Henry IV, Makers of History

The biography traces a prince of Navarre from childhood amid territorial loss and exile through turbulent adulthood marked by dynastic marriages, protracted sectarian wars, and political rivalries among powerful houses. It recounts major episodes including preparations for and the aftermath of a notorious massacre, the plotted assassinations of leading nobles and a king, and the rise of a militant league. The narrative follows the prince's conversion of faith, efforts at reconciliation with rivals, governance in his later years, and eventual death, presenting themes of religious conflict, pragmatic compromise, and the heavy human cost of civil strife.