The Plantagenets by Dan Jones -- a book review by Elleanore Vance

 

I don't know about you, loyal reader, but I was absolutely addicted to Game of Thrones (until the last season). When I learned Martin had taken inspiration for his (unfinished) epic from England's Plantagenet dynasty and the Wars of the Roses, it sent me down the proverbial rabbit hole. A whole ton of YouTube videos later, I wanted something a bit more in-depth. 

I stumbled upon this work by chance, and let me just say, it was exactly what I had been looking for! Dan Jones draws from the British Royal Archives,  and other primary sources to breathe life into these long-dead Kings, Queens,and Princes of both genders. 

Due to the span of time we're covering (1154c.e.-1485 c.e.)and the length of the book (560 pages), it does sometimes feel like reading through all those damned begats in Genesis,  but this few and far between. There is also some history that should make you uncomfortable here. 

This book is the reason I became a Dan Jones Reader and started collecting so many of his works. He has a talent for making dry dusty historical figures real. It is the primary reason I continue to read almost everything he writes. 

After a couple of years of my devouring and collecting his works, my hubby decided to give this one a go. He read our e-copy while I had listened to our audio presentation. He was upset at the lack of footnotes, but Jones does list his sources in a bibliography. Hubby says because I had all those historical YouTube videos I had an easier time knowing where certain information came from. He feels if you don't have at least some background knowledge, you may find the lack of source-citing disturbing, but I personally found it to be a well written pop history, released right in time to capitalize on all that sweet GOT money.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/5