Kingship and Masculinity in Late Medieval England

Bacteria and plants produce powerful toxins that can cause a variety of diseases, some of which are lethal for many animal species. The mechanisms of action are common to many of these toxins and represent general pathways for the interaction of a number of biomolecules with target cells, such as binding to specific surface receptors, internalization and translocation across the cell membrane, and interaction with intracellular components. Because of their potency in killing eukaryotic cells, they have been used in the development of novel agents for targeted immunotherapy, and have been termed 'chimeric toxins'. The elucidation of the mechanism of action of protein toxins remains a complex problem, but understanding these mechanisms will open new avenues for the design of novel therapies for the treatment of toxin-related diseases. In Chimeric Toxins: Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Applications, the authors review the structure, function and mechanisms of toxic action and investigate their therapeutic applications in medicine, including approaches used to design, express and purify these molecules as well as discussing their characteristics and in vivo efficacy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. 1. Kingship and masculinity in late medieval England 2. Approaching Henry V and Henry VI Part I. Henry V 3. Son and brother 4. The new man 5. Agincourt 6. Hegemonic Henry Part II Henry VI 7. The king who never grew up 8. The beginning of personal rule? 9. The unwarlike king 10. Marriage and chastity 11. Recovery and breakdown 12. Margaret, Prince Edward and a substitute kingship 13. Epilogue

Review :
Lewis's work makes a major contribution to the history of kingship and of gender. This is an exemplary study that blends the political and the cultural in a groundbreaking study of two of the most crucial characters in later medieval English history. Mark Ormrod, University of York, UK 'Lewis admirably evaluates Henry V and Henry VI by reading monarchy through the lens of gender discourse. Summing Up: Recommended' - J. P. Huffman, Messiah College in CHOICE "[This book] is written in an engaging but impeccably scholarly manner and will be of interest to medieval historians and historians and theorists of gender." -Thomas Ward, Loyola Marymount, USA "There is much to commend Katherine J. Lewis' book and the scholarship is careful and engaging in style...a very welcome addition to the study of masculinity and kingship." -Kirsten Fenton