York v Lancaster. The battles and history of the Wars of the Roses

Published 1st November 2025

The Wars of the Roses occur in a series of phases. From a background of dissatisfaction of the reign of Henry VI, the English nobility gathered into factions that exploded into open conflict at the First Battle of St. Albans in 1455.

With great bloodshed, the rival armies fought and the wars evolved as the sons of the opposing magnates continued the battles, leading to a battle of two simultaneous Kings of England.

This book offers a detailed history of the period that offers a great depth but written in a manner to ensure the complicated history is easy to follow. It explains how the armies were created, how they travelled and demonstrates the reasons why the battles were fought and how they were won.

The battlefields are explained within the modern landscape, allowing the reader to follow in the armies footsteps today and offering insight to imagine the battles, fought almost 600 years ago, in the towns, countryside and back gardens of today.

Author biography

Born in York Andrew Johnson has studied the Wars of the Roses for over 30 years. he developed a love of history at an early age and with family living near Towton he spent many days wandering the battlefield, becoming an unofficial tour guide. Andrew is a member of the Battlefields Trust and has campaigned for the preservation of British battle sites.

His professional career is in the medical field and has been previously published in Gunshot Wound Ballistics, alongside being an associate lecturer at the University of East Anglia. His career has varied between emergency work and running military medical centres. This is his first book.