The Eagle and The Hart: The Tragedy and Richard II and Henry IV
Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king. Yet Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Henry had all the qualities Richard lacked, all the qualities a sovereign needed, bar one: birth right. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. He banished Henry into exile and the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper.
‘A glorious work of history… a gripping and haunting tragedy… There was no book published this year, novels included, that I found richer in character; no plot more taut’
*The Daily Telegraph’s Best Book of the Year 2024*
