From 1450 to 1487 the whole fabric of England was shaken by a series of conflicts between the houses of York and Lancaster, known as the Wars of the Roses. The wars represent the greatest crisis of hereditary monarchy in English history and contain much political and military drama. Including the towering personalities of the Percy, Beaufort, Neville, Howard and Woodville families, the battles of Wakefield, Towton, Tewkesbury and Bosworth, and the powerful individuals like Warwick the Kingmaker, Edward IV, Henry Tudor and Richard III, the Wars of the Roses are without doubt a high point in our fascination with the middle ages. England and Wales are particularly rich in physical remains associated with these conflicts - in the form of castles, battlefields, houses, church monuments, effigies and tombs. Peter Bramley's book brings together information on surviving remains and the major campaigns and personalities of the wars, and provides a wealth of historical and practical detail, making the people and places of the Wars of the Roses come to life in an accessible and exciting way.
It is essential reading for all interested in medieval England and for people who want to experience the places associated with a long drawn out conflict that led to the Tudor age.