Hello, I have been looking for books (available on Amazon) in regards to 15th Century England in regards to culture, politics, warfare, civilian life, and et cetera. I have heard that the medieval series by Joseph and Frances Gies are instructive, and I might check them out, but I was wondering if there might be any suggestions from here that may help me. Eventually I plan on researching most of Europe and the Middle East during this time period and beyond as well, but my main focus is 15th Century England for now. Thanks in advance for your replies :)
There aren't really very many books that cover 15th century England in those areas. Most, such as the Gies, focus on the 13th century and those who look at the later middle ages generally are more interested in the 14th century than the 15th.
My recommendation is to start with Jeffrey L. Singman's The Middle Ages : Everyday Life in Medieval Europe which, while focusing on the 13th century, does serve as a useful primer to the various aspects of medieval life and how they integrate with one another. The only other similar work is Ian Mortimer's The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer and, although it is closer to the 15th century than Singman's book, the scholarship is significantly more sloppy; at one point Mortimer cites Christopher Dyer to back up his claim that medieval peasants didn't eat fresh water fish regularly, when Dyer has written the exact opposite.
Once you've finished Singman, I suggest reading Barbara Hanawalt's Growing up in Medieval London as it goes into considerable detail about medieval childhood. The book is specifically focused on London and some parts aren't directly relevant to rural childhood, but information on childhood games, the progression of responsibility, the role of family connections in securing youths jobs, etc. are all useful in both urban and rural situations. Another of her books, The Ties That Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England is also very useful in looking at family life and structure for te vast majority of the population.
Next, I suggest reading Christopher Dyer's Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages and Everyday Life in Medieval England. These are much more academic than the previously recommended books, but they provide important and very useful information on how society changed from the 13th to the 15th centuries, what "wealth" actually meant in the middle ages and provides a lot of information on diet, rights and day to day operations.
To wrap all of this up, I suggest finishing up with Gerald Harriss' Shaping the Nation: England 1360-1461. 2/3 of the book is concern with either the politic structure of England (which is extremely useful) or a summary of political events during the period. The central third of the book does provide a broad overview of English society that will help contextualise some of Dyer's writings and update a few elements of Singman, but the political sections of the book are going to be the most use for your purposes.
Regarding warfare specifically, I suggest two books. The first is Michael Prestwich's Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages, which focuses most heavily on the 13th and 14th centuries instead of the 15th, but which provides an excellent overview of English warfare. The second is Richard Wadge's Arrowstorm which, although focused almost exclusively on archers, nonetheless has brilliant summaries of recruitment practices, wages, costs, logistics and soldier backgrounds for the 14th and 15th centuries. Between the two, and with some input from Harriss, you should build up a reasonable picture of English warfare in the 15th century.