hfltaylor's review
informative
3.25
well written i just didnt fully agree w the conclusions on Henry’s role and character
lisa_setepenre's review
5.0
James Ross’s short biography of Henry VI, subtitled A Good, Simple and Innocent Man, is one of the most insightful accounts of Henry VI’s life and kingship I’ve come across. Ross is clearly sympathetic towards Henry but also retains a distance to critically engage with Henry’s rule. He tackles the questions of Henry’s character and his policies, confronting the assumptions about him and delving into the questions of just how involved Henry was actively involved in the ruling of the country.
The portrait that comes out is a man woefully unsuited to kingship but not as passive as typically believed. His faults are enumerated but not brutally, his mental illness is dealt with sympathetically, and I felt like I gained a lot of insight into his character without ever feeling that Ross was writing too emotively or too narratively.
My one complaint is that the biography is just too short – which is part and parcel of any volume in the Penguin Monarch series. These are short, ‘bite-sized’ biographies that could be read in a couple of sittings, around 100-150 pages long, and written by some of the best historians of each monarch’s era. However, the length sometimes has drawbacks – the biography might be focused on a particular aspect of the monarch’s reign (e.g. Laura Ashe focuses Richard II’s image in [b:Richard II: A Brittle Glory|25893902|Richard II A Brittle Glory|Laura Ashe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458927485l/25893902._SY75_.jpg|45775931] and Jonathon Sumption focuses mainly on the first stages of the Hundred Years War in [b:Edward III: A Heroic Failure|27833784|Edward III A Heroic Failure|Jonathan Sumption|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462569041l/27833784._SY75_.jpg|47815732]) or that the biography cannot delve into detail or thorough analysis. Or readers looking for “something new” are disappointed that this is brief overview or may not touch on as many matters as they’d like.
Ross’s entry clocks in at 101 pages (excluding notes) and I was impressed by how efficient his text is. He does not delve too deeply into Henry’s minority (1422-1436) nor the forceful personalities surrounding Henry VI, either in his minority or after, but that is fair: the analysis is focused on Henry’s character and personal rule and Ross does not have the luxury of space. But still, this is so detailed and insightful that I wished there was a longer biography of Henry by Ross I could read.
The portrait that comes out is a man woefully unsuited to kingship but not as passive as typically believed. His faults are enumerated but not brutally, his mental illness is dealt with sympathetically, and I felt like I gained a lot of insight into his character without ever feeling that Ross was writing too emotively or too narratively.
My one complaint is that the biography is just too short – which is part and parcel of any volume in the Penguin Monarch series. These are short, ‘bite-sized’ biographies that could be read in a couple of sittings, around 100-150 pages long, and written by some of the best historians of each monarch’s era. However, the length sometimes has drawbacks – the biography might be focused on a particular aspect of the monarch’s reign (e.g. Laura Ashe focuses Richard II’s image in [b:Richard II: A Brittle Glory|25893902|Richard II A Brittle Glory|Laura Ashe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1458927485l/25893902._SY75_.jpg|45775931] and Jonathon Sumption focuses mainly on the first stages of the Hundred Years War in [b:Edward III: A Heroic Failure|27833784|Edward III A Heroic Failure|Jonathan Sumption|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462569041l/27833784._SY75_.jpg|47815732]) or that the biography cannot delve into detail or thorough analysis. Or readers looking for “something new” are disappointed that this is brief overview or may not touch on as many matters as they’d like.
Ross’s entry clocks in at 101 pages (excluding notes) and I was impressed by how efficient his text is. He does not delve too deeply into Henry’s minority (1422-1436) nor the forceful personalities surrounding Henry VI, either in his minority or after, but that is fair: the analysis is focused on Henry’s character and personal rule and Ross does not have the luxury of space. But still, this is so detailed and insightful that I wished there was a longer biography of Henry by Ross I could read.
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