Blood Cries Afar ― The Magna Carta War and the Invasion of England 1215-1217

Details an invasion that could have changed Britain as we know it, prompted by events at Runnymede where the barons brought an errant king to heel and in doing so provided an opportunity for conquest

Taking advantage of the turmoil created in England by King John’s inept rule and the barons’ demands, Prince Louis of France invaded England and allied with the English rebels. The prize was the crown of England. Within months Louis had seized control of one-third of the country, including London. This is the only book to cover the bloody events of the invasion, one of the most dramatic but most overlooked episodes of British history. The text vividly describes the campaigns, sieges, battles, and atrocities of the invasion and its colorful leaders—Louis the Lion, King John, William Marshal, and the mercenaries Fawkes de Beaute and Eustace the Monk—to offer the first detailed military analysis of this epic struggle for England.

Sean McGlynn is the author of By Sword and Fire: Cruelty and Atrocity in Medieval Warfare and is a regular contributor to history magazines and academic journals such asBBC History, English Historical Review, and History Today.