Browse by category
Athelstan: The Making of England by Tom Holland
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs Ser.
The formation of England occurred against the odds: an island divided into rival kingdoms, under savage assault from Viking hordes. But, after King Alfred ensured the survival of Wessex and his son Edward expanded it, his grandson Athelstan inherited the rule of both Mercia and Wessex, conquered Northum ...Show more
Charles I by Mark Kishlansky
Category: Biography | Series: Penguin Monarchs
The tragedy of Charles I dominates one of the most strange and painful periods in British history as the whole island tore itself apart over a deadly, entangled series of religious and political disputes. In Mark Kishlansky's brilliant account it is never in doubt that Charles created his own catastroph ...Show more
Edward VII : The Cosmopolitan King by Richard Davenport-Hines
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Edward the Confessor (Penguin Monarchs) by Woodman, David
Category: Popular History | Series: Penguin Monarchs Ser.
Edward the Confessor, one of the last kings of Anglo-Saxon England, is in part a figure of myths created in the later medieval period. David Woodman traces the course of his 24-year-long reign through the lens of contemporary sources, from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Vita dwardi Regis to the Baye ...Show more
Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity (Penguin Monarchs) by Fellow and Lecturer in History Helen Castor
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
In the popular imagination, as in her portraits, Elizabeth I is the image of monarchical power. The Virgin Queen ruled over a Golden Age: the Spanish Armada was defeated and England's enemies scattered; English explorers reached almost to the ends of the earth; a new Church of England rose from the ashe ...Show more
Elizabeth I (Penguin Monarchs) by Castor Helen
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs Ser.
Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format In the popular imagination, as in her portraits, Elizabeth I is the image of monarchical power. The Virgin Queen ruled over a Golden Age: the Spanish Armada was defeated; English explorers reac ...Show more
Elizabeth II (Penguin Monarchs): The Steadfast by Hurd Douglas
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Elizabeth II: The Steadfast by Rt. Hon Lord Douglas Hurd
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Just as this book is being published, Elizabeth II will become the longest-serving monarch who ever sat on the English or British throne. Yet her personality and influence remain elusive. This book, by a senior politician who has spent significant periods of time in her company, and is also a distinguis ...Show more
George V by David Cannadine
Category: Biography | Series: Penguin Monarchs
For a man with such conventional tastes and views, George V had a revolutionary impact. Almost despite himself he marked a decisive break with his flamboyant predecessor Edward VII, inventing the modern monarchy, with its emphasis on frequent public appearances, family values and duty. George V was an e ...Show more
Henry II: A Prince Among Princes by Richard Barber
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Henry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of the most dynamic, restless and clever men ever to rule England, he was brought down both by his catastrophic relationship with his archbishop Thomas Becket and his debilitating argum ...Show more
Henry III: 'A Simple and God-Fearing King' by Stephen Church
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Henry III was a medieval king whose long reign continues to have a profound impact on us today. He was on the throne for 56 years and during this time England was transformed from being the private play-thing of a French speaking dynasty into a medieval state in which the king answered for his actions t ...Show more
Henry V: From Playboy Prince to Warrior King by Prof. Anne Curry
Category: History | Series: Penguin Monarchs
Foremost medieval historian Anne Curry offers a new reinterpretation of Henry V and the battle that defined his kingship: Agincourt. Henry V's invasion of France, in August 1415, represented a huge gamble. As heir to the throne, he had been a failure, cast into the political wilderness amid rumours that ...Show more