A family of kings

Dan Jones’ book of the same name is an account of the life and times of the kings who were part of that powerful dysfunctional family, The Plantagenets. From Henry II who gained power after the death of Stephen to Richard II, the last Plantagenet king the book depicts all the struggles, wars and lack of money that marked the 250 years that the dynasty lasted.

Most of the kings (and there were only ruling kings in this period) were called Henry or Edward but there are also John and Richard the Lionheart, brothers who rebelled against their father and who are probably the best known rulers of the period due to the Robin Hood stories. The family came originally from France, they didn’t always speak English and they tended to regard England as the source of resources to pursue their ambitions on the continent. They didn’t all spend a lot of time in the country and they weren’t all good kings – John was bad enough to be responsible for Magna Carta where the barons attempted to bring him to account. As a whole the Plantagenets were responsible for the setting up of a more formal bureaucracy for government and the law. They also conquered Wales and attempted the conquest of Scotland (held back somewhat by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce).

This all makes for interesting reading, and Jones writes in an accessible style. I listened to the audio book which was narrated by the author and it held my interest. There is no new interpretation of history here but the author has made this a story which is easy to follow and to understand why the kings did what they did and the long term effect of their actions.