The most recommended books about Edward III of England

Bernard Cornwell’s fight scenes are what I would call emotional rather than technical. You feel his fights, the vibration of sword against shield, the panic of your feet slipping in the mud, the fear rising up in your guts that will allow only a half-crazed scream to come out of your mouth. If you’re looking for a manual on sword fighting, Cornwell is not your man. But if you want to be put in a character’s armor while someone is trying to skewer him with a spear, no one does it better. I was drawn to this book because it was about an archer, and I know how hard it is to write fight scenes with archers in them. I am an amateur bowyer and having made more than a few bows I know how much skill it takes to make and use these weapons. Cornwell did a lot of… show more.

I was blown away by the history provided by Gilman in this book about his character Thomas Blackstone. It starts out with Blackstone as a blacksmith apprentice who is recruited to fight in the 100 Years War. He is made an archer with a strong arm, and the reader is transported into battles with Blackstone. The details of the archers, their importance to the army, and their equipment are a true learning experience. 

Although it sometimes changes, if I were forced to choose, this is probably my most favourite history book. Even though it is now seventy years old, it still reads remarkably up-to-date. Like many of the other books on this list, it eschews the political history of parliament in order to focus on the institutional and developmental history of the medieval Irish assembly. Whilst a book with chapters on medieval taxation and the feudal state might not seem to many as being as fascinating, the passion and drive that is clearly evident in the authors is something that immediately infects the reader. The argument is jumping off the page and slapping you across the face. More than proficient in English medieval history too, they are somewhat of a rarity in written history of the islands in that they seamlessly slide from one to the other. The fact that it was a… show more.

Set in Medieval York I loved the detail of life in this book. The passion of Lucie Wilton, the apothecary’s wife is apparent and very real. Her anguish at his death and her guilt over her love for Owen Archer, her assistant incite pity and hunger in the reader. It taught me to try and include small details in my own writing and to make my characters come alive as Candace Robb does. I was truly hungry for the next book...and the next...and the next!

Owen Archer became a real fictional hero of mine.

Star-crossed lovers and a strong female heroine! This setting is the beginning of the end for the Plantagenets. Their royal court is turbulent—filled with secrets and enemies after the dramatic coup of the current king’s father, King Edward II (the events of which are featured in my book). When the beautiful and willful Joan of Kent, cousin to the royal family, is sent to live among them, she soon learns they’re the ones responsible for her father’s unjust execution and her family’s subsequent shame. Though the handsome and chivalrous Black Prince of Wales is falling at her feet, she twists his affection against him in an act of revenge, only allowing Fortune’s Wheel to turn once she decides it should be so.

This is a book I saw cropping up every so often, but I was worried it would be too history-heavy (which can be a massive plus, but I was looking for something more heavy on the romance side!)

But when an artist friend of mine painted a very beautiful man, I had to know where he was from—and this was that book! It’s set in 1333, England is at war with Scotland, and already we have a beautiful tension set up.

Harry is a young untested knight eager for glory who is roped into a mission in Scotland where a massacre occurs, all to retrieve a young man, wild and angry, who is then put into Harry’s care. There’s so much mystery around this young man and his and Harry’s relationship has to overcome first their heritages, then the expectations of their societies.

It’s beautiful, hot, and one I’ll remember… show more.

No study about Richard II would be complete without an understanding of his uncle, the powerful and intimidating John of Gaunt. Before I read this book, I accepted the usual depiction that he was arrogant, unpleasant, and downright nasty. But really, this was a gross exaggeration. Although many contemporaries assumed he coveted the throne, in reality, it would have been against his honor to usurp the king, no matter how helpless, ungrateful, or deserving Richard may have seemed. Gaunt was the only person who stood between the king and his many enemies. Once Richard discovered this for himself, he treated his uncle with much more respect, and this biography certainly helped me put Gaunt into proper perspective. 

Walking Among Lions deals with not only a very obscure female figure but a medieval time frame, the reign of Richard II, that is not as often used in fiction as perhaps the 14th century or the time of Lionheart and King John. Constance is from a family that would become very famous the next century—the House of York. Her father is Edmund, son of Edward III—great-grandfather of Edward IV and Richard III. This book, part 1 of a series yet to be published, tells the story of her youth and early time at court, setting the scene for high and dangerous drama. It is beautifully written and packed with fine, accurate historical detail.

Edward III’s founding of the Order of the Garter was what inspired me to write my book, but I knew little about him.

This true medieval king’s fifty-year-long reign was marked by controversy from the start, but he was also a romantic, a warrior (he instigated the 100 Year War against the French), steered England through the horrific amount of death from the plague in 1348, and was the patriarch to The Black Prince and John of Gaunt, and The War of the Roses came after his reign.

I recommend this fascinating account of his life. 

Forget the Wars of the Roses! Give me the fourteenth century and the reign of Edward III—whose like, according to the chronicler Jean Froissart, “has not been seen since the days of King Arthur." A happy warrior, exuberant ruler, and skilled commander, who at least one modern military historian has described as “the greatest general in English history.” Edward kicked some serious French butt during the beginning of the Hundred Years War. (Great from the English point of view. Devastating for those on the receiving end of Edward’s chevauchees.) The poignancy of outliving one’s peers and one’s time and dying alone—all of that is compassionately detailed in Ian Mortimer’s compelling biography, which reminds us why Edward of Windsor ranks among England’s greatest kings.