HENRY IV: THE AFFLICTED KING (PENGUIN MONARCHS) (HB)

When Henry IV seized the throne from his cousin Richard II, some saw it as a hopeful new beginning for England. The first monarch since the Norman conquest to have English as his mother tongue, Henry seemed to embody the ideals of chivalric kingship: mercy, piety, military prowess and learning. Yet deposing a king was not a stable foundation on which to build. Henry found himself challenged from all sides: plagued by conspiracies, rebellions, assassination attempts, crippling debts, and tense relationships with parliament and his own son, the future Henry V.