This is the first serious biography in English of the cultured Rene of Anjou, who, with his formidable family, was a central figure in two great wars in the mid-fifteenth century. It is the first serious political biography of Rene of Anjou in English. It is the latest scholarship on French, Italian and English aspects of the subject. It includes some rare illustrations and the Anjou family tree. It has an original reassessment of the career of Margaret of Anjou.King Rene is little known beyond France, yet, through his controversial daughter Margaret of Anjou, he affected events in England during the Wars of the Roses. Rene's court rivalled Burgundy in its rich artistic culture and his claim to the kingdom of Naples started a process that led to enormous changes in the power structure of Southern Europe.

King Rene is little known beyond France, yet, through his controversial daughter Margaret of Anjou, he affected events in England during the Wars of the Roses. Rene's court rivalled Burgundy in its rich artistic culture and his claim to the kingdom of Naples started a process that led to enormous changes in the power structure of Southern Europe.