Brothers York

A Royal Tragedy

De: Thomas Penn

Narrado por: Roy McMillan

In early 1461, a 17-year-old boy won a battle on a freezing morning in the Welsh marches, and claimed the crown of England as Edward IV, first king of the usurping house of York. It was a time when old certainties had been shredded: by popular insurgency, economic crisis, feuding, and a corrupt, bankrupt government presided over by the imbecilic, Lancastrian King Henry VI. The country was in need of a new hero. Magnetic, narcissistic, Edward found himself on the throne, and alongside him his two younger brothers: the unstable, petulant George, Duke of Clarence, and the boy who would emerge from his shadow, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

Charismatic, able, and ambitious, the brothers would become the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty, one that laid the foundations for a renewal of English royal power. Yet a web of grudges and resentments grew between them, generating a destructive sequence of conspiracy, rebellion, deposition, fratricide, usurpation, and regicide. The house of York’s brutal end came on August 22, 1485, at Bosworth Field, with the death of the youngest brother, now Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor.

The Brothers York is the story of three remarkable brothers, two of whom were crowned kings of England and the other an heir presumptive, whose antagonism was fueled by the mistrust and vendettas of the age that brought their family to power. The house of York should have been the dynasty that the Tudors became. Its tragedy was that it devoured itself.

©2019 Thomas Penn (P)2020 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The Wars of the Roses Made Clear

This is the best account of the numerous I have read in explaining the very complex history of the Wars of the Roses and the equally complex characters and their relationships.

Fascinating and entertaining

Any aficionado of English history will love this tome. Super entertaining and interesting, great narration!

Entertaining and informative

Well written. Entertaining and informative at the same time. Well researched and easy to follow.

History as a Story Worth Listening To

This was so well written, and so well read aloud, that although making accounts of actual history, felt suspenseful and addictively engaging.

Absolute Power

The Brothers York is a wonderful look at the human condition. Pride, greed, and absolute power all being about the downfall of a dynasty, and all ghastly crimes that go along with it. And this is the very start of the Tudor dynasty. It’s a tale as old as time itself. Wonderful narration and told like rich narrative, the action is nonstop and harrowing.