No comments about Thomas More: History and Providence.

No comments about Footprints Of A Life, In Memory Of Princess Alice Of Great Britain And Ireland, Grand Duchess Of Hesse Darmstadt.

No comments about The Court Of Charles II, 1649-1734.

1 comments about James IV: The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland.

1. I purchased this book hoping to further understand the reign of James IV of Scotland and the events that led up to Flodden Field. Norman MacDougall certainly provides this information in, what is often, excruciating detail. Mainly focusing on government operation, political in-fighting, and clan rivalries of late 15th and early 16th centuries, MacDougall throws a plethora of Scottish earls, bishops, and burghers into the mix and the reader is highly challenged to keep it all straight. If one is looking for a leisurely read of James IV and his reign, I suggest looking elsewhere. However, if one requires an intensely detailed political account of this patricidal, fiscally obsessed, ruler who, himself, was doomed to destruction, you need look no further.

No comments about From Belfast's Sandy Row to Buckingham Palace: The Story of John Gibson.

No comments about The Last English King: The Life of Harold II.

No comments about Young Victoria (Radio Collection).

No comments about Histoire de la révolution d'Angleterre. Histoire de Charles I depuis son avènement jusqu'à sa mort (1625-1649): Volume 2.

5 comments about The Perfect Prince: The Mystery of Perkin Warbeck and His Quest for the Throne of England.

1. If you like real mysteries and have a taste for all the problematical aspects of real history and research, this is an incredible, masterful book. It is one of the most satisfying books I have ever read - satisfying on many levels and in many ways.
   
   I am surprised by some of the negative reviews. Obviously, there are people who did not read the book with suffient care and attention. For example, to quote Wroe on Perkin's final confession, as if this is her last word, is to show a woeful understanding of her style and the way the book works. This is not a short book, but it is a truly fine book. If you liked Barbara Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_, you will love this tale as it is better written, more complex and mysterious, and about a historically more significant person.



2. I am a history buff and an avid reader of anything written about the Wars of the Roses, and in particular, anything written about Richard III and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. This book, however, was hard to finish. The narrative style is so rambling and incoherent that it is difficult to follow. Facts, dates, and quotes are muddled, sentance structure is meandering and the author never seems able to make a point. How this book got past a copy editor, I'll never figure out.



3. I found the Perfect Prince to be a well written and superbly research book on Perkin Warbeck affair that plagued King Henry VII of England duirng the last decade of the 15th century. The research goes deeply into this blond pretender who claims to be Richard, Duke of York who somehow survived his days in the Tower of London while his older brother was murdered. The level of deception proves to be so great that many great monarchs of Europe gave their support of him and many English men great or small gave their support as well as their lives for him.
   
   Ann Wroe investigates this interesting sideshow of European history, trying to determined the true nature of this blond fellow who fooled so many, often with their lives and his origins. The study of motivation of Perkin Warbeck, aka: Ricahrd, Duke of York proves to be an interesting and indepth look. One of the important side subjects of this book remains the fate of the princes of the tower, a subject that continued to interest many during the last decade of the 15th century as well as up to the 21st century.
   
   If there was a weakness in this book, I believed it had a lot to do with the fact that the book was over written. Too many petty details were brought out in the book, too tedious at times in some sections. I thought the book could have been edited more tightly.
   
   Still, this book proves to be an interesting read although it tailored to a specific subject matter. Anyone who got any interest in the fate of the Princes in the Tower should read this book. Of course, Henry VII make a dour subject matter but this booka also reflects upon his rule as well.



4. When I first saw the synopsis of this book, I was very excited. The mystery of Perkin Warbeck (was he or wasn't he the younger of the Princes in the Tower?) has one that has always intrigued me. Besides, being a staunch Ricardian who firmly believes that Richard III is innocent of his nephews's murder, I thought to myself, if there's even a possibility that Perkin WAS Richard, Duke of York, then it goes to prove that the Princes in the Tower were not murdered at all, by their wicked uncle or anyone else (theories abound on who that someone else may have been, or if there ever was a double murder).
   
   On that last point I very quickly found out that Ms. Wroe thinks no such thing. In the first pages she describes Richard III as having been cut down "like a dog" (when in reality he fought bravely against overwhelming odds due to great treason, and his death caused a "great heaviness" in York and the North). That was the first disappointment. Still, it was moot to the story of Perkin himself, so I ploughed on.
   
   Well, you do need to hang in there tight, the book is overlong and overladen with totally irrelevant details (who cares about trade between Senegal, Portugal and Spain, what does the Aeneid have to do with the story, why spend so much time on Margaret Duchess of Burgundy's illuminated Book of Hours and her "visions", etc.?). When it does come to Perkin Warbeck himself, the narrative is thoroughly confusing. It takes some mental gymnastics to keep it all straight, between the boatman's son, the boy who was Brampton's attendant, the Prince who showed up in several royal courts of Europe, and who did what to him when. Same goes for his wanderings before he gets to Scotland. The narrative just doesn't flow. The sheer dryness of the writing, the contrived prose, the irrelevancies and the confusion make for the other disappointments.
   
   The only (almost) straight piece of narrative is when "Richard, Duke of York" does try to invade England after having married one of the King of Scots' kinswomen, up to his capture and "confession". Here I have another bone to pick. Ms. Wroe's contends that, since this confession was made just before he died, it must be true. I don't see the logic of that. Being tried as a commoner, he was probably "coerced" (to put it mildly) into confessing to almost anything. Bertram Fields, in his book "Royal Blood", devotes a chapter to Yorkist pretenders who tried to overthrow Henry VII, in which he casts serious doubts about Warbeck's confession and points out some inconsistencies that might impugn its reliability.
   
   Well, I give the book 3 stars simply as a reward for so much painstaking research. It's a pity that, so as not to have her time and effort wasted, Ms. Wroe crams all the results of that research, relevant or not, into her book, making it unwieldy, hard to follow, and a very dry read. The stars also go to having tackled an obscure historical figure and tried to shed some light in a 500-year-old mystery.
   
   If you're a history buff and are interested in the small footnotes of history, by all means read the book. If your interest is more in history-as-entertainment and an easy read, seek elsewhere. There are other non-fiction books on the period that are a lot more digestible.



5. This is an extremely well-researched, well-written biography of an intriguing young man who may have been the rightful King of England. I give Wroe full marks for her fascinating, open-minded portrayal of a confusing and turbulent period of history that in other hands has often been handled so poorly that it's impossible to follow. Her work is highly readable, and her research is original, cutting-edge, nsightful and thought-provoking. If a reader is really interested in this period, then Ann Wroe's book must not be missed.

No comments about Life and Reign of Edward the IV (2 Volumes).