Insane kings, infant kings and imprisoned kings; feuding families, disputed successions and monarchs executing their own brothers; exiled nobles, war with France and bitter enemies uniting against a common foe—the history of the Wars of the Roses is so filled with drama that at times it can feel like fiction. So much so, in fact, that George R.R. Martin has cited the conflict as the inspiration behind Game of Thrones. With its protagonists driven by ruthless ambition but twisted by their conflicting loyalties of blood and marriage, the Wars of the Roses (1455-87) saw England plunged into civil war for more than 30 years as the followers of the Lancastrian and Yorkist families fought each other for the crown. From mad Henry VI captured in battle to the mysterious disappearance of the "Princes in the Tower" and on to the truth behind Richard III's alleged deformity, The Wars of the Roses is a lively account of the last English wars of the Middle Ages. Illustrated with more than 180 color and black-and-white photographs, genealogies, artworks, and maps, The Wars of the Roses reveals the scheming and betrayal, the skullduggery and murder behind the struggle to gain power in late Medieval England—and then hold on to it.
Author
Hailing from northeast England, Martin J Dougherty is a professional writer specialising in military history. He has been at times a games designer, an engineer, a self-protection instructor, a teacher and a defence analyst. Martin has published a range of books covering topics as diverse as self-protection, medieval warfare and space flight, and has addressed international conferences on anti-shipping missiles and homeland security issues. Martin's interests include martial arts and fencing. He has coached Fencing, Ju-Jitsu, Self-Defence and Kickboxing for many years at the University of Sunderland, and has competed to national level as a fencer. As a martial artist he holds black belts in Combat Ju-Jitsu, Nihon Tai-Jitsu and Self-Defence. Martin is a Senior Assessor with the Self-Defence Federation and an IL1 instructor/assessor with the Britsh Federation for Historical Swordplay, specialising in the Military Sabre and the Smallsword.
