Great Tales from English History, By Robert Lacey

Lacey's deft use of detail puts flesh on the bones of hazy historical figures. The ferocity of Edward I's temper is rec-orded in a bill for repairs to the coronet of his daughter Elizabeth after the irate monarch threw it into a fire. The absurd term "Highness" for royalty was introduced by the ill-fated Richard II, who "liked to sit enthroned for hours doing nothing much more than wearing his crown and 'talking to no man'." These highly readable nuggets build into revelatory narratives. Readers can follow the story of English Jews from a Masada-style mass suicide in York, through expulsion by Edward I to quiet readmission by Cromwell.

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