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Blood and Roses (Paperback)

by Helen Castor (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback
Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (2 Jun 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0571216714
ISBN-13: 978-0571216710
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 129,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Review

"'Sharply written, impeccably documented, structured with the trip and pace of a good thriller' Hilary Spurling Daily Telegraph"

Hilary Spurling, Daily Telegraph, October 2004

Sharply written, impeccably documented, structured with the grip and pace of a good thriller – does the same. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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	80% buy the item featured on this page: Blood and Roses 5.0 out of 5 stars (9) �5.39
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and fascinating book!, 14 Jan 2005

By	Iceni Peasant (Norfolk, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Blood and Roses. The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century. (Hardcover)

I bought this book for two reasons; firstly because I love the period of history involved, 1400's, and secondly because I love local based history.

However this book offers MUCH more than that. It has all the pace, twists and turns of a John Grisham legal novel!!! Except this is real, not fiction.

The book follows the lives of the Paston family from Norfolk. From their lowly start as minor landowners, promoted from the peasant classes all the way through the many struggles and trials both in the courts and out to maintain their status and earn the lands and money due to them.

This book isn't all about legal negotiations though. The 15th century wasn't a black and white culture where lands and possessions were concerned; it was more about whom you knew and whether they owed you any favours. Or which people of high status you could get on side. Throw in the dangerous ups and downs of fortune when the English throne changed hands many times during the Wars Of The Roses, and having to judge the best side to be on, and you have an absolute classic thriller!

Yet again though, the book is even MORE than that. The excerpts of the letters the Paston family wrote to each other, not only tell of their legal battles, but have some amusing moments of banter between brothers and even in a serious letter it might finish off asking the recipient to buy them some material as they can't find any of quality in Norwich!

It's a fascinating book, that tells the story of the Paston family, whom by the end you can not help but feel close to and that you know them well. You also get a wonderful insight of the Wars Of The Roses from a slightly background view, as well as lots of information on day to day living in the 1400's.

If you love history you'll love this book!!!!

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Paxton Letters in Context - at last!, 7 Sep 2006

By	White Rose "White Rose" (Isle of Wight, UK) - See all my reviews

As a historian I have volumes of the Paston Letters, edited by James Gairdner, but they are just that, a series of letters. Helen Castor has achieved the impossible, taken the letters and made them part of a fascinating story that involves the reader all the way through. The Pastons come alive, with their grievances, their needs, their unhappiness, their illnesses, births, deaths and fluctating fortunes. It is good to see historical persons in their true context, Sir John Falstoft for one, and the various Dukes and Earls showing their true colours, not the ones history sometimes gives us. The duke of York rampages through the story, throwing his considerable weight around, (he's a favourite of mine) while poor King Henry slides in and out of conscious thought and the villains steal properties from their owners while their owners are in them ... This is the stuff of true history and Helen Castor is to be applauded for making it come alive in this readable and informative way.

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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, non-fiction as gripping and as well-told as fiction, 27 Oct 2004

By	Britgrrl (London UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood and Roses. The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century. (Hardcover)

I don't read non-fiction. Just don't. I don't have enough time to read, and when I do I focus on Fiction. But this book recently caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. I was hooked from the first line. Dr Castor writes fluently and compellingly but also manages to convey an amazing amount of information and insight about the period. And the subject matter is fascinating - seeing a family through over a century of political affairs that we learnt about in O-Level history, but seeing just how little - or how much - impact these events had on them. It's both an extraordinarily good read in the manner of a blockbuster novel, reading about one family's fortunes through the generations, and also incredibly informative about the period. A great achievement.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars detailed look at the Paston family
This work of history takes a look at the multi-generational Paston family throughout the years immediately after the Black Death and through the Wars of the Roses. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Meghan Kawka

5.0 out of 5 stars People, like you or I.
The Wars of the Roses was a critical time in English history, a period of politcal turmoil that saw four Kings deposed in just thirty years. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Stucumber

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, cheap production
An excellent book, so why put up with the UK edition with its small format, small type and cheap paper? Read more

Published on 14 Mar 2007 by S. Schwarz

5.0 out of 5 stars A student's perspective
I am currently in Year 12 and studying the Wars of the Roses, and came across this book when searching for some interesting background reading. Read more

Published on 12 Aug 2006 by Jane Woolf

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
This was extraordinarily well written. Unlike many history books, it did not lose itself in dullness and too much detail. Read more

Published on 12 May 2005 by E. Gretton

5.0 out of 5 stars Something different
A fabulous and, for me, different read. Not having much knowledge of the period, I was delighted by the clarity and openness of Helen Castor's writing. Read more

Published on 18 Jan 2005 by Anne Shewring

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