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Genre - Non Fiction
Henry IV is one of the lesser-known English monarchs. Most lovers of English history would know that he deposed Richard II, had leprosy & was the father of Henry V, & most of that was learned from Shakespeare. Actually, he didn’t have leprosy, just a nasty skin disease. He did depose Richard II, but Richard was far from the noble monarch depicted by Shakespeare. He was a paranoid tyrant who planned to disinherit Henry when his father died & threatened the inheritance rights of all the nobility. Parliament virtually begged Henry to accept the crown, but once Henry was king, they thwarted his plans by keeping him short of money. His reign was plagued by rebellions in Wales & in the North of England, wars with France & Scotland, & the struggle with Parliament. In contrast with the glorious military achievements of his son, Henry V, his reign seems disastrous. However, Mortimer’s portrait of the king is a sympathetic one. He had little choice but to depose an unfit monarch, but then had to live with the consequences of an act that was seen to be violating God’s laws.
---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters
Genre - Non Fiction
Henry IV is one of the lesser-known English monarchs. Most lovers of English history would know that he deposed Richard II, had leprosy & was the father of Henry V, & most of that was learned from Shakespeare. Actually, he didn’t have leprosy, just a nasty skin disease. He did depose Richard II, but Richard was far from the noble monarch depicted by Shakespeare. He was a paranoid tyrant who planned to disinherit Henry when his father died & threatened the inheritance rights of all the nobility. Parliament virtually begged Henry to accept the crown, but once Henry was king, they thwarted his plans by keeping him short of money. His reign was plagued by rebellions in Wales & in the North of England, wars with France & Scotland, & the struggle with Parliament. In contrast with the glorious military achievements of his son, Henry V, his reign seems disastrous. However, Mortimer’s portrait of the king is a sympathetic one. He had little choice but to depose an unfit monarch, but then had to live with the consequences of an act that was seen to be violating God’s laws.
---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters
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