Henry IV: The Righteous King
Henry IV: The Righteous King

Author: Ian Mortimer

Publisher: Rosetta Books

Published: 2014-02-22

Total Pages: 862

ISBN-13: 0795335431

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The real life story of the Plantagenet ruler, by “the most remarkable medieval historian of our time” (The Times, London). The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God’s law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law—in highly turbulent times. In this book, noted historian Ian Mortimer, bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, goes beyond the legend portrayed in Shakespeare’s history play, and explores the political and social forces that transformed Henry IV from his nation’s savior to its scourge.

The Royal Throne of Mercy and British Culture in the Victorian Age
The Royal Throne of Mercy and British Culture in the Victorian Age

Author: James Gregory

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-10-01

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 135014245X

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In the first detailed study of its kind, James Gregory's book takes a historical approach to mercy by focusing on widespread and varied discussions about the quality, virtue or feeling of mercy in the British world during Victoria's reign. Gregory covers an impressive range of themes from the gendered discourses of 'emotional' appeal surrounding Queen Victoria to the exercise and withholding of royal mercy in the wake of colonial rebellion throughout the British empire. Against the backdrop of major events and their historical significance, a masterful synthesis of rich source material is analysed, including visual depictions (paintings and cartoons in periodicals and popular literature) and literary ones (in sermons, novels, plays and poetry). Gregory's sophisticated analysis of the multiple meanings, uses and operations of royal mercy duly emphasise its significance as a major theme in British cultural history during the 'long 19th century'. This will be essential reading for those interested in the history of mercy, the history of gender, British social and cultural history and the legacy of Queen Victoria's reign.

The Elder Sons of George III
The Elder Sons of George III

Author: Catherine Curzon

Publisher: Pen and Sword History

Published: 2020-12-28

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1473872502

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For nearly 60 years, King George III reigned over a tumultuous kingdom. His health and realm were in turmoil, while family life held challenges of its own. From the corpulent Prinny and the Grand Old Duke of York, to a king who battled the Lords and the disciplinarian Duke of Kent, this is the story of the elder sons of George III. Born over the course of half a decade of upheaval, George, Frederick, William, and Edward defined an era. Their scandals intrigued the nation and their efforts to build lives away from the shadow of their impossibly pious parents led them down diverse paths. Whether devoting their lives to the military or to pleasure, every moment was captured in the full glare of the spotlight. The sons of George III were prepared from infancy to take their place on the world’s stage, but as the king’s health failed and the country lurched from one drama to the next, they found that duty was easier said than done. With scandalous romances, illegal marriages, rumors of corruption and even the odd kidnapping plot, their lives were as breathless as they were dramatic. In The Elder Sons of George III: Kings, Princes, and a Grand Old Duke, travel from Great Britain to America and on to Hanover in the company of princes who were sometimes scandalous, sometimes sensational, but never, ever dull.

Royal Education
Royal Education

Author: Peter Gordon

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780714683867

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Many people assume that kings and queens have generally received a "good education", perhaps the best that money could buy at the time. This book investigates the reality: what is known about the education of British sovereigns from the beginning of the Tudor period to the end of the 20th century. There have been enormous differences in the seriousness with which education was regarded at different points in history. For example Henry VIII and his children were educated at a high point in the Renaissance, when educational ideas were regarded as important as well as exciting. Queen Elizabeth I was by any standards extremely well educated; by contrast Queen Elizabeth II's education has been described as "undemanding", because her parents wanted her to have a happy childhood. Peter Gordon and Denis Lawton have traced changes in royal education through the centuries and related them not only to educational ideas and theories, but also to changing political, social and religious contexts. The monarchy itself has changed as an institution: from the semi-absolute authority of the Tudors to a much more limited kind of monarchy by the end of the Stuart period (after one king had been executed and another exiled) to the constitutional monarchy of the 20th century. To what extent have such changes made any difference to royal education? What is the most appropriate kind of education for future kings and queens in our present day democracy? In this book, the authors confront these and other such questions and explore some of the answers.

The Reign of Henry IV
The Reign of Henry IV

Author: Gwilym Dodd

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1903153239

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Investigations of Henry IV's reign have tended to concentrate on how he seized power, rather than how he governed. However, the period between 1403 and 1413 was no less dramatic and challenging for Henry than the initial years of his rule: he faced a series of rebellions, a financial crisis, deep-seated opposition in parliament, ill-health and a number of serious dilemmas relating to foreign policy. The essays here examine, and provide fresh interpretations of, both these particular aspects, and of broader topics adding to our understanding and government and society in the period, including the role of the lower clergy in parliament, and the mechanisms and scope of royal patronage. Contributors: A.J. POLLARD, MICHAEL BENNETT, CHRIS GIVEN-WILSON, ANTHONY TUCK, HELEN WATT, MARK ARVANIGIAN, GWILYM DODD, A.K. MCHARDY, W. MARK ORMROD, DOUGLAS BIGGS, KATE PARKER

The Fourth Turning
The Fourth Turning

Author: William Strauss

Publisher: Crown

Published: 1997-12-29

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0767900464

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe. First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history. William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next. Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.