3.5 stars

Sir Roger Mortimer was close to Edward II when they were younger, but because Edward didn’t listen to anyone beyond his favourites while he was ruling, he turned many people away from him, including Mortimer. Later on, it seems Mortimer and Edward’s wife, Queen Isabella, carried on a dalliance. Most historians agree that Mortimer had Edward II murdered, while Mortimer and Isabella “ruled” through Edward III (Edward II and Isabella’s teenaged son). This author suggests something a little bit different to Edward II’s end, however.

This was nonfiction, so it took a while to read. It also took a bit for me to get interested, but I did like it maybe starting about 1/3 of the way in or so (or maybe a bit before that). It also got me curious about Robert (the) Bruce in Scotland. I’m not sure about Mortimer (the author)’s proposal for what happened to Edward II, but it was interesting to read about. That being said, I have not read anything about Roger Mortimer before this (except likely in reading about Isabella). I liked the way the author presented his alternate theory. He went through everything to the end of Roger’s life, then backed up with a chapter called “Chapter Twelve Revisited”, which explained what he thinks might have happened instead. ( )

Ian Mortimer's The Greatest Traitor (not related) is an excellent read for this period which covers the rise of a man who takes down one king & installs the king's son. In the three last years of Roger Mortimer's life, the chaos & the growing animosity toward him resulting from the deposition of Edward II & the final plot, ends in his execution for treason by order of Edward III. That is the book in a nutshell. Having said this, it is interesting that the author took the time to examine records & annals of the period & was able to achieve a good biography of a man in the midst of a chaotic & violent time. He also examines the possibility of Edward II actually living on with now known evidence & the odd connections to Edward II's supposed murderers who continue to survive working for Edward III. He simply offers evidence & lets the reader decide whether to accept it or not. ( )

Very detailed, very readable - who needs fiction when you can have history written like this! ( )

Pretty well written biography of an English strong man who did have nearly complete power in England, bridging the days of Edward II and Edward III. There is an explanation for some evidence that might lead to a change in the received account of the death of Edward II. Even if you don't buy that material it remains an interesting biography. ( )

In the contest between Edward II and his barons, you never knew what would come next. So it is, too, with this book.

Although listed as a biography of Roger Mortimer, most of the meat of it is really a story of a three-way rivalry, between Edward II (king of England 1307-1327), his wife Isabella, and Isabella's eventual lover Mortimer. Mortimer-the-baron, as presented by Mortimer-the-author, because in effect the hero of a Greek tragedy: The man with a tragic flaw. A good soldier and honest landlord, Baron Mortimer nonetheless found himself squeezed by Edward II and his favorites the Despensers. Eventually he ended up in rebellion, gave himself up, and was sent to the Tower despite promises to the contrary. But he escaped.

And Edward II was turning England against him. One of those Edward alienated was his own wife Isabella, who went to France, hooked up with Mortimer, invaded England, and overthrew Edward.

So far, so conventional -- although Mortimer-the-author has a surprisingly favorable view of Mortmier-the-baron. But then, in the author's view, power went to his head. He ceased to dispense justice and began to simply gather power. England was under a reign of terror. Eventually the young King Edward III toppled his mother's lover; Mortimer was executed in 1330.

This leaves us with two curious aspects of the book. One is Ian Mortimer's insistance that Edward II was not killed in 1327, as almost all sources report. This is based primarily one one long-lost and ill-documented letter; few other historians have considered it sufficient to accept that Edward II lived. It just makes things too complicated.

Then, too, what caused Mortimer's personality change? Just the experience of power? It was disconcerting to read the book, which praised Mortimer constantly and then... didn't. It seems much more reasonable that Mortimer was the same man the whole time.

There is a lot of detail here -- more than I would have thought possible about a fourteenth century baron. But I can't find it entirely convincing.... ( )