The Red Prince
The Life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster
Helen CarrA TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY
‘The Red Prince announces Helen Carr as one of the most exciting new voices in narrative history.’ Dan Jones
Son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV and the sire of all the Tudors. Always close to the English throne, John of Gaunt left a complex legacy. Too rich, too powerful, too haughty… did he have his eye on his nephew’s throne? Why was he such a focus of hate in the Peasants’ Revolt? In examining the life of a pivotal medieval figure, Helen Carr paints a revealing portrait of a man who held the levers of power on the English and European stage, passionately upheld chivalric values, pressed for the Bible to be translated into English, patronised the arts, ran huge risks to pursue the woman he loved… and, according to Shakespeare, gave the most beautiful of all speeches on England.
Helen Carr
Helen Carr is a historian, writer and history producer. She has produced history documentaries for the BBC, SkyArts, Discovery, CNN and HistoryHit TV and has previously worked for BBC Radio 4’s weekly programme In Our Time. Helen is a regular features writer for BBC History Magazine and has contributed to the New Statesman, History Today and History Extra. She now runs her own podcast, Hidden Histories, available on iTunes. She tweets at @HelenhCarr
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