King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta

Resumen del libro

The definitive and brilliantly compelling new biography of the treacherous and tyrannical King John. Published to coincide with the 800-year anniversary of Magna Carta by the bestselling author of A Great and Terrible King and The Norman Conquest. Many will be familiar with King John as the tyrant whose misgovernment gave rise to Magna Carta, or will perhaps remember him as the villain in the stories of Robin Hood - but as the youngest son of Henry II, John did not grow up expecting to be king. Nonetheless, as his brothers died off one by one, John began to move closer to the throne and to power. Ambitious and formidable, John was tireless in his desire to be acknowledged as Richard the Lion Heart's heir. A young man whose early adult life was full of plots and intrigues, he was driven by his hunger for the crown. Yet when he did eventually become King, it was against a backdrop of great uncertainty. Despite gaining the throne that he had always coveted, John quickly lost the great Continental empire assembled by his ancestors. This gave the remainder of his reign its dominant, urgent narrative: it was imperative that he regain the lands that he has surrendered. And twelve years into his reign, King John was regarded as an awesomely powerful monarch. Yet, when after immense planning he finally crossed into to France to recover his lost empire, he met with disaster. His allies were defeated in battle at Bouvines, and John returned home penniless to face a tide of criticism about his unjust rule. The result was Magna Carta.