The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England

The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England is historical non-fiction, focusing on biographical and political history; it follows the monarchs of England specifically, centering its historical account on their lives and personalities. It is in a work of popular history, an established literary genre and branch of historiography that aims to be accessible to a wide readership, and usually prioritizes narrative, character, and vivid descriptions over scholarly analysis.

Jones explains in the introduction that the book is designed to entertain and inform; it is primarily written for popular consumption over academic inquiry, weaving its analysis into a framework of engaging storytelling. It is common for popular history writers to have completed a history degree and worked in journalism, like Dan Jones. This background enables the authors to blend historical understanding with writing for a broad readership in the public.

In The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, Jones structures his history around a chronological narrative. He paints detailed character portraits, especially of the monarchs. He embraces The Role of The Personal in History, highlighting the role his subjects’ characters played in historical events. For example, he stresses Beckett’s obstinacy, Edward I’s ruthless, warlike character, and Richard II’s pride and insecurity, pointing to the consequences these personalities had on political developments. This humanizes the history and brings it to life. Where academic history may extend caution in making definitive statements about personality, the conventions of the popular history genre allow Jones to center the personal nature of medieval politics in his account. He uses these figures and their impact as a way to explore his more complex themes, including The Relationship Between Religion and Politics and The Changing Structures of Governance.

Jones also chooses dramatic events to describe in detail, such as Matilda’s escape from Oxford on a snowy winter night or Edward III’s daring break into de Montfort’s castle to initiate his coup. He intersperses snippets of analysis with these events, allowing him to maintain the pacing of the book whilst incorporating thematic discussion at times. He offers vivid descriptions of human interest scenes such as war or plague, building literary realism into his narrative to create atmosphere and support an incorporation of the social history of the broader medieval world. His use of primary sources is also in line with the popular history genre: he does not generally offer analysis of these but rather uses them to set the scene of a bustling London, create a joyous tone at a new king’s arrival, and immerse his narrative in its medieval world.

In keeping with the popular history genre, Jones does not use footnotes, prioritizing an accessible reading experience over academic rigor. However, he does incorporate a suggested reading list at the work’s end, allowing for more in-depth research.

Popular history often aims to play into contemporary concerns or zeitgeists to appeal to its readers. Jones’s subtitle, “The Kings Who Made England” markets his book to an English audience and readers interested in English national identity, signaling the book’s exploration of English Cultural Development alongside its biographical and political interests.