The story of the Plantagenet dynasty is the story of one of the pivotal ages in English history. Attitudes and outlooks were formed with regard to a vast array of profoundly important issues. Such fundamental issues as the relationship between church and state, the nature of government/governance, the interaction of social and economic classes, and ultimately the idea of what it means to be English were all shaped to a great degree by the events of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Review

The rare snippets of information revealing the sorts of people these kings really were brings the narrative to life ... There is much to recommend this book, which skilfully interweaves into a familiar narrative the latest theories and interpretations of a period which defined not just the monarchy, but the English nation as a whole.

(BBC History Magazine)

The rare snippets of information revealing the sorts of people these kings really were brings the narrative to life ... There is much to recommend this book, which skilfully interweaves into a familiar narrative the latest theories and interpretations of a period which defined not just the monarchy, but the English nation as a whole.

(Sanford Lakoff)

About the Author

Jeffrey Hamilton is Professor and Chair of History at Baylor University. An authority on the political history of 13th &14th-century England, he specialises in the reign of Edward II.