Shakespeare's Kings

John Julius Norwich

In a sparkling, fast-paced narrative, Shakespeare's Kings chronicles the turbulent events that inspired Shakespeare's history plays, from Edward III to Richard III. In a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare - when the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, and the people rose up in revolt - this was the raw material that inspired Shakespeare's dramas. But what really happened between 1337 and 1485? Where did history stop and drama begin? John Julius Norwich establishes just how real Shakespeare's characters and events are and what liberties he took with the facts to entertain his audience. Shakespeare's Kings is an illuminating companion to history and to the richness of Shakespeare's imagination, with a body of work which still shapes our view of the past today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Landing Page
• Praise
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Family Trees
• Maps
• Royal Emblems
• Introduction
• 1: Edward III and the Black Prince
• 2: The Young Richard
• 3: Favourites and Appellants
• 4: The King’s Revenge
• 5: The Triumph of Bolingbroke
• 6: King Henry IV Part I
• 7: King Henry IV Part II
• 8: Harfleur and Agincourt
• 9: The End of the Adventure
• 10: King Henry V
• 11: King Henry VI: His Childhood and Youth
• 12: King Henry VI Part I
• 13: King Henry VI: The Gathering Storm
• 14: King Henry VI Part II
• 15: The Wars of the Roses
• 16: King Henry VI Part III
• 17: King Edward V
• 18: The Final Reckoning
• 19: King Richard III
• Epilogue
• Chronological Table
• Bibliography
• Appendix: Shakespeare's Edward III
• Index
• Plates
• About the Author
• Also by the Author
• Copyright