The Usurper King: Henry of Bolingbroke 1366-99

by Marie Louise Bruce

This is an assessment of the dramatic events of 1399, when Henry of Bolingbroke invaded England, deposed King Richard II, was crowned King Henry IV, and later instigated Richard's murder in the Tower. Henry has generally been thought of as ambitious, treacherous and cruel, in unappealing contrast to the sensitive, cultured and handsome Richard. The author questions the truth of this portrayal. How was Henry viewed by his contemporaries? What was the real relationship between the two princes? And what led to Henry's invasion and victory at a time when people believed in the divine right of kings? The book traces the relationship between the two princes right back to their early boyhood, and sets out to show how early rivalry led to envy, jealousy and suspicion, until the very existence of the other became a threat that had to be ended. Yet beneath all the tensions there remained between the cousins a sympathy which left Henry conscious-stricken for the rest of his life.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Biography, Plantagenet, British Literature, Medieval History

274 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1986

Reviews

[Brooke (B for Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard II, the grandson of the great Edward III believed he was divinely gifted sovereign power by god to be king. This very detailed history presents a young prince, bequeathed with too much responsibility too young. He made many of the same mistakes as his Plantagenet ancestors. For all the gold and riches, these kings never seemed to learn from the past and continue to cycling through power struggles throughout history.

Also like his great great grandfather Edward I, he continued tyranny and needed to be checked by Parliament. His uncles Langley and Woodstock were involved politically, whose later lines went on to be involved in the War of the Roses. Richard II and his cousin Henry IV grew up very differently. Richard was raised a royal prince, while Henry IV was not so sheltered and gained military skills, as well as charisma.

Basically Richard II wouldn't listen to anyone and eventually sentenced Henry IV to banishment from the country, a cruel fate. Henry came back and was cheered on by people, and through a series of political interventions, they eventually got King Richard, a man who believed himself unstoppable next to god, to abdicate the throne. Richard was then imprisoned and died not much later. He died of starvation and what is unknown is if it was intentional or unintentional.

At his coronation, he believed, mystical characters had been imprinted by divine grace on his soul, making him more than man, and nothing could alter that. It quickly became apparent to Henry that this awkward conviction was at the root of Richard’s whole being. His was indeed a dilemma.

Henry seemed to do his best not to humiliate or physically harm Richard on his path to usurpation, going out of his way to provide dignity and respect expected in kingship.

Richard II is symbolized by the hart, while Henry IV is an Eagle. I plan on still reading The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV which covers the same history

[Juliew. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture of both personal and political details,well written, atmospheric and very much what I had hoped for when I picked this up.I have never read much on King Richard II or for that matter Henry Bolingbroke so I can't speak for the research but from what I do know of them it seemed pretty accurate.I really felt as if I was right there with the King and Henry witnessing all the drama, betrayals, tragedies and anguish but also the triumphs, pagentry and the romance of the age and I was reminded of exactly why this story in Britain's long history is still amongst my favorites.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and exciting summary of the events leading up to the usurpation of Richard II by Henry IV. The author succeeds in presenting a new approach to the topic, in particular presenting both Henry and Richard in a new light, going all the way back to their shared childhood to explain many of their later grievances.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine blow-by-blow account of Richard II's reign, but there is no big picture. Real history is like that, I suppose.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not have a good enough background to judge the accuracy of this book. As an explanation to why Richard II was deposed it seems grounded in what other references I could find. This book is hard to follow if you put it down for any length of time. I am usually not easily distracted from the thread of a book, but found myself needing to go back a bit to refresh my memory if more than a day or so went by without picking this book back up. I am glad I stuck with it and intend to continue my exploration of the time leading up to the War of the Roses.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While an interesting book, it would have been MUCH easier to read with a good proofread. Commas were nearly nonexistent (and when used, often used incorrectly). Other than that, though, a good read.

[D.M. Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memorable story

I first came across this story when required to study Shakespeare’s play.
This book is sympathetic to both usurper and usurped.
Richard became king to young, and the experiences of his youth scarred him.
In exacting revenge he went too far. Henry’s usurpation was as much a defensive action as anything else. He was not an evil man an his reign was miserable. He had a conscience.
This is well written and I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the period.

[Terry Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed in depth story into the history not only of Richard Ii but the relationships with Henry, John of Gaunt and the interference from advisors, family and friends. The difference between both men couldn't be more different. Sometimes the account from Marie gets a little academic but persevere and all becomes clear.

[Stephen Selbst · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is weak history: it tells the story of how Henry of Bolingbroke deposed Richard II, but author Marie Bruce repeatedly tells the reader what various historical actors were thinking and feeling at crucial points in the narrative. Novelists are entitled to that liberty; historians are not. While there are various ancient chronicles of the events Bruce writes about, none of them detail the interior thoughts and feelings of the participants. Bruce would be on more solid ground if she conceded that her assessments were speculation, but she instead asserts them as unqualified facts. Those repeated errors are so egregious that it made me wonder whether other aspects were similarly invented. Once Bruce had forfeited her authority in that way, her account became no more believable than an episode of Game of Thrones.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this book. I had recently listened to a podcast series about Richard II and Henry IV so I thought I would read this book.

It was very interesting to learn about Richard and his rule, how the public viewed both Richard and Henry is very detailed. The politics at play within the 1300s is something I have never read about before.

I would read the book again

[Chasity Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Interesting and Exciting Read

Fantastic storytelling of two royal cousins and the struggle over the English throne and her territories. I enjoyed the the balance of historical facts and sources with a great narrative.

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and well done

well written and well research biography of 2 complex and conflicted men Who were cousins and rivals. Highly recommended for those interested in this Era of history

[Sarah Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost perfect

I really enjoyed reading this, except for 2 things. First, that it ended very abruptly. Second, that the many original quotes and excerpts were rarely translated, making it very hard to understand and it took away from my reading.

[James E Favata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did not care for the author putting in all of the excerpts in Olde English - it made the book much more difficult and annoyingly slow to read. There also seemed to be quite a lot of grammar issues throughout the book. Missing punctuation made some sentences difficult to follow. Both issues made the pace of getting through this book erratic and annoying.

[John B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and well written

If you are fan of Plantegent history, this is an in depth look at the friendship and the hatred between two cousins, one the king and the other who saw a tyrant and did something that would haunt him the rest of his life.

[Tom8oh · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Kristee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs some translations....

Characters are not very well identified at times and if the story was written in a clear chronological order it would make the book easier to follow.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting history of important events of the 14th and early 15th centuries.

[me · Rating 4 out of 5]

it took a while to get going but once everything starts kicking off with henry vs richard it livened right up.

[Kimberly Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

a detailed back story

I’ve read many of the histories who favor me or the other. This attempts to do neither and doesn’t go down rabbit holes of past or future.

[Carole-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a HB edition published by The Rubicon Press September 1986

[Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead good