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Loading... Henry I: The Father of His Peopleby Edmund King
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This entry in the Penguin Monarchs series showcases the life of Henry I, who succeeded to the throne of England after his brother William Rufus died in a hunting accident. Henry is known for his administrative prowess and for the fact that his daughter Matilda ended up being his successor (thanks to a combination of lots of illegitimate sons and Henry’s heir being killed in the White Ship disaster). Henry’s story is told cleanly and without fuss, with reference to contemporary sources and not too much speculation. Facts are presented where known and doubt highlighted where it existed. (And it doesn’t use the word “evidently” five times in two pages, unlike the book about Cnut in this series.) There are also colour plates in the middle with highly relevant images. This book was a solid read that met my expectations. ( ) no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesPenguin Monarchs (7)
The youngest of William the Conqueror's sons, Henry I (1100-35) was never meant to be king, but he was destined to become one of the greatest of all medieval monarchs, both through his own ruthlessness and intelligence and through the dynastic legacy of his daughter Matilda, who began the Plantagenet line that would rule England until 1485. A self-consciously diligent and thoughtful king, his rule was looked back on as the real post-invasion re-founding of England as a new realm, integrated into the continent, wealthy and stable. Edmund King's wonderful portrait of Henry shows him as a strikingly charismatic and thoughtful man. His life was dogged by a single great disaster, the death of his teenage heir William in the White Ship disaster. Despite astonishing numbers of illegitimate sons, Henry was now left with only a daughter. This fact would shape the rest of the 12th century and beyond. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)942.023092History and Geography Europe England and Wales England Norman 1066-1154 Henry I 1100-35LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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