Product Description

A study of the entire span of Hing Henry VI's reign, from 1422 to 1461, in the SUTTON HISTORY PAPERBACKS series.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #675969 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 968 pages

Customer Reviews

The classic re- assessment of the last Lancastrian King of England
King Henry VI is properly one of those kings whose rule is very different to assess.

He was 8 months and 25 days old on his accession to the throne, the youngest monarch ever to accede the English throne to date. He was the only son of the hero King Henry V and his Queen Consort, Katherine of France. In total he ruled for approximately 39 years, a rule troubled by civil and foreign war. His reign was the third longest since the Norman conquest and he came close to being declared a saint. Henry VI was a pious and generous man and a learned man: Eton College in 1440/41 and he founded King's College and Queen's College (named for his wife, Margaret of Anjou), Cambridge. But he lacked the attributes needed for effective kingship. Above all he lacked political sense and was no judge of men. Henry VI died in mysterious circumstances. On 21 May 1471, at the age of 49, he was stabbed to death in the Tower of London.


Anyone who wishes to understand the reign and personality of Henry VI better will have to start from the basis which Professor Griffiths provides. He presented a masterly study, which is quite unparalleled in its informative detail. I feel it is classic re- assessment of the third and last Lancastrian king and it is an essential reading for those interested in the history of fifteenth- century England.