Engaging account of the wars of the roses, written for the layman but with accuracy to satisfy the historian. Not a quick read but an enjoyable and informative introduction to the topic. On a personal note I couldn’t help comparing it to the present day Brexit crisis, where the well-being of the country was cast aside by ambitious men to satisfy their quest for power.

This is a well researched book suitable for the general reader interested in this period of history. There are enough footnotes to satisfy the more academic although not so many as to be off-putting. It's a long read and I think I would prefer to read it as a book and not on kindle as there are many characters and it would be useful to be able to leaf through the book to remind oneself of what's happening. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a meticulously researched and richly woven account of the War of the Roses. I’m not sure it frames it in a new light but it certainly pulls disparate threads together and presents them in a fresh and accessible way. If you’re someone who likes historical non-fiction but finds the language of academia off putting, then this may well be for you. The author has taken great care to both stick to the known facts and make the language of delivery engaging. At 700 pages this is not a light read but it’s not so dense that its unenjoyable either. Highly recommend.

This book was a well researched historical piece. As such it was well written and easy to read. However it was not the work of historical fiction I was expecting. I would have enjoyed a narrative behind the historic events but that being said it was still an enjoyable read about a very interesting period in English hisyoty.

The Brothers York by Thomas Penn
I think it was only as I began reading this attractively written book and noted the slow progress of the percentage of the book I had read that I realised quite what a mighty tome this was. Initially I did think that I would not have the reading stamina to reach the end of the book but the fact that it was so well written and engaging made me continue. It is the story of the struggle for power between the three brothers Edward VI, Clarence and Richard III.
Having just returned from another trip to Leicester and the Richard III exhibition I knew quite a lot about his life and the various stories which surround him but was not as familiar with the life of Clarence, knowing only about his demise. I did not know a vast amount about the history of this period being much more knowledgeable about post 1485 and wondered whether this would hinder my enjoyment. I need not have worried; the book was accessible, entertaining and informative. I have developed a fascination for this period of turmoil and found it a very satisfying read.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review

This is work of history,not historical fiction,and as such is an important contribution to understanding of the period. The characters are carefully and accurately described as is the historical context for the events. It is well written and carefully researched,filling a gap in coverage of these people and this era.

Although I enjoy this period of history, I found this hard going. I can appreciate how well researched and detailed book this is and this would be ideal for a history student or similar. For me, just an average reader, this was overly long and wordy. I could only read it in short bursts, but It is ideal just to dip in and out of.

I was offered a free copy of this marvellous history in exchange for an honest review. Admittedly, I hadn’t realised just how weighty a tome this book was when requesting it and wondered whether I would actually be able to plough through it. However, as a history buff, I found The Brothers York to be a positive page-turner! In an era when fratricide, regicide, genocide and attainder was the expected response by the ‘anointed’ king to popular dissent, opposition to dictatorship and usurpers, Thomas Penn”s novel discusses the legitimacy and succession of each of the three brothers, Edward IV, Clarence, Duke of Gloucester and Richard III, the whimsical abuses of their positions, and the lengths to which each was prepared to go to fight for and hang onto that kingship when backing and political support was entirely dependent on the strength of the opposition. What a wonderful book and entirely readable.

I read this in snippets rather than all at once, as I prefer historical fiction to this more scholarly approach, so it took a long while to get through it. It was easy to read though, and clearly well-researched. I’ve read several novel versions of the period so the story is familiar to me but this filled in a lot of detail. I’d just finished Lady of Ravens, a novel set at the start of Edward’s marriage and with a female perspective, so this more muscular non fiction narrative complemented that.

A really interesting book. This is a very detailed book about the sons of the house of York. Although very long, it is a fascinating read fleshing out characters that were just names to me.

I had read Winter King so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy The Brothers York. Like many, I’m a sucker for a Tudor story, but to understand their time it helps to have a handle on what went before. After all, the first of these brothers, Edward, was Henry VIII’s grandfather. At getting on for 700 pages, this is not a quick read. But don’t let that put you off. It’s detailed, yes, but very readable. This is proper history writing, sticking to the sources but making appropriate conjecture where gaps remain.
I really enjoyed spending time getting to know these brothers in a more nuanced way than offered by the caricatures of the expansive Edward, bitter Clarence and scheming Richard I’d previously been aware of. The wider picture is interesting too – what was going on with the deposed Lancastrian Henry VI and his supporters while Edward was on the throne, the changing relationship between England, France and Burgundy, the intermarriages and intrigues. It’s not surprising that Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, features heavily; trying to keep up with his shenanigans is exhausting!
If you’re in the market for a deep dive into the shifting allegiances of the fifteenth century, I highly recommend this.

I don't know a lot about English history (although I recognise the princes in the tower story and I know there is suggestion about a car park that's recently made the news) so this book was an accessible way to lear a bit more about this period in time.

Although this claims to 'cast[s] the War of the Roses in a fresh light' I'm not convinced that it does - which doesn't detract from the story at all, but I'm not sure there's anything new here. Penn's intent of focusing on the three York brothers - Edward, George and Richard - becomes skewed as Edward doesn't die till close to the end of the book and only the final 15% or so concentrates on Richard's 'power grab' (as Penn would likely say). Clarence has his moment in the middle of the book, as we'd expect.

This is definitely a cross-over book: it's written with an eye on a generalist audience and uses familiar and studiedly unacademic language ('as the leader of a power bloc', 'with the Yorkists positioning themselves as the champions of big business', 'they were unprepared for the bombshell Edward now dropped') to tell its story. Superscripts are kept to a minimum but 15% of the Kindle edition is endnotes and references so it appears to be sourced properly.

As someone who only knows this story via fiction, I was interested to read a history. I especially like that Penn clarifies the complicated politics between France, Burgundy and the warring English factions.

That said, it's disappointing that Penn glosses over the mystery of the princes in the tower without explicitly acknowledging that we don't know what happened - the boys just 'disappear'. I'd have been interested in his view, even if speculative, perhaps as an afterword. He also restores Richard's back problems (scoliosis) and a raised shoulder.

Penn doesn't seem to like anyone though does seem unbiased - everyone's pretty reprehensible in this story! This isn't the liveliest of histories but it feels more grounded than some of the more popular retellings. An informative and detailed read.

I did not finish this - it was so boring. I know most of this history so was looking for the facts to be presented in a more lively, interesting way, which this did not achieve.

The book starts in the year 1461 with the rivalry between the Houses of York and Lancaster rumbling on in the ‘Wars of the Roses’. Currently, Lancastrians are ascendant with Henry VI as king but he is weak although his wife Margaret of Anjou is most definitely not. The Yorkist leader is Richard whose three sons are the subject of this book. Edward the future Edward IV, George and Richard (III). The book started with the fantastic image of three suns in the sky, a prophetic harbinger of things to come. The events described in this book make HBO’s Succession look like a polite tea party!

I really enjoyed this meticulous book which explained this period with great clarity. I think a cast of characters would be very helpful as even though I have a background in history and know this period reasonably well, I thought my head would explode as it felt like a cast of five thousand! Particular respect goes to Margaret of Anjou whose astute leadership made the Yorkists life difficult and to Warwick, the Kingmaker whose ambitious machinations and hunger for power often dominates the proceedings.

What of the brothers? Edward reminds me so much of Henry VIII - they even look alike! Edward looks the part. He wants to dazzle, he’s ruthless but prone to bingeing and womanising, he has periods of manic energy followed by listlessness. He constantly has to fight to maintain his crown as his claim is flimsy (1461 -70, 71-83) and indeed looses it for a spell. George, Duke of Clarence is sensitive, pushy, power hungry, duplicitous, jealous, an ingrate with a huge sense of entitlement. He betrays his brothers and is murdered. Richard is probably the best of the bunch despite how he has been portrayed. He is tall, slim, courageous, very clever and bookish, intense, a skilled soldier with firm views on knightly conduct, loyal to Edward, trustworthy and reliable. As time went on the pain of his scoliosis is evident. As king he says the right thing but circumstances forced changes to his agenda. We’ll draw a veil over the fate of the princes as we simply don’t know and Thomas Penn rightly made no conclusions.

The book clearly shows how the country is ripped apart almost family by family. This is one of the most tragic periods in our history which Penn demonstrates very well . It’s got everything a fictional thriller contains from treachery to murder, recklessness to betrayal and everything in between. I would have liked a bigger focus on the three men themselves as that is what the title implies as I felt it is more a documentary of the period. I would have liked more assessment or analysis of them possibly in some sort of conclusion which it lacked. If you want to understand more about the period then this book ticks all the boxes and is highly recommended. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Gripping tale of rivalry and dread
Even though you think you know them ,they spring off the page with all their passion ,rivalry ,scores to settle and violence
The book takes us through the collapse of a dynasty,what happens when power is usurped from outside the family and the effects of a bitter and bloody self destruction
A fantastic read

This is a very interesting read. This book has obviously been very well researched. This is an interesting and intriguing part of history that many books have been written about. Thomas Penn’s book is informative and well written and worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author, Thomas Penn, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Brothers York in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought Mr Penn deliverd a very informative and interesting book about an interesting period of history.
Well worth a read.