The House of Beaufort

The Bastard Line That Captured the Crown

By: Nathen Amin

Narrated by: Graham Mack

The Wars of the Roses were a tumultuous period in English history, with family fighting family over the greatest prize in the kingdom—the throne of England. But what gave the eventual victor of these brutal and complex wars, Henry Tudor, the right to claim the crown? What made his Beaufort mother the great heiress of medieval England, and how exactly did an illegitimate line come to challenge the English monarchy?

While the Houses of York and Lancaster fought brutally for the crown, other noble families of the kingdom also played integral roles in the wars, but none symbolized the volatile nature of the period quite like the House of Beaufort. Their rise, fall, and rise again is the story of England during the fifteenth century, a dramatic century of war, intrigue, and scandal both at home and abroad.

This book uncovers the rise of the Beauforts and tracks their fall during the 1460s and 1470s. The hopes and fortunes of the family gradually came to rest upon the shoulders of a teenage widow named Margaret Beaufort and her young son Henry. From Margaret would rise the House of Tudor, the most famous of all England's royal houses and a dynasty that owed its crown to the blood of its forebears, the House of Beaufort. From bastards to princes, the Beauforts are medieval England's most captivating family.

©2017 Nathen Amin (P)2023 Tantor

Nicely read, well researched

Well written, well read, and accurate. It's a pleasure to find a history of the Beauforts that is so fully developed and so easy to listen to. I know this history and am pleased to say that it is factually represented in this book.

very informative

I really enjoyed this book especially the fact that it takes Edmund Duke of Somerset and take some out of the shadow of Margaret and put some as his player in the game that he actually was

Fascinating read!

Really loved this novel, and it was such a fascinating analysis of this family and their role in one of my favorite eras of history. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

Excellent book -- I just wish there was MORE

I've read dozens of books about english history. This is one of my top five reads. The Beaufort family has one of the most compelling stories of any late medieval english royal families. My only compliant is that I wish it covered more of Margaret Beaufort's story. The book is heavily focused on the male line of the family, at the expense of Margaret (mother of Henry VII) -- who ultimately had the most important historical impact of the lot.

But again, I want to emphasize that this book is well worth a read for anyone with remote interest in late medieval English history

Great story, odd performance

This was very well written. Narration was odd with a different voice popping in, sometimes midsentence during the last several chapters.

Great history of the Beaufort family in their own right, not just as background

Loved the entire book. I just wish the narrator could pronounce “assume” and “pursue” correctly. These words have no “h” in the word which would make them sound like, “a-shume” or “pur-shue,” as the narrator says. If you are going to read audiobooks for a living, please pronounce the words correctly—not a big ask.

Fabulous audiobook

I’ve been reading a great amount of books that have to do with English history, especially medieval. For me, there was a gap of information, and this book definitely filled in those gaps in the English medieval history. There’s a ton of information and it’s very well read.  I enjoyed it so much. I am sure this is one of the books that I will reread again.!!

Too many "ashumptions" for me...

A lot of speculation on feelings and motivations cloud this history for me. The preformer's mispronunciations of historically important people's names and titles get tiring along with his pronunciation (blame the author for overusing) of the words assumably and presumably. Not bad overall, but a bit grating.

Fabulous book, minutely researched

The narrator was awful. He mis-read and mispronounced English words, what he did with the pronunciation of French names was criminal.

Shameless Lancastrian bootlicking

Reader mispronounces many French places and names but it’s mostly ok. As for the author, there was lots of good info on early Beauforts, which was cool. However, it’ became ridiculous once he got to Edmund, 2nd Duke. He describes him as if he were wronged by York and wasn’t a totally vicious fool who deserved what came to him and his sons