Sceptred Isle

A sweeping look at an era of upheaval, panic and change. Gripping, powerful history * Hallie Rubenhold *A cannily timed new history… [Sceptred Isle] tells the story of the 14th-century Plantagenets with verve * The Times *Informative, anecdotal and entertaining… So many of the events of that tumultuous century find echoes today * Financial Times *Gripping… Carr is an eloquent guide to the human realities of a century that often has a hallucinatory quality: vivid, desperate and haunting in its glories and its terrors * Spectator *Fast-paced and thrilling… a remarkably evocative account of the high drama, excessive bloodshed and significant societal change during this tumultuous age… hugely enjoyable * Country Life *Excellent * Clive Anderson, Loose Ends (BBC Radio4) *In this vivid, finely researched book, Helen Carr takes us deep into England’s deadly fourteenth century and finds life and human colour. This is a sparkling popular history which brings the Middle Ages’ most terrible century to life for a new generation. * Dan Jones *Full of colour, with headlong energy, Sceptred Isle brings England’s calamitous fourteenth century to life vividly. While Fortune’s Wheel turns through cycles of famine, plague and war, Helen Carr’s engrossing narrative never loses sight of the complexity, and hope, of human experience. * Helen Castor *I didn’t want to do anything but read this book for a fortnight. Helen Carr is one of the most talented and compelling historians of her generation * Sathnam Sanghera *Thoughtful and dramatic, this is a lesser known period of history told with the pace and fluency of a novel * Philippa Gregory *

Helen Carr is a historian and writer specialising in medieval history and public history. Her bestselling first book, The Red Prince, was a Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year. Her second book, an edited volume of essays titled What is History, Now? has become primary reading for history students and enthusiasts globally. Helen also works in podcasting, television and journalism and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a postgraduate researcher at Queen Mary University of London.