K.H. Vickers

As Henry IV’s son, Henry V’s brother, and Henry VI's uncle, Humphrey of Gloucester was a man of some importance, and he remains an interesting historical personage.

This bio is incredibly thorough, but in such a way that it makes it a tough reading experience. Also, it’s arguable that the in-depth look at English literary culture and Italian humanism should not have been included, or at least not to such a great extent. Personally, I found these sections tedious and skipped past them.

My biggest problem with the bio is this type of thing:

“‘De male acquisitis non gaudebit tertius heres,’ quotes an old chronicler, and leaving the ethics of the case aside, this was undoubtedly true of poor misguided Henry VI.”

I hate it when authors assume that because they understand a foreign language, the reader does too. The use of foreign language unfortunately crops up a few times, which locked me out of the narrative. A good author should never leave their readers in the dark like this.

For me, this is one of those patchy books where at times I’m engaged, and at other times bored.… (mais)