A brief history of the Hundred Years War - Desmond Seward

For over a hundred years England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that
her kings had a right to the French throne. France was a large, unwieldy
kingdom, England was small and poor, but for the most part she dominated the
war, sacking towns and castles and winning battles - including such glorious
victories as Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, but then the English run of success
began to fail, and in four short years she lost Normandy and finally her last
stronghold in Guyenne. The protagonists of the Hundred Year War are among the
most colourful in European history: for the English, Edward III, the Black
Prince and Henry V, later immortalized by Shakespeare; for the French, the
splendid but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London, Charles V, who very
nearly overcame England and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did at last drive the
English out.