When Dan Jones was writing his books on The Plantagenets and the Wars of the Roses, he left a Henry V-sized gap, as he knew he wanted to devote an entire book to the man; this is that book. Starting from his birth in 1386 and ending with his death in 1422 at the age of 35, the book is divided in half; first Henry as Prince (actually first as lord’s son), then Henry as King. Covering his entire life, Jones doesn’t just hit the highlights: his father’s deposing of Richard II, Henry’s fight of Owain Glyndŵr, and his decisive victory at Agincourt, but also the small moments in between; his love of music and reading, his pious devotion and the many pilgrimages he took, the arrow that nearly claimed his life at the age of 17. Dan Jones writes the book in the present tense so as to give the reader the feel that they’re experiencing Henry’s life right along with him.
I enjoy a history book that is factual and informative without being dry and boring. I never knew that Henry had siblings, or that he ruled for so short a time (9 years) and was married even shorter (2 years; his son was only 9 months old when Henry died). I appreciate that Jones states that you have to judge Henry V on the values of his own times; it’s both unfair and impossible to judge him based on modern day values; which is something that I truly wish countless other people would do regarding countless other historical figures. Also never realized that Joan of Arc and the Dauphin who she helped get back on the throne occurred during the regency of Henry’s son Henry VI, the king best known for sitting under a tree singing to himself while a battle raged around him to decide who was going to be in charge of him; oh yes, and coming out of catatonia just in time to thwart his wife from becoming a ruling Queen of England (the passive-aggressiveness is strong with this one). For a man that died younger than I am at the moment, Henry accomplished a hell of a lot. Interesting how truly far off the mark Shakespeare’s play had Henry’s character when he was prince; I suppose that when your Royal Patron’s father attempted to emulate Henry, you cut the truth to fit the flattering comparison. Which was so far off the mark; Henry V was basically so sexless he was considered a Warrior Monk (I think if asexuality was known about at that time, chroniclers would have suggested he was that) while Henry the VIII..well, do I even need to finish? Henry V cut a lean figure; Henry VIII…look at Holbein. Henry V conquered a large chunk of France; Henry VIII conquered maybe 3 places in France and tried really hard elsewhere. What John Badby is recorded as saying about the Host (that if transubstatiation was real, there would have to be at least 23 Christs wandering England alone) could also, in my opinion, be said about the Holy Perpuce (to paraphrase Murder by Death: don’t Google it, it’s disgusting).
I am curious to read the author’s other books on European (especially English) History; he seems to write his books well-researched.
And the title of this review? According to some chronicles written by people who were at the Battle of Agincourt, the great St. Crispin’s speech that William Shakespeare immortalized, and so many of us can quote at least the beginning of, was in truth, nothing more than: “Fellas, let’s go”.