The Wars of the Roses call to mind bloody battles, treachery and deceit, and a cast of characters known to us through fact and fiction: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Richard III, Warwick the Kingmaker, the Princes in the Tower, Henry Tudor. But the whole era also creates a level of bewilderment among even keen readers. John Ashdown-Hill gets right to the heart of this ‘thorny’ subject, dispelling the myths and bringing clarity to a topic often shrouded in confusion.

Between 1455 and 1487, a series of dynastic wars for the throne of England were fought. These have become known as the Wars of the Roses. But there never was a red rose of Lancaster … This book sets the record straight on this and many other points, getting behind the traditional mythology and reaching right back into the origins of the conflict to cut an admirably clear path through the thicket.

• Brings admirable clarity to

  a complicated subject by explaining the long-term dynastic rivalries and

  getting behind the traditional mythology

• The Wars of the Roses are very

  popular with the general reader because of fiction based on the era: A Song of Ice and Fire and Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen

• Author a key figure in the

  discovery of Richard III’s remains (Leader of Genealogical Research and Historical

  Advisor for the Looking for Richard Project)

• Different aim to other books

  on the topic: Dan Jones offers a sequel to his The Plantagenets; David

  Santiuste focusses on Edward and is part biography; most are more limited in

  their time frame and thus don’t go anywhere near as far in helping resolve the

  confusion surrounding this topic