Companion history to Shakespeare's War of the Roses cycle
Review of The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir
As a Shakespeare fan, I have viewed several film versions of his 7-play cycle on the Wars of the Roses. They go from Richard II to Henry VI Part III, laying the groundwork and then portraying the carnage and upheaval that follows. I have long been curious about all the personalities Shakespeare portrays and whether he cuts corners or compromised for purposes of political caution or drama.
What I wanted a grand-panorama narrative history on a watershed civil war, which I found in this book. Though Weir is not an academic historian, the density and intelligence of her treatment is far superior to more scholarly ones: her narrative hums with life.
Weir hews to the more traditional view of the conflict, according to which it started during the rule of Richard II, a profoundly flawed king whose erratic behavior, corruption, and violation of the standards of the time alienated his feudal magnates. Once Bollingbroke led a rebellion that deposed him (1399), becoming Henry IV, the die was essentially cast: the Lancasters had usurped the throne that the Yorks should have gained (due to arcane rules of blood succession), initiating a train of events that culminated in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487). This perspective is currently disputed, but it is very close to the one that Shakespeare gave us.
Though there were a few challenges to the Lancasters, it appeared that Henry V's victory over most of France (1415) cemented their legitimacy. However, his untimely death led to a regency for his son, Henry VI, who, if pious and modest, proved politically inept, administratively incompetent, and of severely limited intelligence. During his reign, not only did he alienate much of the public by his actions (marrying Margaret of Anjou, who lacked a dowry; “losing” his father's French conquests), but also allowing the economy deteriorate into lawlessness and injustice. He also seemed to do his best to alienate his most serious rival, Richard, Duke of York, whom he mistreated and passed over. As events unfolded, his opponents gained momentum among many feudal lords, eventually leading to his confinement and ouster.
Unfortunately, York underestimated the fierce Margaret of Anjou, who stepped forward and repeatedly took back the crown, sometimes due to the religious legitimacy of the anointed King, others times by sheer military force or via allies in her native France. However, once a gifted leader appeared in Edward IV, it was only a matter of time (a long time) before the Lancasters lost everything.
Weir covers the machinations and maneuvers with particular relish, which is great fun for the reader and consistently interesting and colorfully detailed. For example, there was the rich and charismatic Warwick, first the indispensable ally of Edward IV, who quickly grew frustrated with his treatment and eventually became the King's deadliest enemy, eventually even reconciling with his worst enemy, Margaret of Anjou. In particular, his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, who was not of the royal blood line and hence carried no diplomatic advantage vis-a-vis France, enraged Warwick. The upheavals, reversals, and sudden turn of fortune are all the more amazing in that it all actually occurred.
I do have some criticisms. The book is a flowing narrative and when needed, Weir supplies supplemental analysis on why something happened the way it did and why it was important. For me, it wasn't quite enough: the conflict pretty much destroyed the medieval aristocracy, opening the way for a new political order (the Plantagenets were out, the Tudors in) about which I must go elsewhere to understand in better detail. In addition, there are so many characters that it is impossible to keep them all straight, particularly since many of them go by their aristocratic land titles, e.g. Somerset and Gloucester, even when they refer to different individuals over time; the annex genealogies help only a little. Finally, the book badly needed maps, particularly when describing military maneuvers.
Overall, this is a wonderful reading experience. It kept my attention and never got bogged down in excessive academic-style proofs or military detail. Now, I will go back to the Shakespeare plays I like best and re-experience them with new knowledge.