Helen Castor

We are delighted to welcome Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves and Joan of Arc, to Bath to discuss her latest book; The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV.

In this astonishing chronicle of the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, we hear the story of two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back again.

Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king.

Yet, they grew up to be opposites: Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Increasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. When he banished Henry into exile, the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper.

Helen Castor tells the story of one of the strangest and most fateful relationships in English history; of power, and masculinity in crisis, and a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe. At its heart, are two men whose lives were played out in extraordinary parallel, to devastating effect.