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Summary
Summary
William Shakespeare may have been the greatest playwright in the English language, but how does he measure up as a historian? In this brilliant comparison between the events and characters in Shakespeare's history plays and the actual events that inspired them, acclaimed historian John Julius Norwich examines the nine works that together amount to an epic masterpiece on England's most fascinating period. Beginning with the newly authenticated Edward III, and proceeding through Richard II; Henry IV Parts I and II; and Henry V; Henry VI Parts I, II, and III; and finally Richard III, Norwich holds the plays up to the light of history, answering questions such as: Who was the real Falstaff? How realistic is Shakespeare's depiction of Joan of Arc? At the same time, he provides a vibrant narrative of medieval life from 1337 to 1485, the era of the 100 Years War and the Wars of the Roses. It was a time of uncertainty and incessant warfare, a time during which the crown was constantly contested, alliances were made and broken, peasants and townsmen alike arose in revolt. Here was the raw material that Shakespeare used to explore the role of the monarch and the meaning of statehood. But where does history stop and drama begin? Norwich concludes that Shakespeare was a reliable enough historian. He was, however, always willing to take liberties with the facts for the sake of his drama. As Norwich explains,"In the vast majority of instances when Shakespeare departed from the historic truth he did so for the best of all reasons: to make a better play." Beyond assessing Shakespeare's accuracy, Norwich provides the crucial knowledge that will enhance everyone's appreciation and understanding of these glorious plays. No one but John Julius Norwich, praised for his three-part history of Byanztium, could weave drama and history together into such a lucid and absorbing account of a distant yet vitally important era. Illuminating and accessible, Shakespeare's Kings is an indispensable companion to Shakespeare's rich imagination -- an imagination that continues to inform the way we view the past today.
Author Notes
John Julius Norwich was born in the United Kingdom on September 15, 1929. He served in the Royal Navy before receiving a degree in French and Russian at New College, Oxford. After graduation, he joined the H. M. Foreign Service and served in Belgrade, Beirut, and as a member of British delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva. In 1954, he inherited the title of Viscount Norwich. In 1964, he resigned from the Foreign Service to become a writer.
He was a historian, travel writer, and television personality. His books included The Normans in the South, A History of Venice, The Italian World, Venice: A Traveller's Companion, 50 Years of Glyndebourne: An Illustrated History, A Short History of Byzantium, Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History, and A History of France. He and H. C. Robbins Landon wrote Five Centuries of Music in Venice.
Norwich was the host of the BBC radio panel game My Word! from 1978 to 1982. He wrote and presented more than 30 television documentaries including Maestro, The Fall of Constantinople, Napoleon's Hundred Days, Cortés and Montezuma, Maximilian of Mexico, The Knights of Malta, The Treasure Houses of Britain, and The Death of the Prince Imperial in the Zulu War. In 1993, he was appointed CVO for having curated an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum to mark the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. In 2015, he was awarded the Biographers' Club award for his lifetime service to biography. He died on June 1, 2018 at the age of 88.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This is a painstakingly sensible book, suitable for die-hard Shakespeare lovers. The author of the massive, three-part Byzantium turns here to the equally byzantine world of late medieval England, providing a complex context for the bard's nine Histories (including the recently authenticated Edward III) and asking: How accurate were Shakespeare's royal portraits? The canvas stretches from the Hundred Years War to the end of the Wars of the Roses. Norwich, structuring his book as political narrative, helpfully fills in gaps between the action of the plays. The book will be useful as a historical primer for those already familiar with the plays (or films: many will associate Henry V with Kenneth Branagh, or Richard III with Ian McKellen), but it lacks intellectual muscle, and the awkwardly intermittent analyses of accuracy obscure the natural flair of the author's prose. Norwich is conscientious in reconstructing detail, but his larger claims are meager. We learn, for instance, that Shakespeare has a "cavalier approach to chronology" and that his portraits sometimes fall prey to personal prejudice, but that with the great exception of Richard III (already vilified by Thomas More), the bold historical outlines are generally on the money. In his epilogue, the author briefly places the Histories against the backdrop of new Elizabethan self-confidence: England, "the only possible hero" in this long, sordid drama, craved the telling of its tale in the most accessible literary form of the day. Yet the elusive intellectual prey--the making of national identity--escapes through the thickets of history. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Fascinated by the drama and intrigue enveloping the royal court during the Middle Ages, William Shakespeare penned nine plays chronicling the fortunes of the Plantagenet rulers. Although featuring authentic historical figures and grounded in real events, the plays represent the creative union of actual fact and poetic license. Norwich offers illuminating overviews of Edward III; Richard II; Henry IV, parts 1 and 2; Henry V; Henry VI, parts 1, 2, and 3; and Richard III, examining each play through the lens of history. In addition to providing the necessary historical commentary, he also fills in the gaps between the plays, enabling readers to thoroughly comprehend the entire series in the proper historical context. Both historians and literary scholars will welcome this intelligent examination of a significant portion of the Shakespearean canon. --Margaret Flanagan
Choice Review
Beautifully illustrated and engagingly combining daring candor, charming imagination, and fascinating facts, this volume strives to bridge the gap between England's royal history of 1337-1485 and Shakespeare's nine-part epic, the plays from Edward III through Henry VI, Part 3. Norwich acknowledges that purpose--to establish how close the dramatist came to historical accuracy without making that his principal aim: the play is always the thing. Like Norwich's trilogy on Byzantium (Byzantium: The Early Centuries, CH, Sep'89; ... The Apogee, 1991; ... The Decline and Fall, 1996) and books on Venice and Sicily, Shakespeare's Kings is designed for cultivated readers with cosmopolitan interests and thus lacks the full critical apparatus scholars expect (source citations, for instance). Still, it deserves a place in academic libraries, particularly those serving undergraduates, for its exemplary and inspirational value to students learning to write about history and literature. J. H. Sims; emeritus, University of Southern Mississippi
Library Journal Review
Having conquered Byzantium in a celebrated trilogy, Norwich heads north to probe the connection between Shakespeare's historical plays and the events they represented. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.