The Perfect King
  • Published: 1 September 2008
  • ISBN: 9780099527091
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 560
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

The Perfect King

The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation

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EBook
1 Jul 2010
Paperback
1 Sep 2008
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From the bestselling author of 1415, comes the story of King Edward III, who - like Elizabeth and Victoria after him - embodied the values of his age, forged a nation out of war and re-made England.

From the bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, comes the story of King Edward III, who - like Elizabeth and Victoria after him - embodied the values of his age, forged a nation out of war and re-made England.

He ordered his uncle to be beheaded; he usurped his father's throne; he started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years, and taxed his people more than any other previous king.

Nineteenth century historians saw in Edward the opportunity to decry a warmonger, and painted him as a self-seeking, rapacious, tax-gathering conqueror. Yet, in this first full study of the King's character and life, Dr Ian Mortimer unveils that behind the strong warrior king was a compassionate, conscientious and often merciful man - resolute yet devoted to his wife, friends and family, and the father of both the English nation and the English people.

'A fascinating portrait. At times, the reader seems almost able to reach across time and touch this man' - The Economist
  • Published: 1 September 2008
  • ISBN: 9780099527091
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 560
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

About the author

Ian Mortimer

Dr Ian Mortimer is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England, as well as four critically acclaimed medieval biographies, and numerous scholarly articles on subjects ranging in date from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1998. His work on the social history of medicine won the Alexander Prize (2004) and was published by the Royal Historical Society in 2009. He lives with his wife and three children in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor.

portrait photo of Ian Mortimer

Also by Ian Mortimer

1415: Henry V's Year of Glory
Medieval Horizons
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain
Human Race
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England Brain Shot
The Greatest Traitor
See all

Praise for The Perfect King

An excellent biography; entertaining as well as informative

Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph

A fascinating portrait. At times, the reader seems almost able to reach across time and touch this man

The Economist

In producing this fine biography, Mortimer has succeeded magnificently, and has gone a long, long way towards restoring Edward III to his proper place as one of the great makers of this nation

Alison Weir, Daily Mail

Ian Mortimer...has virtually single-handedly put medieval history back in the hands of ordinary readers, combining scrupulous research with a wonderfully iconoclastic approach to storytelling

Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph