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Historical person

Edward IV

1442–1483

Edward IV was the first Yorkist king of England, taking the throne in 1461 after victory at Towton. His secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville disrupted plans for a foreign alliance and contributed to conflict with the Earl of Warwick and Edward’s brother George, Duke of Clarence.

Deposed briefly in 1470, he returned to defeat the Lancastrians and ruled with greater stability until his sudden death in 1483, leaving a vulnerable child heir. Edward IV was born in Rouen and died in Palace of Westminster.

Derek Birks’ A Guide to the Wars of the Roses continues through Edward IV, the upheavals of 1483, Richard III and Bosworth, before considering the settlement under Henry VII and the ways later history has reshaped the reputations of the leading participants. Charles Ross’ Edward IV presents Edward IV as an able and popular king who emerged from civil war to restore effective government. Historical accounts that place Edward IV in context include A J Pollard’s Edward IV (Penguin Monarchs), Thomas Penn’s The Brothers York, Dan Jones’ The Hollow Crown, A. W. Boardman’s The Rose, the Bastard and the Saint King, and A. W. Boardman’s Towton 1461.

Periods

Periods linked to Edward IV

Battle of Tewkesbury1471 CE Battle of Towton1461 CE Princes in the Tower1483 CE Readeption of Henry VI3 October 1470–11 April 1471 Wars of the Roses1455–1487 CE Yorkist England1461–1485 CE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Edward IV (13 series)

The Wars of the Roses in Order

by Derek Birks 9 books 4.4(3,534)

The Wars of the Roses series follows the fictional Elder family through the dynastic conflicts that divided England between 1459 and 1485. Beginning with a private Yorkshire feud, the family is drawn into the struggle between Lancaster and York and repeatedly finds its survival tied to the fortunes…

All books in this series

Wars of the Roses in Order

by Conn Iggulden 4 books 4.4(29,278)

The Wars of the Roses series follows the dynastic struggle from the weakness of Henry VI’s government through the rise of York, Edward IV’s victories and exiles, and the final contest between Richard III and Henry Tudor. The novels combine court politics with the major military turning points…

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Kingmaker in Order

by Toby Clements 4 books 4.4(5,254)

Kingmaker follows former monk Thomas Everingham and former nun Katherine as the Wars of the Roses break apart the religious, social and political order that once defined their lives. Beginning with their flight from a priory in 1460, the sequence carries them through Yorkist campaigns, the northern Lancastrian…

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House of York in Order

by Amy Licence 2 books 4.4(2,151)

The House of York series follows Edward of York from adolescence to kingship during the Wars of the Roses. It begins amid Henry VI’s recurring incapacity and Richard, Duke of York’s challenge to Lancastrian government, then traces the battles and family losses that bring the young Edward to…

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Tudor Dynasty in Order

by Joanna Hickson 2 books 4.3(1,633)

The Tudor Dynasty sequence traces the family’s survival during the later Wars of the Roses. First of the Tudors centres on Jasper and Edmund Tudor, Margaret Beaufort and the protection of the young Henry Tudor after the collapse of Lancastrian power. The Tudor Crown continues with Henry in…

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The Tarnished Crown in Order

by C. F. Dunn 4 books 4.4(1,493)

The Tarnished Crown follows Isobel Fenton, later Isobel Langton, and Robert Langton through the political reversals of Edward IV’s reign. Beginning with Warwick’s rebellion in 1469, the series places their struggle for Beaumoncote Manor, marriage and family security inside the conflicts that divide the Yorkist court and repeatedly…

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York Family Novels in Order

by Anne Easter Smith 6 books 4.1(16,252)

The York Family Novels are six overlapping biographical novels about the House of York during the Wars of the Roses and the opening of Tudor rule. Each book centres on a different historical or lightly documented figure—Kate Haute, Margaret of York, Grace Plantagenet, Cecily Neville, Jane Shore and…

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The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels in Order

by Philippa Gregory 16 books 4.4(140,052)

The Plantagenet and Tudor novels form a chronological sequence of connected but independently readable stories about women near the English throne. They move from the Lancastrian court and the Wars of the Roses through the rise of the Tudors, Henry VIII’s marriages, the mid-Tudor religious crisis and the…

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Morland Dynasty in Order

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 36 books 4.4(27,265)

The Morland Dynasty is a thirty-six-book family saga tracing the fictional Morlands of Yorkshire from 1434 to the approach of the Second World War. Beginning with the marriage of Robert Morland and Eleanor, a ward of the Beaufort family, the sequence follows successive generations as Morland Place grows…

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New World Rising in Order

by Robyn Young 2 books 4.2(1,852)

New World Rising follows the fictional half-brothers Jack Wynter and Harry Vaughan through the dynastic upheavals that ended Plantagenet rule and opened the early Tudor age. Sons of the Blood begins in 1483 with Edward IV’s death, the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower and Richard III’s…

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The Suffolk Trilogy in Order

by Norah Lofts 3 books 4.1(1,016)

The Suffolk Trilogy follows the Tallboys family and their precarious holding at Knight’s Acre in fifteenth-century Suffolk. Knight’s Acre introduces Sir Godfrey Tallboys, a successful knight-errant whose ambitions depend on tournaments, military service and the hope of securing a permanent home for his wife Sybilla. The Homecoming brings…

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The Tudor Saga in Order

by David Field 6 books 4.3(5,279)

The Tudor Saga recounts the dynasty from Henry VII’s exile and victory in the Wars of the Roses to the final years of Elizabeth I. Historical rulers, ministers and royal relatives occupy the centre of the sequence, while fictional attendants and agents reveal how decisions at court affect…

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Tudor Rose Trilogy in Order

by Alison Weir 5 books 4.2(18,357)

The Tudor Rose Trilogy follows three generations of the dynasty through novels centred on Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII and Mary I. Beginning in the final decades of the Wars of the Roses and ending with Mary’s death in 1558, it traces how family memory, contested legitimacy and…

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Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Edward IV (7 books)

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Edward IV (12 books)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.