Richard the Second is losing his hold on the crown and Henry of Bolingbroke, previously exiled by the king, returns to England to claim it. Richard is deposed and dies mysteriously, murdered some say on the orders of Bolingbroke, now King Henry the Fourth. But Henry finds the crown harder to hold onto than it was to win. He is beset by enemies, hampered by disease, and concerned about the rebellious behaviour of his son.
Henry IV’s reign is therefore defined by the insecurity created by his own usurpation. Rebellions by powerful nobles, the Welsh rising of Owain Glyndŵr and uncertainty over the succession repeatedly expose the cost of replacing an anointed king. The novel follows the Lancastrian monarchy as it tries to turn military victory into accepted dynastic rule.
Philippa Gregory
32 books
Georgette Heyer
41 books
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
55 books
Paul Bannister
16 books
Henry Treece
35 books