In medieval England from 1455 to 1487 The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The name Wars of the Roses comes from the badges used by the two houses, the white rose for the Yorkists and the red rose for the Lancastrians. The entire war was based on the two houses fighting for the throne and who was rightfully king.
The author of this book is J. R. Lander; the book doesn't cite where he was born or his time of birth. The book is vague on his background but states that he was a traveler and traveled to England to write this book. Most of the evidence that he uses to back up his writing is from biased opinions, wild rumor, meretricious propaganda, and the foulest of slander as well as historical truth. To him what people thought, their affections and their prejudices were often as important in history as truth itself. In this book Lander draws on contemporary sources to argue that the feud between the Yorks and the Lancasters was a fairly minor event to people at the time, overshadowed by local conflicts and the Black Death. The book is organized by beginning with background on the Lancasters and Yorks. There's a very intricate discussion on the battles and why they happened, and it describes the time of peace after the civil war. It covers the life of many rulers and England's Civil War. It shows just how power hungry people can be. Lander's thesis is The Wars of the Roses was a very bloody set of battles that spanned many decades between the Lancasters and the Yorks.
The Wars of the Roses was begun when King Henry suddenly lapsed into a state of catatonia in 1450. This provided an opening for a powerful faction headed by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Richard Neville wanted to make Richard, Duke of York, king. Ironically Richard of York had a better hereditary claim to the throne then Henry VI did. Some say that York's personality was for better suited to kingship than was Henry's.
