Product Review

The second volume of Robert Lacey's unique story of England opens with the dramatic battle of Agincourt when Henry V's bowmen defeated French armour against the odds, and ends with the 'The Protestant Wind' -- King William and Mary and the Glorious Revolution. The centuries in between witnessed some of the truly classic events -- and stories -- of English history: Joan of Arc, all the drama of the Wars of the Roses, William Caxton and the first printing press in the land, King Richard III murdering his nephews in the story of The Princes in the Tower, through Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up Parliament, King Charles II hiding in the Royal Oak, the rise of Cromwell, the Restoration and the Great Fire of London. Packed with humour, insight and Robert Lacey's genius for the popular touch, this is history as it should be told -- with all the drama and detail brought vividly to life.