The Restless Kings

In The Restless Kings Nick Barratt presents the tumultuous struggle for supremacy between the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, and his four sons - a drama that tore apart the most powerful family in western Europe and shaped the future of two nations.

As well as exploring the personalities and crises facing these extraordinary people as a family, The Restless Kings follows them as they raced around western Europe, struggling to hold together a vast conglomeration of lands - often through force of arms - whilst constantly harried by the their nominal overlord and arch rival, Philip Augustus, king of France.

Although the key events took place over 800 years ago, their significance still resonates today. Whether you're looking for the root causes of Brexit or tension in the Middle East, their origins can be found in the actions of the Angevin kings of England.

The Restless Kings will challenge everything you assumed you knew about the medieval world. Above all, it brings to life some of the most remarkable, complex, flawed and brilliant monarchs ever to have sat on the English throne.

Professor Nick Barratt is an author, broadcaster, and historian. He is an honorary associate professor of public history at the University of Nottingham, and Associate Director, Collections and Engagement, at the University of London’s Senate House Library as well as a teaching fellow at the University of Dundee. His most recent publication, The Forgotten Spy, tells the story of his great uncle – Stalin’s first mole in Whitehall. He has previously written on subjects as diverse as the story of Greater London and the Titanic.