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87th out of 602 books
—
708 voters
The Last Plantagenets (The Plantagenets #4)
The final volume in A History of the Plantagenets covers the century from 1377 to 1485 when civil war ravaged England, rebellious peasants marched on London and wandering preachers sowed dissent in the credulous poor.
The last Plantagenet monarchs governed in violence and confusion. Kings came and went, deposed or murdered. Princes and nobles slaughtered or were slaughtered...more
The last Plantagenet monarchs governed in violence and confusion. Kings came and went, deposed or murdered. Princes and nobles slaughtered or were slaughtered...more
Paperback, 447 pages
Published
August 1st 1963
by Popular Library
(first published 1962)
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What to say about this book? I'm an Anglophile and generally love reading about the British, particularly stuff about the monarchy. This book took me well over a year to read, because it is so incredibly boring. Make no mistake -- it contains tons of useful and interesting information. But any book that talks about alliances, betrayals, torture, beheadings, disease, love affairs, infanticide, etc, should NOT BE THIS BORING. I was never able to read more than three pages in a row without falling...more
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This is the third of Costain's histories of the Plantagenet which I have read. And the first third was as enjoyable as the previous two volumes.
Costain is a great storyteller who makes his characters vivid. Noble kings, beautiful queens, wicked villains, courageous knights, inept councilors, jealous uncles, weak kings, crafty archbishops, seductive mistresses, proud peasant revolutionaries, etc., etc. And these are caught up in stirring battles, intricate diplomacy, and so many twists and turns...more
Costain is a great storyteller who makes his characters vivid. Noble kings, beautiful queens, wicked villains, courageous knights, inept councilors, jealous uncles, weak kings, crafty archbishops, seductive mistresses, proud peasant revolutionaries, etc., etc. And these are caught up in stirring battles, intricate diplomacy, and so many twists and turns...more
Very detailed history including that of Richard III. Part of a series by Thomas B. Costain which started in the first of the series with Geoffrey of Anjou with the feather in his cap, the "Planta Genesta" , going through King Stephen, Richard the Lion Hearted, King John, King Edward "Edward Longshanks" up to Richard III and then I recall ends with Henry VII and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty. It's been years since I read the series but I really enjoyed it. I would like to go back and again r...more
First off – a detailed family tree would have [i]really[/i] helped.
Second, there is a bias that still, to this day, permeates the book world – a belief that only men “can” write historical non-fiction while only women “can” write historical-fiction. The bias is that women are so in tune to feelings and domesticity and babies and staying in the kitchen and falling in love and their teeny tiny widdle brains can only handle fluffy ideas and day to day matters while men have the strong, analytical m...more
Costain's able to keep the reader's interest for hours in subject matter that could easily become a little dry and dusty.
Very readable popular histories.
Very readable popular histories.
While I love reading about the Plantagenet history, I struggled not only with the writing style, which jumped around quite a bit, but also with the title relative to the narrative. I expected a more equal treatment of all from Richard II to Richard the III and that wasn't the case. In fact, the portions on Edward the IV were paltry compared to the chapters ad nauseum on Richard II. I wouldn't recommend this book if you don't already have a fairly good knowledge about the time period as the autho...more
This may be called "The Last Plantagenets", but "The Least of the Plantagenets" might summarize the characters and the book. It seems that Costain didn't really like this part of the story and rushed through it. What's more inexplicable is his inclusion of the entire House of Lancaster in this book. Yes, there may be a trace of Plantagenet blood legitimizing the Lancastrians, but we didn't really need to read about it. Of course, if Costain had kept the narrative quality to the same level as the...more
A fine book. I tried reading this book years ago; before the advent of the Internet. Using Wikipedia with this reading made it much easier to keep all the characters straight (so many with similar names). Getting more background information on the characters enriched the reading experience. The most in-depth and interesting elements of the book: Richard II, Richard III, and the two young princes in the Tower of London. This is a non-fiction book that piqued my interest in possibly reading a good...more
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Fun, light narrative that verges on novelistic in its sketches of characters and scenes from The Pages of English History, peppered with arch commentary and concluding with a long brief in defense of Richard III (as a King: able, honorable, and admirable, if melancholy; as suspect in the murder of his two nephews: nominally ambivalent, though Costain clearly thinks him innocent).
Costain's poetic license becomes a real strength if you imagine that he really thought himself privy to the thoughts o...more
Costain's poetic license becomes a real strength if you imagine that he really thought himself privy to the thoughts o...more
I can rate this book only 3 stars. It is a very uneven book; the first part being extremely interesting if a bit disjointed in presentation. The second portion being somewhat similar to a foot race through the Wars of the Roses, and the third devoted entirely to a defense of the reputation of Richard III. His dismissal of More/Morton and Vergil's histories without benefit of reliable sources to the contrary leave a great deal to be desired to this reader. I am not satisfied with the explanation...more
Although serious historians tend to dismiss Costain's history, he does make his books interesting and easy to read. His four-part book series called The Pageant of England was my second introduction to English History, the first being a really dry book by Winston Churchill! Without Costain it is doubtful that I would have gone on to study English medieval history.
A fascinating look at history from poor Richard II down through Richard III, and the controversy surrounding Richard III and his two nephews. Costain is a true historian, delving into the past for clues...my first "true love" of books. I've had to buy this book three times in my life, as I keep wearing it out.
The final of four books on the Plantagenet kings, part of a great series. Costain includes the Lancasters and Yorks as offshoots of the Plantagenet line and portrays Richard III sympathetically and probably realisticly.
I discovered Costain's books on English history many years ago, and made a point of getting every one of them that I could track down. Every one is entertaining and informative and provides just enough detail about the politics and personalities involved to give a reader a clear notion of not just what was going on but why it was going on. With 'The Last Plantagenets', he covers the Wars of the Roses and the ending of a dynasty superbly well. He also has a few things to say about the demonizati...more
Once again, Costain makes reading history easy. Here, he helps to make sense of the Wars of the Roses.
Definitely a good series of books to fill you in on the history of England. It can be a little dry at times but the information and the characters speak for themselves. He also does a good job in this book refuting commonly held views through research AND opinion. Very interesting.
Another great account of British history, nonfiction.
Fourth and last in the series by Costain
Sep 18, 2010
Thom Dunn
marked it as to-read
NOT A REVIEW. Listed as Plantagenet #4 by GR.
Final volume in Costain's four-book popular history of the Plantagenets; I'm reading them in order, something I did a very long time ago.
This, in my rather informed opinion, is the best kind of "popular history": superbly written, chatty with a storyteller's verve, accurate and appropriately researched, with speculation well-identified as such and the author's perspective not presented as irrefutable.
The Plantagenets are endlessly interesting folks, and Costain is obviously entranced with them,...more
This, in my rather informed opinion, is the best kind of "popular history": superbly written, chatty with a storyteller's verve, accurate and appropriately researched, with speculation well-identified as such and the author's perspective not presented as irrefutable.
The Plantagenets are endlessly interesting folks, and Costain is obviously entranced with them,...more
Good read.
The final volume in A History of the Plantagenets covers the century from 1377 to 1485 when civil war ravaged England, rebellious peasants marched on London and wandering preachers sowed dissent in the credulous poor.
The last Plantagenet monarchs governed in violence and confusion. Kings came and went, deposed or murdered. Princes and nobles slaughtered or were slaughtered in bloody battles or private feuds. It was an era of brilliant successes, tragic reverses and wild extravagance.
The last Plantagenet monarchs governed in violence and confusion. Kings came and went, deposed or murdered. Princes and nobles slaughtered or were slaughtered in bloody battles or private feuds. It was an era of brilliant successes, tragic reverses and wild extravagance.
Read these four books before we went to France the first time in 1974. With the planta genesta family history in my lizard brain, I noticed on the map that the route between Paris and Rouen provided, with a short detour, the opportunity to stop at the ruins of one of Richard (the Lionheart)'s castles above the Seine (contructed in 1195). So I stopped and wandered and had a couple of hours that fed all my Ivanhoe fantasies of my yout'. Would never have stopped had I not read the book.
I've learned a LOT reading this series. Not the least of which they should make "hanged, drawn and quartered" a drinking game and also people in the middle ages REALLY knew how to hold a grudge.
After reading the first three of Costain's Plantagenet series, I had to read the fourth. It wasn't my favorite, however. Either he ran out of steam in the writing (especially around halfway through with the death of Richard II, who he considered the last true Plantagenet) or I ran out of steam in the reading. Still, following Richard II, TLP gave a brief history of the War of the Roses, which I will follow up by reading Alison Weir's The Wars of the Roses.
A weak ending to a otherwise excellent series.
One of the four volumes of Costains vast history of the Middle Ages. Must reading for anyone interested in the time period but somewhat intimidated by reading history. A prolific novelist, Costain manages to maintain the reader's interest and give lots and lots of information at the same time.
Thomas Costain is an amazing storyteller. The way he writes is so engrossing that you can easily forget that it is non fiction. Hardcore historians may cringe at some of his storytelling tactics but he remains true to history and being unbiased.
This last volume in the 4 book series was equally as good as the previous 3. I like Costain's writing style, from an earlier era - he wrote these book in the 1950's. Well worth reading if you have a strong interest in English history.
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Thomas Bertram Costain was born in Brantford, Ontario to John Herbert Costain and Mary Schultz. He attended high school there as well as the Brantford Collegiate Institute. Before graduating from high school he had written four novels, one of which was a 70,000 word romance about Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange. These early novels were all rejected by publishers.
Costain’s career as a writer be...more
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