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Henry V

The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King

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Henry V

By: Dan Jones
Narrated by: Dan Jones
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Bloomsbury presents Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King, written and read by Dan Jones.

Nominated for Best Audiobook: Non-Fiction at The Speakies (The British Audio Awards)

A brand-new life of England’s greatest king from our bestselling medieval historian

'A historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist.' Observer

Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just 35, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond.

The victor of Agincourt was a model king for his successors. Shakespeare’s version of Henry V saw his youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship, and in the dark days of World War II, Henry’s victories in France were recounted in British propaganda. Churchill called Henry ‘a gleam of splendour in the dark, troubled story of medieval England’, while for one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, ‘the greatest man who ever ruled England’.

For Dan Jones, Henry is one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down. He was a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet he was also creative and artistic, with a bookish temperament. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered.

As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England’s borders; in foreign diplomacy, he made England a serious player once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses.

Dan Jones’s life of Henry V provides unprecedented insight into the critical first 26 years of his life before he became king. Both a standalone biography and a completion of Dan’s sequence of English medieval histories that began with The Plantagenets and The Hollow Crown, Henry V is a thrilling and unmissable life of England’s greatest king from our best-selling medieval historian.©2024 Dan Jones (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Best of 2024 Europe Great Britain Historical Military Politics & Activism Royalty England Middle Ages Thought-Provoking Winston Churchill War
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Critic reviews

Wildly gripping, swashbuckling, battle-scarred and blood-spattered, in equal parts ferocious, dynamic and political, intimate and humane, the best biography yet of England's greatest king.
Jones’s prose hums with energy throughout, and his ability to marry realm-scale intrigue with family drama marks this out as narrative history at its best.
The king of exciting narrative history triumphs again. A masterclass in making the medieval addictively readable.
Yet another Dan Jones book that I wish I had written. One of England’s greatest medieval kings gets the biography he deserves from one of our greatest medieval historians.
Splendidly readable... full of diverting incident and considered judgment... Jones is one of our liveliest historians
[A] lively retelling of Henry’s remarkable story
[An] adrenalin-fuelled biography... a unique feature of this account is that half of it is devoted to Henry’s formative years
With his customary combination of profound scholarship and fine narrative verve, Dan Jones brings Henry V to life better than anyone since Shakespeare himself. Here is a much more believable king – both for good and ill – than the Bard’s rendition, one rooted in contemporary sources shrewdly analysed. Truly, a Henry for our times.
Shining fresh light on England’s transformational warrior king, this thrilling new biography of Henry V reads like an absolute blockbuster.
A cinematic new biography... thrillingly retold by Jones
A badass history writer... to put it mildly
I felt like a time traveller fully immersed in the events described
Praise for Dan Jones:
A terrifically colourful and compelling narrative history... bustling and sizzling with life on every page
All stars
Most relevant
A highly entertaining and informative account of the life of one of England’s greatest kings. His was a short if successful life but usually the first 2/3rds (approximately) of his life is glossed over in favour of the French campaigns. Dan Jones devotes the first half of this book to Henry’s early life and thus a more rounded albeit slightly flawed character emerges. Much anticipated and did not disappoint

All the bits Shakespeare missed about Henry V

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An amazing and well researched account of the life of one of greatest kings to rule. Dan has delivered yet another stunning performance. I put him in the same sphere as Stephen Fry in his ability to tell and describe a scene so vividly.

Long live the king.

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This is another superb Dan Jones book on England’s standout King, Henry V. The added bonus is that the audio book is narrated by Dan Jones himself that sweeps you along the incredible life that was Henry V interspersed with historical detail that does not distract from the listening pleasure. A must have audio book for those who love English middle age history, like me!

A galant King’s life well told

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Iv only come to read this book due to my fascination of Henry v by listening to Dan jones “this is history a destiny to die for” podcast, and I have always been fond of Henry v, not knowing his story as in depth as how Dan has written this book has answered more questions than I can ask. Greatly read and such a fascinating man! Dicing with death his whole life to be taken by something today so basic. But a strong king makes a weak prince and sadly that followed Henry v. To think of all his life’s struggles and costs to be then wasted by his son. Again great book Dan I look forward to reading many many more.

Outstanding

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Love the deep dive into Henry, the present tence is great!

well read and well worth the credit!

just awesome

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