The Perfect King

The Life of Edward III

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The Perfect King

By: Ian Mortimer

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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From the best-selling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England comes the story of King Edward III, who - like Elizabeth and Victoria after him - embodied the values of his age, forged a nation out of war and remade England.

Edward’s life is one of the most extraordinary in all English history. He ordered his uncle to be beheaded, he usurped his father’s throne and he started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years. He took the crown when it was at its lowest point and raised it to new heights, presenting himself as a new King Arthur, victorious across Europe. He was the architect of many English icons - from parliamentary rule to the adoption of English as the official language and even the building of a great clock tower at Westminster. Yet behind the strong warrior king was a compassionate, conscientious and often merciful man - resolute yet devoted to his wife, friends and family, and the father of both the English nation and the English people.

Ian MortimerAlex WyndhamW. F. Howes Ltd

Europe

Great Britain

Medieval

Royalty

England

Middle Ages

War

Tudor

Europe Great Britain Medieval Royalty England Middle Ages War Tudor

Critic reviews

"An excellent biography; entertaining as well as informative." (Daily Telegraph)

"A fascinating portrait. At times, the reader seems almost able to reach across time and touch this man." (The Economist)

"In producing this fine biography, Mortimer has succeeded magnificently, and has gone a long, long way towards restoring Edward III to his proper place as one of the great makers of this nation." (Daily Mail)

Most relevant

I've listened to several of the the author's books pitched more as popular history giving designed to give an insight into life of ordinary folk in the past. The present book is more a work of scholarship, using where possible original source material, nevertheless the author manages to make the story of Edward III's life an engaging and pacey biography. There is plenty of material for not only did the King reign for 50 years but also lived through turbulent times in European history much of the latter owing to his determination to invade France on many occasions and repeated conflicts between England and Scotland exacerbated by Scotland being more friendly with France than with England.

The author draws attention to how historical reputations ebb and flow across the centuries and certainly to modern sensibilities Edward's repeated incursions into France in pursuit of more land and his ruthlessness towards inhabitants of French and Scottish towns smack of war-crimes but in earlier times were deemed heroic. However, for his time he was a fine King who had many good qualities and he certainly improved the governance of England. His life had many successes but he also was not immune to the vicissitudes of medieval life with disease and injuries taking a toll on his family and friends with at least lest 8 of his children dying before him, including his first three sons.

Though a long book I felt engaged throughout and learned a lot about the history of the period helped by excellent narration.