 1920s, has a place within a narrative pitched at a broader readership, but not to the extent where loans and subsidies edge out the cut and thrust - the drama of raid, siege, ambush and battle.
Even the descriptions of the war's major clashes, while crisply written, tend to be frustratingly concise: Verneuil in 1424, the 'second Agincourt' won by Henry V's younger brother, John Duke of Bedford, which left more than 7000 enemy dead in exchange for a handful of Anglo-Normans, rates a few paragraphs; the catastrophic English defeat at Patay in 1429, which Barker convincingly argues was more significant than Joan of Arc's legendary relief of Orleans that same year, fares no better. Given that credible eye-witness testimony survives for both episodes, the author might have made more of it. Perhaps, with so much to cram into the book, there was simply not the space to do so. Possibly for the same reason, some of the personalities thrown up by the conflict - for example, La Hire and Poton de Xaintrailles on the French side, and John Talbot and Matthew Gough among the English - remain rather two-dimensional. Joan of Arc, inevitably, is an exception to this rule. Here, she receives detailed and thoughtful coverage that assesses her emergence and impact realistically, within the context of her own times.
Despite my criticisms, I'm not suggesting that 'Conquest' is a dry book - far from it. Plenty of stories, taken from a wide range of sources, illuminate the experiences of those caught up in the ill-fated venture. It also creates a strong sense of how, after the premature death of Henry V, his cause was increasingly championed by a bunch of tough, professional soldiers whose own stake in Normandy was not shared by most of their countrymen. Their story, and that of their equally-determined opponents, is a fascinating one. 'Conquest', which is also handsomely produced and illustrated, tells it well, and will certainly reward the reader willing to stray off the well-trodden road to Agincourt.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the book that fills in the gap between Agincourt and the War of the Roses and also provides the background to the myth of Joan of Arc.
It is compelling reading from beginning to end and shows that whilst medieval warfare was brutal there was also a code of honour amongst those who were rich enough to be deemed valuable as a ransom.
The power struggles of an elite related to each other in a complex series of marriages which bring in the brave, adventurous and power mad to create there own rights in other peoples lands for the the most tenuous of reasons. The struggles between Bedford and Gloucester make the Milliband brothers look like amateurs when it comes to feuding.
A kingdom doomed to failure from the outset but it shows what happens when countrys and their leaders fight amongst themselves rather than seeking to good of the ordinary people. Northern France had years of strife and misery as a result of the feuding of the French nobles ruthlessly exploited by Henry V and his successors.
A real page turner.
It is compelling reading from beginning to end and shows that whilst medieval warfare was brutal there was also a code of honour amongst those who were rich enough to be deemed valuable as a ransom.
The power struggles of an elite related to each other in a complex series of marriages which bring in the brave, adventurous and power mad to create there own rights in other peoples lands for the the most tenuous of reasons. The struggles between Bedford and Gloucester make the Milliband brothers look like amateurs when it comes to feuding.
A kingdom doomed to failure from the outset but it shows what happens when countrys and their leaders fight amongst themselves rather than seeking to good of the ordinary people. Northern France had years of strife and misery as a result of the feuding of the French nobles ruthlessly exploited by Henry V and his successors.
A real page turner.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Following Juliet Barker's masterpiece, Agincourt, I was keen to read her next work. I started off enjoying the book but quickly became worn down by an excessive amount of detail that greatly hindered my enjoyment of the plot. There are parts of this book that are really good such as the chapter about the Maid of Orleans and the fall of Paris, yet many of the chapters are so peppered with overcomplicated detail and cross references that it spoils the overall story.
Unfortunately, the concise plot and skilful editing that made Agincourt such a success are missing from Conquest. It is clear that Juliet Barker has done a great deal of research, probably leading on from her preparations for Agincourt, yet the overload of detail detracts from what might have been a real page turner. In short, this is an excellent historical reference book but not a fine piece of literature in the same vein as Agincourt.
Unfortunately, the concise plot and skilful editing that made Agincourt such a success are missing from Conquest. It is clear that Juliet Barker has done a great deal of research, probably leading on from her preparations for Agincourt, yet the overload of detail detracts from what might have been a real page turner. In short, this is an excellent historical reference book but not a fine piece of literature in the same vein as Agincourt.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
fleur de lis
An insightful account into the last few years of Henry V conquest on mainland Normandy/France, his death, the subsequent regal council which lead a mostly successful campaign, to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jacks
Fascinating but slightly too detailed
This is a fascinating account of the period and largely this is a great book. It is not necessarily the authors fault but the majority of the period covered is a bewildering list... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jason M. Webber
The English Kingdom of France
From the author of the Agincourt comes the equally remarkable but little known story of the dramatic last thirty years of the hundred years wars when England ruled most of France... Read more
Published 9 months ago by David I. Howells
The greatest national hero you have never heard of?
Juliet Barker's account of "Agincourt" spent a great deal of time building up the context of the famous battle and digressed on a wide range of topics to flesh out the story in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ian Thumwood
Balanced, informative, fascinating and challenging.
This book changed my perspective of the later half of the Hundreed Years War utterly. Before reading this knowledge of this era was limited, and my opinion was based heavily upon... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Medieval Lady
Better than Agincourt
Really enjoyed Agincourt and so decided to buy the follow up straight away.
From reading the other reviews was expecting the book to be good but not quite up to the... Read more
From reading the other reviews was expecting the book to be good but not quite up to the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by M. P. Kernaghan
The Hundred Years War research
Have only just started to read this book (Conquest - The English Kingdom of France in the 100 Years War by Juliet Barker) and so far have found it very interesting. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mr. D. W. Judd
Superb scholarship!
Yet again, another superb book from Juliet Barker! Perhaps not quite as 'snappy' as ''Agincourt''; but she's dealing here with a prolonged period of history, that doesn't so... Read more
Published 22 months ago by P. A. J. Oswin
"This is the End..." (with apologies to the Doors)
A thoroughly well-written book, read almost in one go! The subject choice by itself is interesting, as it deals with the post-Agincourt success and then failure of English control... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Richard Sewell
The 'Conquest' is a winner!
-The author was already well-known, and well-loved, for all her previous historical and gripping titles. Read more
Published 23 months ago by David
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