A remarkable and engrossing account of medieval England''s epic
conflict with France.
From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the
pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it
was a small, poor country, England for most of those "hundred
years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated
the war. The protagonists of the Hundred Years War are among the
most colorful in European history: Edward III, the Black Prince;
Henry V, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare; the splendid
but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London; Charles V, who
very nearly overcame England; and the enigmatic Charles VII, who at
last drove the English out. Desmond Seward''s critically-acclaimed
account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the
intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary
century-long conflict.
"Mr. Seward shows us all the famous sights of those roaring times
. . . and illuminates them with an easy scholarship, a nice sense
of detail . . . and a most agreeable clarity of style." --The New
Yorker