Fans pick 100 books like The Irish Parliament In The Middle Ages

This is a superb book. It is a comprehensive consideration of the business record of the upper house. What I personally find to be the more entertaining and interesting house of parliament, Foster has a rare ability of making the complex matters accessible, and making what might seem to be archaic or irrelevant procedures understood in their proper context. Despite the fact that the Lords could sometimes be consumed by seemingly unimportant issues such as hats and privilege, these episodes are expertly deciphered with a view to helping the reader understand that these issues were not just important to individuals at the time, but a brilliant window onto the nobility and how it was affected by the conflagration that was the Stuart period

This is a splendid exposition of the House of Lords in a crucial mid-Tudor period. Although it covers a relatively short period of time, it can do so because the author is so expert in his chosen field. Like all other books in this list, it concentrates on the procedures and work record of parliament and its constituent houses. However, it also looks at the composition of the house (the English Lords contained bishops and previously abbots and priors) and also the quality of those who sat—education, background, etc. With limited resources Graves also produces chapters on attendance, activity, and the management of business. It is both an in-depth but particularly accessible guide.   

This book is fascinating for many reasons, but in particular this work defines the nature of the relationship between the institution of parliament, the relatively new role of the parliamentary agent (in particular in this case, Robert Harper), and the community of landowners and others who needed to get private bills and local bills passed through parliament. Lambert's real achievement is the depth and level of expertise that she developed in this book on the minute detail of the procedure alongside the rough-and-tumble of parliamentary agency, bringing the local into contact with the very core of the legislative and judicial state. It's essentially about interaction.  

In many ways this book is perhaps the culmination of Elton's considerable published output on parliament, and one where he vociferously defends his outlook on the early Elizabethan English parliament. It is notable that he does spend some time attacking his previous mentor and supervisor, Sir John Neale, in a way that some readers may find more harsh than necessary. Nevertheless, when discussing parliament, the 'puritan choir', and what Elton terms the 'myth of an opposition,' he is producing parliamentary history of the highest order with an insight and writing style that makes for a book that would be difficult to surpass. Like Richardson & Sayles above, Elton's passion for this topic is clearly evident. Like all other authors in this list, he takes what might seem like a mundane topic to the uninformed and uninitiated, and brings it very much to life.  

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.

Crispin is a young serf in Medieval England--an orphan despised by everyone for reasons he does not understand. Though I never had problems as dire as Crispin faced, I frequently felt mistreated as a child, and like him, the forest was my comfort and refuge. Like him, I had a lively curiosity about the lives of others and many times learned important lessons through observation. I shared Crispin's tendency to hero worship those who befriended me, and like him, I generally chose my role models well.

How can I write about fierce women of the Middle Ages and not include the woman referred to by the sobriquet She-Wolf of France?

Carol McGrath’s The Stone Rose presents the story of Queen Isabella’s strength and determination framed around her ill-fated marriage to King Edward II in a beautiful tapestry threaded with both painstakingly researched historical fact and masterfully imaginative fiction.

The author’s extensive knowledge of the time period is evidenced by the accuracy of detail that is interwoven into the narrative. Since Edward’s reign forms the backdrop for my series, my own interest is obvious; however, the tale of Isabella’s struggle to protect herself and those she loves in the face of rampant intrigue and treachery will appeal to all.

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. 

Why would this 50 year period be so interesting in these two cities? In these years Bristol and York were second only to London in influence and growth within the realm, and as the rising merchant class accrued wealth they used it to make agreements with the crown—to their advantage, of course. With King Edward III it was all about his war with France; with his grandson and successor King Richard II it was about gaining charters that made them more independent of royal interference as well as negotiating their way between the political factions within the nobility.

Richard’s reign was a dangerous time, especially at the end when York merchants chose to loan money to Henry Bolingbroke’s uprising against his cousin the king.  The stakes were high and the personalities larger than life.

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.