‘A.W. Boardman’s latest book is another triumph of careful research, insight and feel for his subject. It’’s also very readable. For me, this is the best book currently available on the period.’ – John Simpson, BBC News

The Siege of London on 12–14 May 1471 is a largely forgotten episode in the Wars of the Roses, but its implications were so far-reaching that the fate of the Lancastrian dynasty was sealed forever.

Edward IV’s gamble to reclaim the throne for the House of York was a triumph against the odds, yet even after winning two crucial battles against the Lancastrians, his position was far from assured. He might have been confident of total victory if not for Thomas Neville, the Bastard of Fauconberg, who, along with thousands of ordinary people, stormed London in a desperate attempt to free Henry VI from captivity.

In The Rose, the Bastard and the Saint King, the first ever full-length study of the siege of London and its aftermath, A.W. Boardman uses contemporary evidence to uncover the truth behind the rebellion of 1471 and the death of the last Lancastrian King of England. He also reveals answers to long-awaited questions such as where the battles for London took place? Who was the Bastard of Fauconberg? Why did Henry VI continue to be revered as a saint long after his death? And was the future Richard III actually responsible for Henry’s murder?

‘Will you man the walls or storm them? Perhaps you will decide to stay at home and keep out of it. The story that follows will throw you back into those febrile days of tension and fear and offer a new conclusion to the period of the Readeption.’

‘A.W. Boardman’s latest book is another triumph of careful research, insight and feel for his subject. It’’s also very readable. For me, this is the best book currently available on the period.’

‘There is much to be said for his valuable reconstruction of the rebellion in Kent.’

A.W. BOARDMAN is a medieval military historian who specialises in the Wars of the Roses and whose previous books include St Albans 1455 (The History Press, 2023), Hotspur: Henry Percy, Medieval Rebel (The History Press, 2022), Towton 1461 (The History Press, 2022) and The Medieval Soldier in the Wars of the Roses (The History Press, 2022). He also appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Blood Red Roses on the Battle of Towton and contributed to the archaeological report of the Towton excavations. He lives in Yorkshire. MATTHEW LEWIS is the author of The Wars of the Roses (Amberley Publishing, 2015) , Richard, Duke of York: King by Right (Amberley Publishing, 2016) and The Survival of the Princes in the Tower (The History Press, 2017). He writes a history blog and runs two podcasts on history.