The Seeds of Conflict

England did not wake one morning divided between Lancaster and York. The Wars of the Roses were decades in the making.Long before rival armies fought for the crown, England's monarchy had been weakened by disputed succession, royal deposition, military defeat, aristocratic rivalry and the failures of kingship itself.The Seeds of Conflict traces the long road from the powerful reign of Edward III to the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, when political confrontation finally spilled into bloodshed.The story begins with Edward III and the extraordinary royal dynasty he created. It follows the troubled reign of Richard II, the revolution that placed Henry IV on the throne, the spectacular victories of Henry V and the immense inheritance left to his infant son, Henry VI.As England's position in France collapsed, the political consequences became increasingly dangerous. Ministers were blamed for defeat. Great noble families competed for influence. Margaret of Anjou emerged as a determined defender of her husband's dynasty, while Richard, Duke of York, possessed both royal blood and an increasingly powerful claim to reform the government.Behind the struggle at Westminster lay feuds between the Nevilles and Percies, battles over patronage and local power, Jack Cade's rebellion, the collapse of Henry VI's authority and growing uncertainty over who truly controlled the king.By May 1455, compromise had repeatedly failed.At St Albans, York and his allies took up arms while still claiming loyalty to Henry VI. The resulting battle was small, but its consequences were enormous.The first blood had been shed. England had crossed a line from which it would struggle to return.The Seeds of Conflict is Book One of The Wars of the Roses, a ten-volume narrative history of the dynastic struggle that transformed England and ultimately brought the Tudors to power.