{"product_id":"blood-and-roses-one-familys-struggle-and-triumph-during-the-tumultuous-wars-of-the-roses-isbn-9780007162222","title":"Blood and Roses: One Family's Struggle and Triumph During the Tumultuous Wars of the Roses","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“A gripping family saga. . . . Page-turners are rarely written by scholars of the 15th century, but Castor wears her learning admirably lightly. \u003cem\u003eBlood and Roses\u003c\/em\u003e is nothing less than a ripping yarn.” —\u003cem\u003eThe Indepedent\u003c\/em\u003e (London)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Wars of the Roses tore England asunder. Over the course of thirty years, four kings lost their thrones, countless men lost their lives on the battlefield or their heads on the block, and others found themselves suddenly flush with gold. Yet until now, little has been written about the ordinary people who lived through this extraordinary time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlood and Roses\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping, intimate story of one determined family conducting everyday business against the backdrop of a disintegrating society and savage civil war. Drawing on a rare trove of letters discovered in a tumbledown stately home, historian Helen Castor reconstructs the turbulent affairs of the Pastons through three generations of births, marriages, and deaths as they single-mindedly worked their way up from farmers to landed gentry. It is a remarkable chronicle of devotion, ambition, and survival that brings a remote and hazy era to vibrant new life.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eThe Wars of the Roses tore England asunder. Over the course of thirty years, four kings lost their thrones, countless men lost their lives on the battlefield or their heads on the block, and others found themselves suddenly flush with gold. Yet until now, little has been written about the ordinary people who lived through this extraordinary time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlood and Roses\u003c\/em\u003e is a gripping, intimate story of one determined family conducting everyday business against the backdrop of a disintegrating society and savage civil war. Drawing on a rare trove of letters discovered in a tumbledown stately home, historian Helen Castor reconstructs the turbulent affairs of the Pastons through three generations of births, marriages, and deaths as they single-mindedly worked their way up from farmers to landed gentry. It is a remarkable chronicle of devotion, ambition, and survival that brings a remote and hazy era to vibrant new life.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“A gripping family saga … Helen Castor uses her formidable knowledge of 15th-century local politics, and a rich variety of sources, to illuminate their background, and to bring wives, daughters, sons and lovers vividly to life. She skilfully allows the story to unfold without warning of coming events, so the family’s dramatic ups and downs become thrilling soap-opera. … Page-turners are rarely written by scholars of the 15th century, but Castor wears her learning admirably lightly. Blood \u0026amp; Roses is nothing less than a ripping yarn.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A master of every weapon in the modern historian’s arsenal... Castor has made the whole century live again .” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dynamic... Persuasive… The tensions and affections binding the family shine across the centuries.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Remarkable...Castor has put the letters to magnificent use here, combining scholarship with humor and clarity in a marvelously readable book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMiranda Seymour, Sunday Times (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Castor has done a remarkable job in giving us, against the complicated backdrop of warfare, changes of allegiance and interminable legal squabbles, a vivid insight into what it must have been like to be a member of this gutsy, determined family. . . . Castor has put (the letters) to magnificent use here, combining scholarship with humour and clarity in a marvellously readable book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMiranda Seymour, London Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ssharply written, impeccably documented, structured with the grip and pace of a good thriller.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Beautifully paced and splendidly retold, Castor’s tale. . . is popular history at its best.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Castor has brought the Paston family to life in an accessible and fluid narrative.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887606395109,"sku":"NP9780007162222","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780007162222.jpg?v=1730227058","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/blood-and-roses-one-familys-struggle-and-triumph-during-the-tumultuous-wars-of-the-roses-isbn-9780007162222","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}