Agincourt: The Fight for France

Fiennes (Cold), a renowned polar explorer and British military veteran, brings a distinctive point of view to his recounting of the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, further underscored by the astounding number of participants to whom he’s related. He begins with a flowing introduction to the period between the 11th century Norman invasion of England and the completion of Henry V’s French campaign (which concluded with the Battle of Agincourt), followed by an insightful analysis of the strategy and logistics of the latter. Fiennes’s even-handed descriptions of late medieval violence form a solid foundation for his occasional comparisons between Agincourt and various 20th-century war scenes. A nice collection of images of key figures helps readers navigate the various bouts of infighting on both sides, and illustrations of arms and armor give readers a feel for the martial technology of the time. The frequent italicization for Fiennes’s many ancestors can distract from the action, but its use powerfully narrates the fortunes of one family’s English nobles and the simultaneous destruction of their French cousins. While Fiennes wryly deals with his kinfolk’s fates, his knowledge leads to a stylish, substantive account further punctuated by the offhand musing that an English loss at Agincourt could possibly have prevented the Wars of the Roses. Illus. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Ltd. (U.K.). (Dec.)