Promotional Information

A definitive new life of King John

Table of Contents

Section - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Family Tree Section - iii: Maps Chapter - iv: Preface Introduction - v: Introduction Chapter - 1: Lackland Chapter - 2: Ireland, 1185 Chapter - 3: Brother In Arms Chapter - 4: Troublesome Brother Chapter - 5: Winner Takes All Chapter - 6: Retreat to the Citadel Chapter - 7: Inside the Citadel Chapter - 8: The Citadel Under Siege Chapter - 9: Lord of the British Isles Chapter - 10: The Enemy at the Gate Chapter - 11: The Garrison Turns on its Leader Chapter - 12: The Walls Breached Section - vi: Conclusion Section - vii: Bibliography Section - viii: Notes Index - ix: Index

About the Author

Stephen Church is currently professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia. He obtained his PhD from the University of London in 1992 and has subsequently published two books and many scholarly articles related directly to the topic of King John. In addition, Professor Church has published more widely on topics in medieval English history ranging from work on Anglo-Saxon paganism through to fourteenth-century local society in East Anglia, but he is at heart a specialist on twelfth-century kingship and in particular on the time of King John.

Reviews

Jaunty, authoritative . . . [a] fine, timely study of English history's greatest pantomime villain. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *
Hugely enjoyable * BBC History Magazine *
Scholarly and readable . . . the John that emerges is still a tyrant, but a more complex figure in a complex time. * Daily Telegraph *
Restores complexity to the myth of John as a cruel, unstable ogre. * Sunday Telegraph *
Church provides readers with a lively, nuanced and balanced account of the king, his family, upbringing and reign [...] Overall, this is a hugely enjoyable and beautifully researched biography. -- Louise Wilkinson * BBC History Magazine *