She was phenomenally brave, determined and resolute in her attempts to protect the throne for her husband and son, but she was violently partisan, and, rather than rising above Court rivalries, she made the situation far worse. It is hard not to admire some aspects of Marguerite's character as Jones presents her. Jones rehabilitates William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, who is often vilified, but, initially, at least, tried to keep Henry's rule on track.Īs royal authority disintegrated in the 1440s and 1450s, there was growing discontent, and personal feuds between members of the nobility began to get out of hand – a situation not helped by Henry's wife, Marguerite of Anjou. Attempts by others to manage the kingdom on Henry's behalf, were resented and feared by both the nobles excluded from the King's inner circle, and the public at large. Henry was not a tyrant – rather he was a gentle and kindly man, so there was no excuse for his overthrow. Yet, the lords were hamstrung in reacting to the situation.
If the character of the man wearing the Crown was not sufficiently robust, and he failed to wield his power effectively, there was no way of filling the vacuum.ĭuring the minority of Henry VI, his uncles and the other magnates held the realm together reasonably successfully, but there was no prescription for the ills that followed from an adult king who could not step up his responsibilities. The political theory that underlies the whole work, is that, in the late middle ages, having a king of legitimate royal descent was not enough for the realm to function effectively. His devastating critique of Henry VI as entirely unfit for the inheritance left him by that Plantagenet hero, Henry V, is matched by his incisive portrait of Richard, Duke of York as self-important, partisan and as lacking in political finesse as Queen Marguerite. It is generally not hard to tell whether a writer's sympathies lie with Lancaster or York, but in the case of The Hollow Crown, Jones is even-handed and judicious throughout.
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