Why read Blood and Roses?

Book cover of Blood and Roses: The Paston Family and the Wars of the Roses

Book description

The Wars of the Roses turned England upside down. Between 1455 and 1485 four kings, including Richard III, lost their thrones, more than forty noblemen lost their lives on the battlefield or their heads on the block, and thousands of the men who followed them met violent deaths. As they…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Blood and Roses as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

ffiona Perigrinor

Author

When I started writing about Alice de Bryene, basing my initial research on a single year of household accounts, I found this book inspiring. I wanted to explore Dame Alice’s family, her relationships with the wider community, and get an idea of what motivated her, even though it’s considered impossible to write medieval biography – there are just too few primary sources to construct a life. However, Blood and Roses demonstrates it can be done. The Pastons were different from Dame Alice – they came from humbler origins, were determined to ascend the social ladder, maintained voluminous correspondence, which illuminated…

From ffiona's list on The best books about medieval life and widows who prefer independence to remarriage.