Henry IV: The Righteous King

The real life story of the Plantagenet ruler, by “the most remarkable medieval historian of our time” (The Times, London).
 
The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts.
 
Having broken God’s law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law—in highly turbulent times.
 
In this book, noted historian Ian Mortimer, bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, goes beyond the legend portrayed in Shakespeare’s history play, and explores the political and social forces that transformed Henry IV from his nation’s savior to its scourge.

• Henry V: The Warrior King of 1415
• Edward III: The Perfect King
• The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England: 1327--1330
• Richard II: A True King's Fall
• Edward II: The Unconventional King
• Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
• Queens Consort: England's Medieval Queens from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Elizabeth of York
• The Borgias and Their Enemies, 1431-1519
• Jefferson's Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism
• The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England