Monarchy by David Starkey

Gripping biographical narrative of England's royal rulers, with a thought provoking, original and intelligent analysis of the gradual emergence of a unique form of government - a constitutional monarchy which would eventually allow the inhabitants of the British Isles an almost unrivalled degree of political liberty and stability. In the dark days of the 1450's, in the maelstrom of the Wars of the Roses, two rival factions, York and Lancaster, are slugging it out for power. The House of York triumphs, but then destroys itself through betrayal and murder that culminates in Richard III's coup, and the 'disappearance' of the Princes in the Tower. Richard's ambition and greed hands the crown on a plate to an obscure Welshman, Henry Tudor, and the Tudor dynasty is born. But behind the beheadings and the gore, says David Starkey, was a fundamental question: how should England be ruled? Henry Tudor thought he knew the answer - but the cure proved as bad as the disease, and he became one of England's most hated monarchs.