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Graham Turner
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The Wars of the Roses: The Medieval Art of Graham Turner Hardcover – February 27, 2024

by Graham Turner (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
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A highly illustrated history of the Wars of the Roses based on the medieval art of Graham Turner.

The period of civil strife in the second half of the 15th century now known as the Wars of the Roses was one of the most dramatic and tumultuous in English history.

Since first being inspired by a visit to Bosworth battlefield nearly 30 years ago, renowned historical artist Graham Turner has built a worldwide reputation for his depictions of this colourful and troubled era, his paintings and prints prized by historians and collectors for their attention to detail and dramatic and atmospheric compositions.

This new study contains a detailed history of the wars alongside a unique and comprehensive collection of over 120 of his paintings and drawings, many created especially for this book. It provides meticulously researched details of arms, armour, settings and countless other aspects of the period, while bringing to life the human stories behind the turbulent events.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Osprey Publishing
  4. Publication date
    February 27, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    9.81 x 1 x 12.56 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1472847288
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1472847287
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Wars of the Roses
Unique collection of over 120 prized paintings and drawings

Knight and solider with flag

knights in battle

castle in foreground with soldiers on horses

battle scene

Gold knight on horseback

battle

Turner has built a worldwide reputation for his paintings of this colorful and intense era

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beautifully illustrated and carefully researched… a unique and compelling book. A must have for anyone interested in this period." ―Anne Curry, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History and Chair of the Battlefields Trust

About the Author

Graham Turner is a leading historical artist, specializing in the medieval period. He has illustrated numerous titles for Osprey, covering a wide variety of subjects from the dress of the 10th-century armies of the Caliphates, through the action of bloody medieval battles, to the daily life of the British Redcoat of the late 18th century. The son of the illustrator Michael Turner, Graham lives and works in Buckinghamshire, UK.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing (February 27, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1472847288
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1472847287
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.81 x 1 x 12.56 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

About the author

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Graham Turner

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
42 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

navynut
5.0 out of 5 stars An artistic masterwork!
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2024
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Longtime Osprey Publishing artist, Graham Turner, has delivered his finest work to date. The Wars of the Roses is a magnificent combination of Turner's paintings and drawings covering the final flowering of the medieval knight in the 15th century. All of his paintings from Osprey campaign books set in the time period of 1400-1500 are included along with many new ones specially done for this books. The heraldry, the arms and armor are beautifully displayed in full color paintings and Turners excellent black and white drawings. His detailed knowledge of the armor is backed up by his own research into wearing and jousting in full plate (photos included!). If you are a miniature wargamer who is interested in the final decades of the Hundred Years War or the Wars of the Roses, this book is required reading. Turner's writing on the period including the background to the conflict and all the famous and lesser known battles is seriously topnotch. This may possibly be the best collection of medieval art that Osprey or any publisher has ever produced!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great info & pictures
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024
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the great pictures
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Beverly Bankert
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2024
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Just amazing. Well worth it.
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Bilitto
5.0 out of 5 stars Grande libro !!!
Reviewed in Italy on March 30, 2024
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Semplicemente stupendo !
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David Grummitt
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully produced and impeccably researched volume.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2024
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Anyone with a passing interest in the military history of the Wars of the Roses – the intermittent series of rebellions against the crown that punctuated the mid-fifteenth century and ended with the accession of Henry VII, the first Tudor king – will be familiar with Graham Turner’s artwork. For those of us for whom the Wars of the Roses looms larger, either as historians, wargamers or reenactors, Turner’s work has dominated our visual imagination for three decades, since he first painted Richard III’s charge at Bosworth in 1995. Since then, he has gone onto illustrate books on the Hundred Years, Towton, Barnet and Tewkesbury, Bosworth and the armour worn by English men-at-arms in the fifteenth century for Osprey Publishing. His paintings have appeared in many other books and websites and even illustrated a set of Royal Mail postage stamps in 2021. Indeed, so ubiquitous are Turner’s paintings, it’s hard to visualise the battles of the Wars of the Roses without being influenced by his work. The paintings are informed by careful research in both the extant textual sources and material remains (especially funerary monument and effigies from the period) and a deep understanding of the period, informed in part by the artist’s own experiences as a reenactor and accomplished jouster.

This sumptuously produced A4-size book brings together Turner’s best-known work – both colour paintings and pencil sketches – with new artwork to illustrate the Wars of the Roses. The book is, however, much more than simply a collection of his artwork. It is also an accessible and very good account of the Wars themselves. The text is well-written and chapter 4, on the armies and tactics of the period, is one of the best summaries of the available information available in print. The text also explains Turner’s method, both in terms of the meticulous study that informs his work (especially the careful reconstruction of the armours of the period, based principally on close examination of funeral effigies) and his practice as an artist, are also explained, providing a fascinating insight into the processes behind the creation of these magnificent paintings. Turner does well both to narrate the course of the Wars, but also, and more importantly, to explain the military and cultural context of the second half of the fifteenth century.

This book, however, is first and foremost about the paintings and Turner has done a magnificent job in bringing the period the life. Much of Turner’s best-known work, such as the painting of the Battle of Barnet that adorns the front cover, but also his paintings of Mortimer’s Cross and Stoke, captures the desperate confusion of the melee. Other battle paintings, such as the well-known picture of the Yorkist archers at Towton or Richard III’s artillery at Bosworth, give a sense of the scale and narrative of the battles. Other work is wonderfully individual, capturing moments in time with paintings that are rich in detail and emotion. The arrow wound suffered by Henry VI at St. Albans in 1455 or the newly published pencil sketch of Lord Clifford and the dead earl of Rutland at the Battle of Wakefield are two that really struck me. Other paintings capture moments of peaceful reflection or the aftermath of battle: a new painting showing apprehensive Yorkist prisoners after Ludford Bridge as the duke of Buckingham rides past explores a moment not covered by contemporary chronicles and other accounts. Similarly, the painting of the execution of Lord Welles on the orders of Edward IV in 1470 is incredibly powerful, capturing the sense of spectacle that underpinned such stark demonstrations of royal authority. Other paintings still, such as that of John, Lord Wenlock leaving his valuables with Abbot Selwood at Glastonbury in 1471, explore more mundane moments, incidental to the story of the Wars of the Roses perhaps but integral to the lived experience of those involved.

Those who study and seek to understand the past need a range of skills and attitudes to do so successfully. Perhaps the most important of these is imagination. Turner has this in abundance, but crucially it is informed by his meticulous research into the subject and a deep understanding of the martial culture of the period. That said, it’s important to recognise that the paintings here are imaginary; Turner’s art takes us beyond the sources and presents an image of the past which may or may not correspond to reality. The battles scenes – quite rightly I think – stress the importance of the melee in determining the outcome of battle and stress – again I think correctly – the centrality of individual acts of courage and, to use a contemporary word, ‘prowess’. So ubiquitous and powerful is Turner’s art that it becomes increasingly difficult to visualise the Wars of the Roses without reference to it. Turner does, as I said, go beyond the strictly contemporary sources (which are frustratingly brief and obtuse in their accounts of the actual fighting) and, reading the text and examining the artwork, I sometimes felt he relies too much on the sixteenth-century imagination of the mid-Tudor chronicler, Edward Hall (especially, most notably in his account of the Towton campaign). Turner’s men-at-arms also predominantly wear ‘white’ (that is, polished) harness. While I think he is probably correct that this was the predominant form of armour worn during the Wars of the Roses, recent work, most notably by Chris Dobson (published while this book was at the press), has stressed the widespread use of blackened, ‘blued’ or even painted armour in the late Middle Ages. These are minor quibbles and nothing I have said should detract from one of the best books published on the Wars of the Roses in recent years. It will prove an invaluable resource for amateur and academic historians alike, as well as wargamers, reenactors and anyone with a passing interest in this fascinating period of English history. Osprey Publishing are to be congratulated too on presenting a beautiful book at an affordable price. It is a thing of beauty, as well as an important contribution to our understanding of the military history of the fifteenth century.
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Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book of the year
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2024
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In many ways this book is a natural path that links all of the authors artwork from many osprey books into the wars of the roses story. Well written and superbly illustrated. Book of the year!
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Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book of the year
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2024
In many ways this book is a natural path that links all of the authors artwork from many osprey books into the wars of the roses story. Well written and superbly illustrated. Book of the year!
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One person found this helpful
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Sean Purnell
5.0 out of 5 stars War of the Roses by Graham Turner
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2024
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A brilliant book the illustrations are superb and the history of the conflict is well covered, very highly recommended
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Becksta
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a beautiful resource
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2024
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Great book. Fantastic paintings and an incredible history piece behind each one. Brilliantly researched and a comprehensive guide to the Wars of the Roses.
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