An exuberant account of the rise and fall of a mighty French dynasty… This is Firnhaber-Baker’s first foray into writing popular history, and one can only hope that there will be many more. The breadth and depth of her research are evident throughout, yet the narrative zings along at an enjoyable and very readable pace – Catherine Hanley * HistoryExtra *A mighty, panoramic history… Firnhaber-Baker does a real service for those with an interest in France and England alike by providing a dexterous and engrossing account, a treasury for anyone with an interest in the royal, political and religious worlds of the high medieval period – David Brooks * Daily Telegraph *Sparkling dynastic history… galloping through 15 reigns to tell the story of French politics, religion and architecture by way of battles, crusades, pogroms, plots and a truly incredible number of grisly executions. The result is a riotous, scintillating book… It is everything good narrative history should be: learned and gloriously entertaining – Dan Jones * Sunday Times *

Justine Firnhaber-Baker is Professor of History at the University of St Andrews. She is the author of The Jacquerie of 1358 and Violence and the State in Languedoc, 1250-1400.