The sixth volume in the acclaimed Oxford History of England , this is an authoritative account of a violent and turbulent period which saw the fall and rise of four royal houses. E. F. Jacob examines the impact of the Hundred Years' War and inadequate financial and administrative machinery on the failure of the Lancastrians, and shows that the War of the Roses were less a unique struggle between defined parties than a typical effort by a noble house to maintain and improve its position by the exercise of patronage and influence in a society that was rapidly undergoing change. He also provides detailed portraits of key figures of the age, and chapters on economic growth, Anglo-French relations, the Church, and the peaceful arts.