This history of Shakespeare's Plantagenet kings contrasts the way the Bard told the stories with the way historians believe they actually happened. It praises Shakespeare's choices at times, recognizing his worth as a storyteller, and shining light on why he wrote his characters the way he did. ( )

I should have realized that the Norwich was the person to finally sort out the labyrinth twists and turns of the War of the Roses for me. He had after all tackled (previously) a thousand years of Venice, and of Byzantium, with breezy ease. In those other books he called upon the reader to visit the architecture and scenery associated with the events in history he related - giving the bare facts of history some color as it were. In 'Shakespeare's Kings' he doesn't so much use art, as artifice, to illustrate his story. Norwich demonstrates (after fully acquainting you with the detail of the real history) how Shakespeare would compress years (sometimes decades) into a few minutes on stage and a few lines of dialogue, yet do so brilliantly and while preserving the general flow of events. But after reading Norwich you realize that at almost no point do Shakespeare's dramatic effects come anywhere near the extraordinary cast of real characters and their (generally) diabolical behaviour. Such examples of true heroism, courage and dignity as there were only served to throw the misdeeds of others into harsher contrast.

This is very readable history that doesn't sacrifice any detail and is highly recommended for anyone who ever got stuck at the 15th Century, and for those who want to put some flesh on the bones of Shakespeare's accounts of those times. ( )

http://otter.covblogs.com/archives/017878.html ( )