Desmond Seward

Background

Desmond Seward was born on May 22, 1935, in Paris, France. He is a son of William Eric Louis Seward, an industrialist, and Eileen (Bennett) Seward. Members of Desmond's family were wine merchants in Bordeaux, beginning in the 1860's.

Education

Initially, Desmond attended Ampleforth College, and then, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

Career

During his career, Desmond has written extensively on medieval France and on the military religious orders, on which he is considered an authority.

He saw the publication of his first work in 1971 with "The First Bourbon: Henry IV of France and Navarre". Another of his early works is a biography of one of France’s sixteenth-century monarchs — "Prince of the Renaissance: The Golden Life of Francois I". Published in 1973, the work chronicles the life of the ruler, who was best remembered as a patron of the arts.

"The Monks of War", published first in 1972, is the book Seward considers his most important work. It is thought to be the first general history of the Templars Knights Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights and other related subjects, having been published since the eighteenth century.

Additionally, Seward wrote a number of other books on French history - or English history in regard to France - over the next decade. These include "The Bourbon Kings of France", published in 1976, a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine and "The Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337 - 1453", which appeared in an American edition in 1978. In the latter work, Seward explains, how the acrimonious war over a variety of typical causes — disputed territory, paying tribute, fishing rights — helped England rise from a small nation to a formidable power.

In 1981, Seward published the work "Marie Antoinette", a biography, that chronicles the life of a despised French queen - Austrian by birth - who was beheaded by the guillotine during the French Revolution.

Seward’s 1984 book, "Richard III: England’s Black Legend", received a fair amount of press attention, perhaps in part because its publication came just prior to the 500th anniversary of a particularly gruesome event in the history of the English succession. This work represents a biography of King Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, a man, who usurped the throne after his brother’s sudden death.

In "Napoleon’s Family", published in 1986, Seward presents the untold tale of the French emperor's numerous and involved relatives. Two years later, in 1988, he published the work "Napoleon and Hitler: A Comparative Biography", that gives evidence of the remarkable similarities between the two conquering despots. Both were emigres in their respective domains, whose greatest military folly was to invade Russia — a step, that eventually led to each leader’s downfall.

The work "The War of the Roses through the Lives of Five Men and Women of the Fifteenth Century" marks Seward’s return to the subject of late medieval English history. The 1995 book looks at the internal battle, that raged in England in the years after the death of Henry V, between two opposing royal houses, Lancaster and York, but does so through the intertwined biographies of five key players. One was a courtier, whose attempt to save a boy-king from the opposing faction, resulted in his own death. Another was the mother of a future Tudor king, who managed to shape a truce between the two sides. Another key figure in Seward’s historical chronicle was the mistress of a king, who served as a spy, and the last two were the earl of Oxford and a future archbishop.

In the years, that followed, Desmond penned other books, that included "Caravaggio: A Passionate Life" (1998), "Eugénie" (2004), "Renishaw Hall: The Story of the Sitwells" (2015) and many others.

Moreover, he authored a number of travel books, including "Byzantium" (1988), "The Dancing Sun: Journeys to the Miracle Shrines" (1993) and "Sussex" (1995).

Currently, Desmond Seward lives and works in the English countryside on the Berkshire-Wiltshire border.

Achievements

• Desmond Seward gained prominence as an authority on Britain and France in the late Middle Ages, as well as on military religious orders. He has penned numerous books and biographies of prominent people, such as Henry IV of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie Antoinette and many others.
  
  His works were translated into ten languages, including Hebrew and Japanese. Also, Desmond's work is mainly well received by critics as offering the general reader a balance of readability and modern scholarship.

Works

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  • Henry V: The Scourge of God

    (A new and startling look at Henry V, the heroic English w...)

    1988
  • Marie Antoinette

    (This biography tells the perennially fascinating drama of...)

    1981
  • The Demon's Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty

    (This book represents a vivid and colorful history of the ...)

    2014
  • The First Bourbon: Henry IV of France and Navarre

    (This book represents a biography of Henry IV of France, t...)

    1971
  • The Dancing Sun: Journeys to the Miracle Shrines

    (This travel book with religious interest describes visits...)

    1993
  • Wings Over the Desert: In Action with an RFC Pilot in Palestine, 1916-1918

    (This book is based around the experiences of Desmond Sewa...)

    2009
  • Eleanor of Aquitaine: The Mother Queen of the Middle Ages

    (The story of an ambitious princess and heiress, that capt...)

    1978
  • The Bourbon Kings of France

    (This is a story of the Bourbon kings, that encompasses th...)

    1976
  • Eugénie: The Empress and her Empire

    (This book represents a biography of Empress Eugénie, who ...)

    2004
  • Caravaggio: A Passionate Life

    (This work examines the life of the greatest painter of th...)

    1998
  • Richard III: England's Black Legend

    (This book represents a biography of England's most notori...)

    1983
  • Renishaw Hall: The Story of the Sitwells

    (This is the story of the Sitwells and their residency - R...)

    2015
  • Prince of Renaissance: The Life of François I

    (This book examines the life of François I.)

    1973
  • The Wars of the Roses 1995
  • Monks and wine 1979
  • Henry V as Warlord 1987
  • The Monks of War: The Military Orders 1972
  • Byzantium 1988

Views

Desmond believes, that history is literature, and that readability and accessibility are an essential part of the historical process.

Membership

Desmond is a founding member of the Association de Lassaye, dedicated to preserving a fifteenth century castle at Lassaye-les-Châteaux, near Mayenne.

Personality

Desmond has a good command of French and he is also able to read Italian, Latin, medieval English and Norman French. Moreover, he regards France as his second home.

Connections

Father:

William Eric Louis Seward

Mother:

Eileen (Bennett) Seward