No musical partnership has enjoyed greater success during its time span than that of Gilbert and Sullivan in the later 19th century. No fewer than a dozen Savoy operas are still regularly performed. The operas present audiences with splendidly rich and satirical evocations of Victorian England and its society: the prime subject matter of this book!
Henry VI was weak and feeble, but his wife Margaret of Anjou, 'a great and strong laboured woman', became a formidable political force in her own right. The dynastic struggle that became known as the Wars of the Roses brought the usurpation of Edward IV, the humiliation and exile of Margaret, and the murder of Henry in the Tower of London.
By its presentation of contemporary and near contemporary sources, this book enables the reader to get behind the mythology and gain a more realistic picture of the king. An invaluable collection of the primary sources presented clearly and concisely, it demonstrates just why Richard has remained an enigma for so long.