Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Building Castles..., 18 Nov 2008
As a lover and student of late medieval and renaissance history, I was hoping that this book would give me a solid knowledge of the events and issues that were to become the foundation of 'Britain'.... and that's exactly what I found!
This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the history of Britain. I have read many 'history' books that assume the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the subject before they begin, but happily this is not the case. All of the events are explained in a full, interesting and (on the whole) entertaining way. As the book is written in a very personal style you really get the feeling of riding alongside Edward for all of his 68 years, however this is no way undermines the tremendous amount of work that has obviously gone into writing it.
Most of us know of Robert Bruce, William Wallace, Simon de Montfort and have heard about the 'confiscation' of the Stone of Scone, and the origins of the Prince of Wales title, but this book explains the 'whys', 'hows' and 'whens' that makes history real.
If I had one complaint, (and it's so small that the book still gets Five stars), it's that you get the feeling that Marc Morris is sometimes over-justifying Edwards decisions. Yes, the things he did were not always 'PC' but, and as Mr Morris does quantify at the end of the book, he was a bigotted king in a bigotted time.
That aside, this is a great book for the serious student, the history lover and anyone else that enjoys expanding their knowledge of such an important time in history.
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75 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great and Terrible King, 13 Mar 2008
Last year the 700th anniversary of the death of Edward I passed largely unnoticed. His father, Henry III's 800th birthday was marked by a two day conference at King's College, London and services in Westminster Abbey. but at least we have a new biography of Edward.
Marc Morris, who has made his name as a skilled TV presenter with his series, Castle, and as a serious academic scholar with his book on the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, takes up the challenge of a new overview of this astonishing king. It is twenty years since Michael Prestwich's magisterial life of Edward I. Can Marc Morris bring any thing new? Well, he uses much of the new research of the last two decades and finds new insights. He is particularly good on the public ceremony and processions that surrounded the King and on his Arthurian enthusiasms. He writes engagingly and has some great one-liners. His page-turning description of the Welsh wars had me gripped even though I well knew the outcome. Morris is just to most of the participants although I fear that, whilst he puts the expulsion of the Jews in its context showing that Edward was in line with, and pandering to, the prejudices of his people, he goes too far to accuse Edward of a pogrom. On the other hand, Morris refuses to react in an anachronistic way to the sack of Berwick. I liked the way that he poses interesting questions. Why did the King and Queen go to Quennington and Down Ampney in the springtime so often and what was he doing in East Anglia in 1285 when he should have been getting ready for negotiations in France? Skilful use of charter witness lists and the king's itinerary prompt such questions. Morris never forgets where the King was.
In the end, this a tragic tale. In early 1306, every thing seemed to going well. The threat of Welsh invasions into the Marches was over and the new, more conciliatory dispensation in Scotland seemed to have resolved the outbreak of enmity between the two peoples. The period of mutual tolerance and good relations when the queens of Scotland were English, might have been re-established. The years of dreadful cross-border savagery would have ben avoided. The last days of the King are told in a moving way. The proud, determined old man struggling to move north, abandoning his litter for a war horse to impress his men, only to fail again and to die within sight of Scotland.
A very readable and thought-provoking book which will be useful and enjoyable to both the academic historian and the wider reading public.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Builder, warrior and part time diplomat., 21 May 2009
I have been a big fan of Edward I since I saw his chain of castles in North Wales. As another reviewer mentioned below, he is often overlooked in our history of the monarchs, especially with recent Henry VIII events. Without this book Edward 'Longshanks' ran the risk of being a supporting character in a Mel Gibson film, and the associated history has also been romaticized to support or justify various modern notions of nationhood and independence.
Luckily for us, Morris has provided an in depth study of the man the myth and the mayhem of this interesting period of history. The book is accessible enough for someone with little or no prior knowledge of Edward I, it also has more than enough for any serious study into this period. We follow the deeply flawed and often superficial reign of Henry III through the actions of Edward, an ambitious Prince keen on asserting his own qualities to deal with his own affairs. The narrative includes Edward's Crusades, dealings with the complex dynastic problems of Europe and his changing relationships with the various factions at court. The skill of Morris (hence my 5 star rating) is his use of archive sources to piece together a rounded view of Edward the man.
I already had a reasonable knowledge of Edward's reign and his ventures into Wales and Scotland, this book was really helpful in illuminating the political complexities associated with 'The Hammer of the Scots'. Forget the two dimensional views put forward by 'patriots' from England, Wales and Scotland... the political truth is far more interesting and enjoyable. When you consider that most of the problems between England and Scotland resulted from a young Norwegian girl dying en route to Scotland, it puts Hollywood speeches about freedom into a new context.
So, there you have it... a superb historical thriller with Political intrigue, giant Trebuchets, Chivalry and a King who must surely be placed in the company of Alfred the Great, Richard the Lionheart and Henry VIII.
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