Let’s be honest: lockdown sucks!  But it does mean there’s more time for reading.  Over the next couple of weeks, I will review 10 books which all Royal History Geeks should add to their reading list.

It’s the book I’d always wanted to write.  But I’m glad I didn’t.  Charting the choppy course of the Beaufort dynasty over three generations is an ambitious undertaking. 

In 1370 they didn’t exist.  By the 1400s they were dominant political players.  In 1471, they were eliminated.  I could never have done their unparalleled story justice.  Thankfully, Nathen Amin does.

The book begins by exploring the Beaufort’s shaky origins as the illegitimate children of John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III, and his scandalous mistress, Katherine Swynford.  It examines their rise to prominence under Richard II following their parents’ marriage and their own legitimisation. 

We then travel through the 1400s.  We see how they helped establish and protect the reign of their half-brother Henry IV and the Lancastrian dynasty.  We learn about their role at the heart of Henry V’s government. 

As the book draws to a close, we see how the family dominated the conflict we now call the ‘Wars of the Roses’.  Their devotion to the house of Lancaster never falters – a devotion they pay for with their total elimination of their house in the male line.

The accessible and fluid writing style makes it easy to bounce through the 285-page epic.  As we do, we’re again struck by how closely the history of the Beauforts mirrors the history of 15^th century England.  At least one of them was at the centre of every major event.  They were the authors of victories.  They were culpable for failures.

But this book is more than just a run-through of familiar events.  Through focused research, intelligent guesswork and a hint of empathy the author explore the human dynamics and dilemmas that our subjects were doubtlessly faced with.  John Beaufort’s conflict between his loyalty to Richard II and his devotion to his half-brother Henry IV, is an early example.

The author is bold in his attempt to rescue some of the Beauforts from a distorted reputation.  He successfully sets Cardinal Beaufort’s decision to put Joan of Arc to death in its proper political context.  He questions the oft-quoted notion that the younger John Beaufort died at his own hand.

Some of the Beauforts are well known to history.  You simply can’t discuss Lancastrian kingship without discussing the Cardinal.  Both Johns are remembered as the immediate ancestors of the Tudors.  But this book sheds new light on the other two children to spring from Gaunt and Swynford’s union.  Thomas is established as a war hero who became perfectly apt at playing the political game.  Joan takes her place as a matriarch of the north.

There’s only one thing I would change about this book.  It should be a trilogy.  Each generation of the Beauforts deserve a book of their own.  But I’m a fanatic.  Publishers ultimately make the decision about what will sell.  There probably isn’t a market for three books on the dynasty.

The hard-back edition comes with a clean and striking cover.  Bearing the Beaufort arms, it looks grand on the bookshelf.  There’s also some lovely photography at the book’s centre.  The quality of the paper is a little on the low side.  But the reader will be instantly absorbed by the page’s content.  They’re unlikely to care what it’s printed on.

For too long the Beauforts have been reduced to a footnote in the Tudor’s origin story.  In truth, they were the power breakers of Lancastrian kingship and the shapers of a century.  It’s time they stepped forward and took their rightful place in the annuls of history.  ‘The House of Beaufort’ plays a ground-breaking role in ensuring that they do.    

The, House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown, is available from Amazon.

However, please consider supporting your local book seller.  If you are based in the UK, search for your local book seller at the Book Seller Associations website.