1415 · Henry V's Year of Glory

**Henry V is regarded as the great English hero**. Lionised in his own day for his victory at Agincourt, his piety and his rigorous application of justice, he was elevated by Shakespeare into a champion of English nationalism for all future generations. But what was he really like? Does he deserve to be thought of as 'the greatest man who ever ruled England?'

**In Ian Mortimer's groundbreaking book, he portrays Henry in the pivotal year of his reign.** Recording the dramatic events of 1415, he offers the fullest, most precise and least romanticised view we have of Henry and what he did.

The result is not only a **fascinating reappraisal of Henry; it brings to the fore many unpalatable truths which biographers and military historians have largely ignored.** At the centre of the book is the campaign which culminated in the battle of Agincourt: a slaughter ground designed not to advance England's interests directly but to demonstrate God's approval of Henry's royal authority on both sides of the Channel.