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Sceptred Isle: The thrilling new history of the fourteenth century by the bestselling author of The Red Prince
From the bestselling author Helen Carr, a thrilling new history of the fourteenth century – a time of catastrophe and conflict that shaped England for centuries to come.
*THE TOP TEN BESTSELLER*
*A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*
'A sparkling popular history which brings the Middle Ages' most terrible century to life for a new generation'
Dan Jones
'Tells the story of the 14th-century Plantagenets with verve'
The Times
'A highly engaging re-evaluation of a tumultuous century'
Observer
The death of Edward I in 1307 marked the beginning of a period of intense turmoil and change in England. The fourteenth century ushered in the beginning of the bloody Hundred Years’ War with France, an epic conflict with Scotland that would last into the sixteenth century, famine in Northern Europe and the largest human catastrophe in known history, the Black Death.
Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of bubonic plague, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, this book tells the story of the fourteenth century via the lives of Edward II, Edward III and Richard II – three very different monarchs, each with their own egos and ambitions, each with their own ideas about England and what it meant to wield power.
Alongside the lives of the last Plantagenets, it also uncovers lesser-known voices and untold stories to give a new portrait of a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.
Sceptred Isle is a thrilling narrative account of a century of revolution, shifting power and great change – social, political and cultural – shedding new light on a pivotal period of English history and the people who lived it.
Praise for 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
'A highly engaging re-evaluation of a tumultuous century'
Observer
'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 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&
*THE TOP TEN BESTSELLER*
*A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*
'A sparkling popular history which brings the Middle Ages' most terrible century to life for a new generation'
Dan Jones
'Tells the story of the 14th-century Plantagenets with verve'
The Times
'A highly engaging re-evaluation of a tumultuous century'
Observer
The death of Edward I in 1307 marked the beginning of a period of intense turmoil and change in England. The fourteenth century ushered in the beginning of the bloody Hundred Years’ War with France, an epic conflict with Scotland that would last into the sixteenth century, famine in Northern Europe and the largest human catastrophe in known history, the Black Death.
Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of bubonic plague, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, this book tells the story of the fourteenth century via the lives of Edward II, Edward III and Richard II – three very different monarchs, each with their own egos and ambitions, each with their own ideas about England and what it meant to wield power.
Alongside the lives of the last Plantagenets, it also uncovers lesser-known voices and untold stories to give a new portrait of a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.
Sceptred Isle is a thrilling narrative account of a century of revolution, shifting power and great change – social, political and cultural – shedding new light on a pivotal period of English history and the people who lived it.
Praise for 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
'A highly engaging re-evaluation of a tumultuous century'
Observer
'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 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&
- GenresHistoryMedieval History
367 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 29, 2025
13 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 16, 2025
Oh, those rascally Plantagenets. Well, specifically Edward I and everyone after him. Helen Carr dives into the 14th century in her book, Sceptred Isle, to look at the kings who seemed to have their personal favorites to the detriment of almost everyone else. Seriously, it is okay to have a best friend but maybe don't gift them half of your kingdom. Problems solved (or not started in the first place).
Carr's book is perfect for the person who doesn't realize how interesting this time period was. It comes in a little under 300 pages of narrative, but it also doesn't sacrifice insight and characterization. You get to understand Edward II and III along with the eminently unlikable Richard II. (I'm sorry if you are a Richard the Deuce apologist, but I just cannot get on board with that dude.)
Carr's prose is easy while being detailed. I find with books on Medieval times (not the restaurant) need to make sure to explain who a person is and prove it without making grand personal pronouncements about their character. However, too much detail can lead to extensive tangents that leave you wondering, "Wait, who are we talking about again?" Carr doesn't fall into this trap, and it makes this book extremely satisfying.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher.)
Carr's book is perfect for the person who doesn't realize how interesting this time period was. It comes in a little under 300 pages of narrative, but it also doesn't sacrifice insight and characterization. You get to understand Edward II and III along with the eminently unlikable Richard II. (I'm sorry if you are a Richard the Deuce apologist, but I just cannot get on board with that dude.)
Carr's prose is easy while being detailed. I find with books on Medieval times (not the restaurant) need to make sure to explain who a person is and prove it without making grand personal pronouncements about their character. However, too much detail can lead to extensive tangents that leave you wondering, "Wait, who are we talking about again?" Carr doesn't fall into this trap, and it makes this book extremely satisfying.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher.)
July 29, 2025
I have been dallying with the fourteenth century quite a lot recently. One of my neighbours has been working on her PhD thesis which revolves closely around Shakespeare’s Richard II, and she took me to a closed lecture on the gorgeous Wilton Diptych currently housed in the National Gallery. Ever since I read it at school, as essential background to Henry IV Part Two, which was one of the set books for my English Literature A level, I have been entranced by Richard II, who fell victim to his own self-aggrandisement and inability ever to read the room.
Indeed, the Plantagenets were a diverse bunch, seeming to alternate between stern and militarily successful kings who deftly wielded an iron fist in an iron glove, and shallow, weaker beings who fell prey to the blandishments of their favourites, and seemed wholly bereft of political nous. As a proud Scot, the mention of Edward I, who was termed the ‘Hammer of the Scots’, is painful, but his success at re-establishing his realm following the erosion of the crown’s authority following the reign of the craven King John cannot be denied. His son, most memorable to me for the defeat … nay, rout … of his English army at Bannockburn, did not live up to his father’s example. Enchanted by the charms of Piers Gaveston, he seemed oblivious to the dislike, and potential enmity of the nobility, upon whose support he depended. Indeed, his fascination, whatever it might ultimately have amounted to, for Gaveston sowed the seeds of his eventual alienation from Isabella, his wife. This was to lead to his ultimate undoing as she, estranged from Edward, took up with Roger Mortimer, and they eventually marshalled sufficient support throughout the country to lead to Edward’s incarceration at Berkeley Castle, where he eventually abdicated, in favour of his son, Edward III.
Edward III took more closely after his grandfather, both in military aspiration and longevity, ruling for fifty years (until 1377), in the meantime involving England in what would become the Hundred Years War. He secured extensive lands in France, although at considerable financial cost, constantly requiring fresh input of funds through an already beleaguered populace. Obsessed with Arthurian legend, he also saw himself as a preux chevalier throwback to more courtly days. Culminating in his establishment of the Order of the Garter as the highest honour of nobility. Edward’s oldest son was also called Edward and continued the militaristic trend. As Prince of Wales he became a feared warrior, known to history as the Black Prince. After extensive campaigns throughout France, he died in 1376, a year before his father.
Which brings us to Richard II. Assuming the crown while still a teenager, he proved to be more of a throwback to Edward II, seemingly unable to rub along with his nobles, and falling prey to the advancement of unsuitable favourites. He started so well, too, playing a significant role in the defeat of the Peasants’ Revolt that posed an early challenge to his authority. Unfortunately, he was unable to remain in favour with his own family – most notably his uncle, John of Gaunt who, as Duke of Lancaster, was the most powerful man in England, perhaps in the whole of Europe. Richard’s biggest failing was an inability to heed sound advice, and to know whom to trust. As set out in Shakespeare’s drama, it all ends badly for him, leaving the way for his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, to defeat him, and seize the throne for himself.
Helen Carr captures all of this admirably, writing in an informative but always accessible style. I found immediately myself caught up in her book, and was sixty pages in before I knew it.
Indeed, the Plantagenets were a diverse bunch, seeming to alternate between stern and militarily successful kings who deftly wielded an iron fist in an iron glove, and shallow, weaker beings who fell prey to the blandishments of their favourites, and seemed wholly bereft of political nous. As a proud Scot, the mention of Edward I, who was termed the ‘Hammer of the Scots’, is painful, but his success at re-establishing his realm following the erosion of the crown’s authority following the reign of the craven King John cannot be denied. His son, most memorable to me for the defeat … nay, rout … of his English army at Bannockburn, did not live up to his father’s example. Enchanted by the charms of Piers Gaveston, he seemed oblivious to the dislike, and potential enmity of the nobility, upon whose support he depended. Indeed, his fascination, whatever it might ultimately have amounted to, for Gaveston sowed the seeds of his eventual alienation from Isabella, his wife. This was to lead to his ultimate undoing as she, estranged from Edward, took up with Roger Mortimer, and they eventually marshalled sufficient support throughout the country to lead to Edward’s incarceration at Berkeley Castle, where he eventually abdicated, in favour of his son, Edward III.
Edward III took more closely after his grandfather, both in military aspiration and longevity, ruling for fifty years (until 1377), in the meantime involving England in what would become the Hundred Years War. He secured extensive lands in France, although at considerable financial cost, constantly requiring fresh input of funds through an already beleaguered populace. Obsessed with Arthurian legend, he also saw himself as a preux chevalier throwback to more courtly days. Culminating in his establishment of the Order of the Garter as the highest honour of nobility. Edward’s oldest son was also called Edward and continued the militaristic trend. As Prince of Wales he became a feared warrior, known to history as the Black Prince. After extensive campaigns throughout France, he died in 1376, a year before his father.
Which brings us to Richard II. Assuming the crown while still a teenager, he proved to be more of a throwback to Edward II, seemingly unable to rub along with his nobles, and falling prey to the advancement of unsuitable favourites. He started so well, too, playing a significant role in the defeat of the Peasants’ Revolt that posed an early challenge to his authority. Unfortunately, he was unable to remain in favour with his own family – most notably his uncle, John of Gaunt who, as Duke of Lancaster, was the most powerful man in England, perhaps in the whole of Europe. Richard’s biggest failing was an inability to heed sound advice, and to know whom to trust. As set out in Shakespeare’s drama, it all ends badly for him, leaving the way for his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, to defeat him, and seize the throne for himself.
Helen Carr captures all of this admirably, writing in an informative but always accessible style. I found immediately myself caught up in her book, and was sixty pages in before I knew it.
January 3, 2026
A breezy run through the major events of the fourteenth century, though with such a wealth of material to cover the brevity of the book did leave me pining for just a little more depth and detail to the narrative. A very good primer, but could have been much more.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews