From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "hundred years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. The protagonists of the Hundred Years War are among the most colorful in European history:
Edward III, the Black Prince
;
Henry V
, who was later immortalized by Shakespeare; the splendid but inept
John II
, who died a prisoner in London;
Charles V
, who very nearly overcame England; and the enigmatic
Charles VII
, who at last drove the English out.
Desmond Seward
's critically-acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.