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The relationship of England and Scotland became defined by events on 9 September 1513 in a battle of great size, bloodshed and finality – the Battle of Flodden.
On the back of historian George Goodwin’s critically acclaimed debut, FATAL COLOURS, comes FATAL RIVALRY, providing the first in-depth examination of the Battle of Flodden, the biggest and bloodiest in British history.
This book captures the importance of the key players in the story – the kings and their respective queens, their nobles, diplomats and generals – as the rivalry brought the two countries inexorably to war. Fatefully, it would be an error by James, that most charismatic of commanders, and in the thick of engagement, that would make him the last British king to fall in battle, would condemn the bulk of his nobility to a similarly violent death and settle his country’s fate.
On the back of historian George Goodwin’s critically acclaimed debut, FATAL COLOURS, comes FATAL RIVALRY, providing the first in-depth examination of the Battle of Flodden, the biggest and bloodiest in British history.
This book captures the importance of the key players in the story – the kings and their respective queens, their nobles, diplomats and generals – as the rivalry brought the two countries inexorably to war. Fatefully, it would be an error by James, that most charismatic of commanders, and in the thick of engagement, that would make him the last British king to fall in battle, would condemn the bulk of his nobility to a similarly violent death and settle his country’s fate.
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Reviews
Among the books and events marking the 500-year anniversary of this turning point in Anglo/Scottish relations, George Goodwin's Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513 is an essential primer.
Goodwin does a terrific job in building up the protagonists' back stories..Goodwin does a very good job. He's alive to the human story - the 88 members of the Hays family who were killed that day, for example - yet also confident discussing military strategy.
Readable and authoritative...well-researched and comprehensive
Goodwin's gripping narrative of the clash and its context makes plain that the modern and well-armed Scots, under the charismatic King James IV, might have turned the tide of our history
An impressive young historian, George Goodwin brings detail and understanding to the Battle of Flodden, with all its heroism and melancholy
This is a clear account of a great if doomed attempt by the Scots to free themselves from English domination. Good timing.
This very readable account unpicks how the peace fell apart and the Scots allied with the French to turn on the English.
Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513 provides a welcome antidote to the usual run of work on the (Tudor) period. George Goodwin places the events of 9 September 1513 in the context of the two kingdoms and their interrelated royal dynasties over the quarter-century leading up to the battle.
FATAL RIVALRY is about far more than just one battle, significant though it was. In telling the story that led to Flodden, he recreates the Renaissance splendour of the royal courts of England and Scotland...a hugely enjoyable, enlightening book.
George Goodwin's previous book, Fatal Colours, was a highly engaging account of the Battle of Towton...Goodwin has produced another entertaining, informative account