Beach Reads - Azincourt

Azincourt (2008) is a remarkable and action-packed depiction of the legendary battle of Agincourt in 1415 by Bernard Cornwell, acclaimed author and master historical novelist. The battle, fought on St. Crispin’s Day and immortalized in Shakespeare’s Henry V, is the first major battle ever won by the use of the longbow--a weapon developed by the English. The longbow enabled the English to win a brilliant and unexpected victory at Agincourt and dominate the European battlefield for the rest of the century. 

 It is  breathtaking, finely researched tale told from the various viewpoints of nobles, peasants, archers and horsemen. Cornwell breathes life into the relentless fighting, the anguish of an army crippled by disease and the incomparable bravery of the English soldiers. No other historical novelist has so mastered the details of warfare in centuries past.

Review by Peter at the Vernon Branch