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The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III

The Life of Edward III

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The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III

Written by: Ian Mortimer
Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
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Edward’s life is one of the most extraordinary in all English history. He ordered his uncle to be beheaded, he usurped his father’s throne, and started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years. He took the crown when it was at its lowest point and raised it to new heights, presenting himself as a new King Arthur, victorious across Europe. He was the architect of many English icons – from parliamentary rule to the adoption of English as the official language and even the building of a great clocktower at Westminster. Yet 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.©2014 Ian Mortimer Europe Great Britain Ireland Medieval Royalty England War Tudor Middle Ages
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It's rare that a historical text is both incredibly informative while maintaining a very cohesive story. This text is a wonderful mostly I'd say non biased account of the life of King Edward III Plantagenet, who in my opinion should be called Edward the Great or Arthur Pendragon come to life. From his motivations, to his skills, to his martial prowess, and to his strategic genius Ian Mortimer tells perhaps the most well rounded and plausible account of the man who in my account is not only Britain's greatest Monarch, but perhaps the greatest Monarch in history alteast rivaling Alexander the Great, the first two Caesars, King Alfred the Great

The author also manages to show how Edward truly did desire to be the perfect King, and how in a practical sense why he failed in reality, but also how he may have succeeded in both a literal sense and certainly a mythological sense, and the text shows both his successes and failures his traits and his flaws, and his virtues and sins, and shows it's no wonder he became the archetypal King. The author also his incredible influence on not only Kingship, but England and what it is to be English and his influence across time, he touches on his influence on all successive Kings, judgements o previous kings and he briefly touches on his life's influence on Sir Thomas Malory's rendition of King Arthur, and that can be inferred as it was with this reader to echo across time to more modern fictional characters and texts like King Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings, King Peter in Narnia, and just about every fictional strong and virtuous king in fiction.

Easy 10/10

A very Rare historical page turner

Would definitely recommend

Simply Wonderful

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