Christmas Book Choices
“It’s been a bumper year for my patch of history. George Goodwin’s gripping Fatal Colours told the story of Towton, England’s bloodiest battle, 550 years on” – Helen Castor, Sunday Telegraph, 4th December 2011
“Fascinating on medieval battle” – Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Times, 19th November 2011
Earlier Reviews
“A fine book…. The story has never been told so well or so excitingly.” Desmond Seward, BBC History Magazine
“Combines a deep understanding of the politics, characters and military strategies of the period.” The Week
“Eloquent and easily digestible account, told with an eye for the salient detail, and I hope this is the first in a series of histories of this fascinating but poorly served period …. you close Goodwin’s wanting to read more.” Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph
“George Goodwin’s account of the battle combines elegiac commemoration with telling historical insight. The Wars of the Roses have attracted many historians; some deal in the technicalities of military strategy; some analyse structures of power; some chronicle the lives of the chief protagonists. Much rarer is the ability to combine all three – but Goodwin has pulled it off in this page-turning read.” Helen Castor, Sunday Telegraph
“Not only marks the 550th anniversary of the battle, but sheds light on a tumultuous period of English history, a stepping stone between a medieval and a modern Britain.” Chris Bond, Yorkshire Post
“Fatal Colours is more than a book about one battle, vivid, humane and superbly researched though it is. It is an account of a moment of profound crisis in English politics.” David Starkey, from his Introduction to Fatal Colours
“Brilliantly researched and superbly written, Fatal Colours vividly brings to life one of the most dramatic periods of our history.”
Tracy Borman, author of Elizabeth’s Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen
“For a nation that is overfond of a bellicose past, it is astonishing that so little is known about this most bloody day in English history. George Goodwin’s emotive account of this half-time mark in the Wars of the Roses is an essential addition to our gory story.”
A.A. Gill, Hon. Patron of the Towton Battlefield Society
“Written with clarity of style, accessible and engaging. A significant addition to the literature on the period.”
Anthony Goodman, Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh and author of The Wars of the Roses: Military Activity and English Society, 1452-97
“A cracking job. A very enjoyable read.”
David Cooke, Chairman, Yorkshire Branch of the Battlefields Trust
“Utterly captivating, perfectly balanced between fascinating detail and nail biting narrative. I was particularly struck by the attention given to ordinary soldiers and the way in which George had winnowed out the often poignant stories of their lives from the documentary evidence- it’s a subject which is often overlooked and gave a fresh perspective on the battle.”
Lisa Hilton, author of Queens Consort
“Full of fascinating detail. I enjoyed it immensely.”
Allan Harley, Secretary of the Wars of the Roses Federation
“I casually opened Fatal Colours before lunch on a Sunday; suddenly it was tea-time! Full of intriguing fact and entertaining anecdote, this new narrative on Henry VI and the 1st War of the Roses adroitly establishes just how the ruptured society of 15th century England could lead to the cataclysm of Towton.”
Julian Humphrys, author of English Heritage’s Clash of Arms – Twelve English Battles and Development Officer, The Battlefields Trust
