Kings & Queens. The Life and Times of Henry V

London England: Cardinal, 1975. Paperback. Slight foxing to end inside covers and edge. Introduction by Antonia Fraser. To posterity, Henry V is the great warrior king of the Middle Ages, and his supreme achievement was his victory over the flower of French chivalry on the field of Agincourt in 1415. But this brief moment of triumph should not obscure the fact that Henry was an astute and able ruler. In this fine study, the author introduces us to the youthful Prince Hal, not drinking with the loose companions so beloved by Shakespeare, but fighting hard and bitterly to help his father retain his throne. He then shows us Henry as King, grappling with severe economic and religious problems, and preferring to make his political gains by negotiation. He was also a courteous and cultured man, encouring the arts and fulfilling in his wooing of a French princess all the highest expections of courtly love. Yet his devotion to the military ideal brought about the great tragedy of his reign, his early death, worn out by his warring campaigns. He left to his infant son a formidable inheritance, the joint thrones of England and France. Little wonder that Shakespeare declared of him, 'King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long'. Illustrated. 128 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions ,and all types of Academic Literature.) . 1st Cardinal Edition. Soft Cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Paperback.