The eagerly anticipated final volume in Jonathan Sumption'sprize-winning history of the Hundred Years War, "one of the great historicalundertakings of our age." ― Dan Jones, Sunday Times Triumph and Illusion is thefinal volume of Jonathan Sumption's epic history of the Hundred Years War. Ittells the story of the collapse of the English dream of conquest from theopening years of the reign of Henry VI, when the battles of Cravant andVerneuil consolidated their control of most of northern France, until the lossof all their continental dominions except Calais thirty years later. Thissudden reversal of fortune was a seminal event in the history of the twoprincipal nation-states of western Europe. It brought an end to four centuriesof the English dynasty's presence in France, separating two countries whosefortunes had once been closely intertwined. It created a new sense of nationalidentity in both countries. The legacy of these events would influence theirdivergent fortunes for centuries to come. Behind the clash of arms stood someof the most remarkable personalities of the age: the Duke of Bedford, theEnglish Regent who ruled much of France from Paris and Rouen; Charles VII ofFrance, underrated in both countries, who patiently rebuilt his kingdom afterthe disasters of his early years; the captains who populate the pages ofShakespeare - Fastolf, Montagu, Talbot, Dunois and, above all, theextraordinary figure of Joan of Arc who changed the course of the war in a fewweeks at the age of seventeen.