THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
The author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back again
*LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2025*
*THE TELEGRAPH'S BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024*
'A glorious work of history... a gripping and haunting tragedy... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut' - Tom Holland, The Spectator
'A dazzling tour de force of epic royal history: a compulsive, unputdownable real-life thriller, a gripping portrait of ruthless power politics, and a study of British tyranny... written with the delicacy and elegance of one of Britain's most brilliant historians at the top of her game' - Simon Sebag-Montefiore
'If ever a book of history was blessed with contemporary relevance, this one is. The dumbfounding, delusional, narcissistic King Richard; the white-knuckle ride of Henry IV, dogged all the way by notions of illegitimacy. I feel these men could have been ripped from today's headlines. The book's great achievement is in the storytelling - the unfolding drama, the secrets of power and ambition so beautifully controlled in the telling. The Eagle and the Hart will be a non-fiction book of the year and will deserve the ovations it is certain to receive. When history is this gripping there's nothing like it' - Andrew O'Hagan
Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. Their lives were from the beginning entwined. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king.
Yet, as the animals on their heraldic badges showed, they grew up to be opposites: Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Henry had all the qualities Richard lacked, all the qualities a sovereign needed, bar one: birth right. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. When he banished Henry into exile, the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper.
Helen Castor tells this story of one of the strangest and most fateful relationships in English history. It is a story about power, and masculinity in crisis, and a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe. At its heart, it is the story of two men whose lives were played out in extraordinary parallel, to devastating effect.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
A riveting account of Richard II and Henry IV's rivalry... The book of the year -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph (#1 in The 50 best books of 2024 - ranked) * A wonderful narrative history of England... rich in medieval colour and human detail * The Times Best History Books of the Year * A beautifully humane medieval political thriller which happens also to be true -- Dan Jones * Daily Express Books of the Year * My clear stand-out this year was The Eagle and The Hart... Castor retains the drama of the events superbly -- Robbie Smith * The London Standard, Books of the Year * Helen Castor is a master storyteller not only of what she sees as 'the tragedy' of their relationship [of Richard II and Henry IV] but also of this most turbulent period in English history, a real-life game of thrones and violent power plays in which one wrong move would cost a careless duke or earl his head and a king his crown. Who said medieval history was boring? -- Tony Rennell * Daily Mail Books of the Year * Helen Castor's The Eagle and the Hart concerns two men - the 14th century king Richard II and his cousin who would be king instead, Henry Bolingbroke - yet it encompasses dozens of characters, hundreds of subplots and some of the most momentous years in English history * Prospect, History Books of the Year * My book of the year is Helen Castor's spellbinding The Eagle and the Hart, a beautifully written and convincingly argued study of first cousins and bitter rivals Richard II and Henry IV. In her ability to evoke time and place, and to get under the skin of medieval power politics, Castor is without equal -- Saul David * Aspects of History, Books of the Year * Helen Castor's The Eagle and the Hart is the utterly addictive, gripping tale of a deadly rivalry between two cousins: the "thin-skinned narcissist Richard II" and the charismatic, chivalric Henry IV. The intrigue, turbulence and sheer drama of the Plantagenet age is brough vividly to life throughout. Told with characteristic verve and exceptional scholarship, this is one of the best history books I've read in years -- Tracy Borman * BBC History Magazine Books of the Year * A brilliant achievement.... not just a glorious work of history but a gripping and haunting tragedy. She is not, of course, the first writer to have made a drama out of the crisis that brought the Lancastrians to power, but it is the measure of her genius for narrative and character that the tale she tells does not remotely suffer from comparison with Shakespeare... There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut -- Tom Holland * The Spectator * The Eagle and the Hart is packed with drama and incident, but it's also written with an electrifying sense of the tensions between individuals and institutions, innovation and tradition, legitimacy and tyranny. This is a masterpiece of narrative history -- Matthew Lyons * The Telegraph *
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ISBN-13
978-0-241-41933-5 (9780241419335)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Helen Castor is an acclaimed medieval and Tudor historian. Her books include the prize-winning Blood & Roses, She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England before Elizabeth, and Joan of Arc, dubbed 'a triumph of history'. She has presented a range of radio and television programmes for the BBC and Channel 4, including documentaries based on She-Wolves and Joan of Arc. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow Commoner of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and was a judge for the 2022 Booker Prize. She has one son, and lives in London.
