In June 1405, King Henry IV stopped at a small Yorkshire manor house to shelter from a storm. That night he awoke screaming that traitors were burning his skin. His instinctive belief that he was being poisoned was understandable: he had already survived at least eight plots to dethrone or kill him in the first six years of his reign. Henry IV had not always been so unpopular. In his youth he had been a great chivalric champion and crusader. The son of John of Gaunt, he was courteous, confident, well-educated, generous, devoted to his family, 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. But therein lay Henry's weakness. In making himself king he had broken God's law and left himself starkly open to criticism. He had to contend with men who supported him only as long as they could control him; when they failed, they plotted to kill him. Welsh, French and Scottish adversaries also 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. That legacy of unrest has almost entirely obscured him. Henry's reputation in the sixteenth century was such that merely to write about him was to risk imprisonment in the Tower. Shakespeare was forced to downplay his achievements, and instead to present his adversary Richard II as the wronged man. But what Henry actually provoked was a social revolution as much as a political one. Against all the odds, he took a poorly ruled nation, established a new Lancastrian dynasty, and introduced 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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Review
'A compelling narrative of a significant period in English
History.' -- The Sunday Times
'Here is a full and richly detailed life...Mortimer has written a
fine biography.'
-- The Spectator
'Mortimer gives us a colourfully human picture of Henry...he
writes with involvement and narrative drive' -- Independent
'The historian will welcome Mortimer's trilogy of biographies, the
general reader will appreciate this one in particular, as will any student
of Shakespeare'
-- THE Book magazine
'[Mortimer's] fair-minded and ambitiously conceived account will win deserved favour with intelligent general reders'
-- BBC History Magazine
An `arresting and original biography'
-- The Sunday Telegraph
`Mortimer's book is written with style and panache; he keeps the reader turning the pages...'
-- Times Higher Education Supplement
`Possesses the rare combination of clarity, liveliness, balanced
judgement, erudition without pedantry, and scholarship founded on his own
research among primary sources.'
-- Scotland on Sunday
`The book is at its most compelling in conjuring a sense of place or occasion.'
-- Helen Castor, The Guardian
`[Mortimer] has... a vivid historical imagination which lends
colour and excitement to his pages.'
-- Literary Review
History.' -- The Sunday Times
'Here is a full and richly detailed life...Mortimer has written a
fine biography.'
-- The Spectator
'Mortimer gives us a colourfully human picture of Henry...he
writes with involvement and narrative drive' -- Independent
'The historian will welcome Mortimer's trilogy of biographies, the
general reader will appreciate this one in particular, as will any student
of Shakespeare'
-- THE Book magazine
'[Mortimer's] fair-minded and ambitiously conceived account will win deserved favour with intelligent general reders'
-- BBC History Magazine
An `arresting and original biography'
-- The Sunday Telegraph
`Mortimer's book is written with style and panache; he keeps the reader turning the pages...'
-- Times Higher Education Supplement
`Possesses the rare combination of clarity, liveliness, balanced
judgement, erudition without pedantry, and scholarship founded on his own
research among primary sources.'
-- Scotland on Sunday
`The book is at its most compelling in conjuring a sense of place or occasion.'
-- Helen Castor, The Guardian
`[Mortimer] has... a vivid historical imagination which lends
colour and excitement to his pages.'
-- Literary Review
Review
`qualified historian...invokes historical imagination...'
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The medieval period has a reputation for being as dark as the age that preceded it, so I was almost reluctant to read this book, but I'm glad I made the effort to pick it up. This is Shakespeare's king, but not as countless actors have played him. Ian Mortimer uses biography as a powerful tool to investigate the relationship between Richard (Henry's predecessor) and Henry - from Henry's point of view. Henry's taking the throne is often taken as the root of the Wars of the Roses, and the author shows how Richard changed his mind about his heir several times. Having become king, Henry had to sweep away almost a century of English royal practices to ensure he had a hereditary right to the throne, and although Richard did indeed make the Yorkists the heirs to the throne, they themselves initially gave in to Henry. This casts a long shadow over the rest of 15th-century history. Mortimer's great strength is that he does not rehash accepted views but has embarked on a thorough re-evaluation of the information contained within the contemporary evidence, and a logical examination of its contradictions and implication. This is not revisionism for the sake of it, but an essential analysis of the available evidence. This might sound like medieval political history at its driest: not in this book. The full horror of the tyranny of Richard II's final years in power contrasts with the chivalric fervour of Henry's early life. As the sole grandson of Edward III and the first duke of Lancaster, he was one of the foremost warriors of the 14th century, and possibly the greatest tournament fighter the English royal family ever produced. The description of the battle of Shrewbury gives a real insider's view of what it was like to be involved in one of these battles. Bloody conflict, subtle political manoeuvring and up-to-date historical analysis - this book has it all.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I immensely enjoyed reading this book! The life of Henry of Bolingbroke was eventful to say the least. At its most interesting before he 'usurped' the throne, troubled and tortured after he became king. Unlike Mortimer's epic Edward III, this book was highly readable and certainly a page turner. What added to my enjoyment was the parallel life of Richard II, explored, again a king whose life has not been written about by many historians.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By J. Cameron-Smith
TOP 500 REVIEWER
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
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well written account of an often overlooked King
This is a very well written and comprehensive biography of this King, who is little studied these days, probably less so than any other late Medieval King. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Hopper
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why doth the Crown lie there upon his pillow?
"The Fears of Henry IV" cements Ian Mortimer's position as a pre-eminent popular historian of the middle ages. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kuma
5.0 out of 5 stars
That I and Greatness were compelled to Kiss
Ian Mortimer in his brilliant biography of King Henry IV (1399-1413) uses that Shakespearian phrase as the chapter heading for his summary of one of the least-remembered English... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Bob
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, if sometimes black&white
Mortimer ought to have left Shakespeare out of this account. The history plays are based on Holinshed's 16th century chronicles, not on Ian Mortimer's 21st century biography. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2011 by Oneal
4.0 out of 5 stars
Shakespeare has a lot to answer for...
Most people know little of Henry IV beyond his character in Shakespeare's history plays. He no doubt suffers in comparison to his far more glorious son, Henry V, but to compare the... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2010 by C. Ball
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Stunning Book
I have to admit that i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I knew very little about Henry before i read this and after reading i feel that he was a brilliant king showing bravery... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2010 by Scott Jarvis
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Fears of Henry IV
Not as good as the other Ian Mortimer books although noteable for putting Shakespeare back in his box for his lack of factual accuracy.
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by H. Grieves
2.0 out of 5 stars
Return to Lancastrian propaganda
Ian Mortimer's book is - unfortunately - largely a return to the propagandist viewpoint of the Lancastrian chroniclers, which was put together to justify Bolingbroke's usurpation... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2009 by Mr. Martin F. Peers
5.0 out of 5 stars
Henry IV: a good man but no king
Henry IV. What does one tink of when he/she hear that name. Do they think of the only English monarch that went to Jerusalem before the twentith century. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2009 by Edward Rex
5.0 out of 5 stars
Henry IV, a little known monarch
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I have enjoyed all Ian Mortimer's books. He really brings history to life in a readable way. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2009 by J. Neale
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