North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses

This is a study of north-eastern England during the Wars of the Roses. As the adopted home and power base of Richard III, the North briefly dominated England in the late 15th century. The author sets political history in the context of the period, and paints a detailed portrait of lay society, based on intensive research among local records.

`a definitive history of the north east and its inhabitants during the Wars of the Roses ... splendid book ... while displaying a formidable scholarship throughout, he never ceases to be both readable and thought-provoking ... Such a bald and incomplete summary as that provided in these few paragraphs can in no way do justice either to A.J. Pollard's powerful thesis or his magnificent scholarship. ' Keith Dockray, The Ricardian, December 1991

`This is a wide-ranging survey ... the book works well as a regional study - itself a novel concept - and provides a great deal of interesting information, particularly on religious attitudes, the influence of the Border and the impact of agragrian crisis.' Medium Aevum

`With the upsurge of interest in medieval regional history there will be warm welcome for Dr Pollard's massive survey of lay society, war and politics between 1450 and 1500. Dr Pollard's book ... is interesting, readable and important; it cries out for companion volumes on Northumberland and the Borders, not to mention the rest of Yorkshire, and who but Dr Pollard should undertake the task?' G.C.F. Forster, University of Leeds, History, October 1992

`important regional study ... Dr Pollard makes telling use of the topography and local archives which he knows so well. At last County Durham receives proper treatment! There are good detailed discussions of local agriculture, the patronage of churches, younger sons, the chase, and the northerners' own response to their plantation by Richard III in the south. Local government is treated fully yet succinctly. There are valuabele new perspectives on the formative role of Anglo-Scottish rellations, the start of the Percy-Neville feud ... a major contribution to our historical understanding.' M.A. Hicks, King Alfred's College, Winchester, Northern History, Vol. XXVIII

'an inspiring enterprise ... Dr Pollard has produced a wide-ranging survey of the society and politics of the north-eastern counties, over a fifty-year period in which, he argues, the area exercised a major influence over national affairs.' J.L. Watts, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, EHR Jun '94