Product Description

On Palm Sunday 1461, a bitterly contested battle was fought by two massive medieval armies for the prize of the crown of England. This work explores what drove the contending armies of York and Lancaster to fight at Towton in the longest, biggest and bloodiest battle ever staged on British soil, and examines the legends surrounding the terrible encounter, including that of the rivers running red with blood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #289989 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 162 pages

Customer Reviews

The grim horrors of medieval war
I enjoyed this book. It is concise, well-written and assumes a level of knowledge in the reader. One of an entertaining series on British battles (there is an excellent title on the Battle of Bosworth), it makes grim reading. The author urges us away from any romantic notions we may have about the nature of medieval warfare & codes of chivalry. The Battle of Towton was a grim episode in English history with alarmingly high casualties. It is a poignant thought that many men killed that day are still piled beneath the surface of the battleground. This is an enjoyable read and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Wars of the Roses, regardless of viewpoint.

Solid and detailed account, but flawed
Andrew Boardman supplies a detailed, well argued and ocassionally stirring story of a specific episode in the Wars of the Roses. Those new to this bloody episode in England's history would be wise to read a more general accounts of the wars (such as the excellent books by Desmond Seward and Alison Weir) before attempting this work, although Boardman does attempt to fill in some of the background before getting to the battle itself. His style is solid, though his choice of words is sometimes rather odd. For instance he uses the word 'elitist' to describe the Stanleys' notorious reputation for sitting on the fence and then joining the side that was winning. The book's biggest flaw is rather more simple. There are no maps. It seems astonishing that a book that describes in detail the terrain of a battlefield, the movement of troops and the position of various memorials and grave sites does not include any plans or maps at all. It is a major irritation, now matter how good Mr Boardman's descriptive skills.

An excellent book hindered by the publishers
I'd like to respond to the other reviewer's comments regarding the lack of maps or battle plans in this book. I originally read this book in the original hardcover 1994 publication and it had a plethora of illustrations, maps and battle plans. As the author is the most reliable and knowledgable about the Wars of the Roses, I decided to invest in this 'new' 2000 edition. Imagine my shock and horror to find all illustrations have been left out of this edition. The impact has definately been diminished by what I can only assume is the publisher's decision to make a good book more cost effective.