This history of the Hundred Years War vividly chronicles the all-but-forgotten period when England ruled a great swath of France at the point of a sword.
Following the Battle of Agincourt, Henry V’s second invasion of France in 1417 launched a campaign that would place the crown of France on an English head. By the time of Henry’s premature death in 1422, nearly all of northern France lay in his hands and the Valois heir to the throne had been disinherited. Only Joan of Arc—a visionary peasant girl who claimed divine guidance—was able to halt the English advance, but not for long. Just six months after her death, Henry’s young son was crowned in Paris as the first, and last, English king of France.
Henry VI’s kingdom endured for twenty years, but when he came of age he was not the leader his father had been. The dauphin whom Joan had crowned Charles VII would finally drive the English out of France. Juliet Barker recounts these stirring events—the epic battles and sieges, plots and betrayals—through a kaleidoscope of characters from John Talbot, the “English Achilles,” and John, duke of Bedford, regent of France, to brutal mercenaries, opportunistic freebooters, resourceful spies, and lovers torn apart by the conflict.
The author of Agincourt: Henry V and the Battle That Made England, Juliet Barker is one of Britain's most distinguished literary biographers and medievalists. Juliet Barker, author of Agincourt and other critically acclaimed works of history and biography, has a PhD in history from Oxford University and was for six years a curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum at Haworth. She has been involved with all recent research into the Brontës and has made many major new finds that are revealed for the first time in this book.
Table of Contents
Contents Preface Notes to the Text Maps Table 1: The English Royal Line from Edward III Table 2: The French Royal Line – The House of Valois Part One: Establishing the Kingdom 1. Invasion 2. Conquest 3. Heir of France 4. The English Kingdom of France 5. Resistance 6. A Second Agincourt Part Two: Jehanne D'Arc 7. The Pucelle 8. The Siege of Orléans 9. A New King of France 10. Capture 11. Trial and Execution Part Three: War of Attrition 12. A Year of Disasters 13. Recovery 14. Disorder and Defeat 15. The Treaty of Arras 16. The Fall of Paris Part Four: The Search for Peace 17. Defending Normandy 18. Gains and Losses 19. Missed Opportunities 20. A Last Military Effort Part Five: The Truce of Tours 21. A Truce and a Marriage 22. Concessions for Peace 23. The Surrender of Maine 24. The Truce Breaks Down 25. Reconquest Epilogue Notes Bibliography Chronology of Key Events Acknowledgements Index
