In the Reign of King John: A Year in the Life of Plantagenet England

by Dan Jones

This is an updated reissue of A Realm Divided by the same author.

A vivid and richly illustrated portrait of English society in the penultimate year of the reign of a king with the worst reputation of any in our history.

1215 is chiefly remembered for King John attaching his seal to Magna Carta in a quiet Thames-side water-meadow – a milestone in the history of liberty. But it was also a year of crusading and church reform, of foreign wars and dramatic sieges – a year in which London was stormed by angry barons and England invaded by a French army.

As well as describing these upheavals, Dan Jones introduces us to the ordinary people of thirteenth-century England – how and where they worked, what they wore, what they ate, and what role the church played in their lives – to create a vivid gripping portrait of an extraordinary year in English history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Historical, Medieval History, Biography, Plantagenet

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 8, 2015

About the author

Dan Jones is a NYT bestselling author and broadcaster. His books, which include The Templars, Henry V, The Plantagenets and Powers & Thrones, have sold more than 2 million copies and are published in 23 languages. He is the author of the Essex Dogs novel trilogy. Dan writes and hosts the popular weekly Sony Music Entertainment podcast This Is History. He has presented dozens of television documentaries, including the popular Netflix series Secrets of Great British Castles, and has executive produced and consulted on a number of films and television shows including Anne Boleyn (Channel 5/Sony Pictures Television) and Knightfall (A+E/History). His journalism has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post; for a decade he was a columnist for the London Evening Standard. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and in 2025 was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Historic Royal Palaces.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Quite interesting deep dive into 1215, the year of Magna Carta, with a look at the politics, John's reign, the collapse of the Angevin empire, and some aspects of more normal life--food, the position of women, etc. Not entirely compelling--I don't find his writing that sparky tbh--and I got slightly annoyed at the repeated trope of 'everyone thinks John was a bad king but actually he may well have been a competent administrator' while what's under discussion is a country-wrecking rolling disaster. I mean, show me the part where he did useful things for anyone and I'll listen.

[Bevan Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of Dan Jones' medieval histories that I've tackled. As is common these days the book zooms in on a particular year, in this case 1215. I wondered at first whether he'd be able to keep up the pace and fill a book with interest. Never fear, the book is a masterful blend of narrative, with asides on aspects such as the rights of Free Men and serfs, life in London and crime and punishment. The social history is related in a very readable, jargon free and fascinating style.
Lest readers fear that this book will be a regurgitation of material solely about the Magna Carta, Jones includes much other material. In fact he concludes that contemporaries would probably have rated the fourth Lateran Council as far more significant.
Jones footnotes well with some interesting asides, and provides an extensive bibliography.
The drama of the year, King John's character and escapades and set pieces such as the siege of Rochester are well relayed. This is a fast moving well researched book that stands as an excellent introduction to medieval life.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does exactly what it says on the packet it 'offers a vivid, accessible portrait of medieval English society in the round, and an exhilarating and revelatory exploration of the big themes of politics, warfare and religion during a transformative year in English History'. This is a fast-paced, well researched book that gives a brilliant insight into Plantagenet England and the Magna Carta. If your looking for a history book that gives you more knowledge into the Magna Carta or one of the most notorious royal families of English history then this book is definitely for you! Dan Jones is one of my favourite Historian and I would highly recommend any of his books.

[Medhat The Fanatic Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who needs Game of Thrones, when you can read Dan Jones' History books.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed and illustrated edition of a year in the life or the final year of the reign of King John and Magna Carta insightful and interesting.

[Alyson Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book: A Realm Divided: England in 1215
Author: Dan Jones
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I must say that I really do enjoy Dan Jones’s books. This is my fifth read by him and I have no been disappointed by any of his books.

I think what really pulls me into Dan’s books is the writing style. It honestly doesn’t feel like you are reading nonfiction. I love the way everything flows and how everything is explained. A lot of time in nonfiction, it feels like the author is either trying to show off how smart they are or writing way above their readers. Dan doesn’t do that. He writes in an engaging way that anyone can understand-even if you know nothing about the content.

I love that the book explored all different types of life and just didn’t focus on the nobility. Now, the nobility is a huge chunk of this book, because that is what most of the facts that we have are. I do like how Dan weaved in bits of daily life and showed us just how hard life actually was. We get to see how political did or didn’t affect those at the bottom. We also get to see just how much influence the Church had at the time and how everything pretty much centered around it.

I really honestly almost didn’t pick this one. I thought it was just the British version of Manga Carta, but it’s not. This is an excellent companion book to have if you really enjoyed Manga Carta. Both are short reads. Yes, both do cover a lot of the same topics, but this deals more with the human element of history.

So, a great short read. It’s under three hundred pages and it is super easy to read.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and engaging account of the year 1215 in England. While the author does not offer anything new to familiar readers, the way that Magna Carta is framed in the wider context of English society and ecclesiastical change makes for a different perspective which was refreshing.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As many histories are firmly planted in the 'Bad King John' camp, this book explores the other side of the coin and not only talks about the Baronial conflict of 1215 but also of the Angevin Empire. Nuance over revisionism makes for very smooth reading and can be accessed regardless of your level of historical education. A touchstone in our nations history, Magna Carta (or the Great Charter) is shown as the precursor of the much more power limiting- if overruled- Provisions of Oxford in the Reign of Henry III, the son of John and Queen Isabella.

[Alexander Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jones' insight into the brutal lives of commoners was particularly interesting in this short and sharp history of events surrounding the introduction of Magna Carta.

[Sullivan Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite lacking a minstrel rooster playing a lute or a fox in green stealing from the rich to give to the poor, In the Reign of King John: A Year in the Life of Plantagenet England by Dan Jones paints a phenomenal history of King John’s reign.

Jones’ research is beautifully collected in this book, with each chapter supplemented by illuminations and primary sources. Yet, despite being a history of Plantagenet England, Jones weaves together two different narratives.

After each chapter, the reader is supplied with a few pages breaking down 13th-century England outside the scope of John’s reign and the Magna Carta. These histories are a wonderfully interesting anecdote, including facts about language, laws, hunting, games, women, children, widows, health, beauty and wisdom, gowns, shoes, eating and drinking customs, and agriculture. Despite diverging from the account of John’s fight against England’s baronial class, these chapters include some of the most fascinating points of Jones’ work and help the reader understand Plantagenet England on a deeper level. In a way that sets him apart from many authors and historians, Jones’ approach of supplementing his narrative with details about the daily lives of the lower classes creates an authentic view of 13th-century England.

Jones acknowledges the schoolboy-history reputation King John has been given as a weak, petulant, and greedy monarch. Although he makes no attempt to whitewash John’s character, he does highlight the few good deeds the king accomplished, even as history declares him England’s tyrant.

Jones’ explanation of the Magna Carta and its significance for England is another boon of this book. In each chapter, whether discussing French rivals across the sea or John’s staunch advocate in the Vatican, Pope Innocent III, Jones effectively argues how the document began to transform England from the moment it was formed—despite being decried by the Pope, who promised excommunication for those who upheld it.

Jones is a master of weaving together monarchy, gender, religion, finance, politics, agriculture, warfare, and nearly every aspect of life in England in 1215 into a compelling story without losing focus. In the Reign of King John is one of the best histories of medieval England, and Jones’ expertise in the Plantagenet era is further bolstered by his skillful ability to write for both historians and history buffs alike.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of Magna Carta is largely the history of kings failing to stick to their terms.

This isn't just a book about King John or Magna Carta. It's about 1215 in general too, and whilst Dan Jones does go through the more famous events of the year, he also pays attention to how the ordinary folk in the fields would have been affected. He also includes shorter essays after each chapter exploring aspects of medieval life, such as what they would have been eating, wearing, and doing. It's a combination of social history, political history and royal history, all condensed into 247 pages (and the bonus is Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest printed at the end).

What I find most interesting about Magna Carta, and what is talked about in the epilogue, is its legacy. It was only in effect for a matter of weeks after all, and yet it has gone on to be a powerful symbol of democracy. It created all sorts of complicated questions about kingship and laid the foundations for the two depositions of the fourteenth century, and yet it was hardly the most significant event of 1215 in the eyes of contemporaries. This book gets that point across - how the legacy of the charter has changed and been used for different purposes by different people, but that it is by the far the be-all and end-all of 1215.

[Yj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic view of England and ( slimy) King John primarily through the year of the signing of Magna Carta, June 1215.
Chapters from clothing to widows rights to hunting as it leads to the reasons for Magna Carta and consequences thereof.
Excellent writing, very readable and informative. Beautiful illustrations, overall a gorgeous book.
Complete Modern English text of Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest included.
Also includes one of my favorite Medieval persons William Marshal who was instrumental in the writing, signing and enforcing of Magna Carta and keeping King John’s son on the throne of England while repelling English Barons and a French Dauphin.

[Cristino Cobacho López · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, it succeeds in painting a succinct portrait of England in the 13th Century. Plenty of day-to-day details but also references to main events. If anything, it can come up short - I would have read 200 pages more.

[Julie Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally love Dan Jones, but this seemed “phoned in”. Very superficial. Even if you haven’t read anything about the Plantagenets this would still not be the book I recommend.

[charlotte, · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5)

[Thomas Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, equal parts informative, gripping and accessible. A really thorough and fascinating look at the wiring of the Magna Carta.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A focused, enjoyable dive into a slice of medieval English history. The narrative style made it easy to read and helped relate the themes and changes around Magna Carta to the various strata of the population. The sources led the story to follow King John and his rebellious barons as an overarching struggle, while stopping frequently to visit farms, towns, castles, churches and armies. A well rounded exploration of a time and place I didn't know well before reading this volume.

[Christopher Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much better book than I thought it would be.

Obviously, Dan Jones can do no wrong for me but, This book was a lovely surprise. Rather than just an extended telling of the story of Magna Carta, ‘A Realm Divided’ paints a wonderful picture of life in the early 13th century.

I loved how Jones goes off on tangents about the crusaders or, peasant life etc. Going further into the detail of medieval life. The book doesn’t waffle or go on too much, adding the right amount of detail in the right spots.

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary of one of the Middle Ages’ most vilified kings and the biggest event of his reign, Magna Carta and the descent into civil war. I found it interesting how the Pope performed such an about face on John, given just how much English monastic chroniclers clearly detested him.

[Rosaline Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jones details King John’s activity during 1215. Beginning with Christmas 1214, Jones goes on to describe the unsuccessful meeting with the rebellious barons at Temple in January; the preparatory measures taken in spring; the loss of London to the rebels in May; the events at Runnymede and the sealing of the Magna Carta; and the siege of Rochester castle. Jones’ narrative is exceptional. His attention to detail and vivid scene-setting means the narrative speeds along like a novel. However only 152 of the book’s 312 pages are devoted to the main narrative.

Each chapter ends with a factual aside on different aspects of life in early thirteenth century society. As a skillful writer, Jones could have worked these elements into an extended narrative. The Magna Carta is then appended. The book was published in 2015, Magna Carta’s 800th Anniversary, and it feels like a companion piece for the anniversary celebrations rather than a stand-alone project.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, and especially the new edition, is an intriguing and beautiful one. Jones combines political drama with social context making for an enjoyable and easily accessible read. The book is laced with rich images depicting medieval life, and he manages to break down a chunk of history that isn’t the easiest to understand.

This book is described as being a companion to The Plantagenets and The Hollow Crown, it certainly is but it’s also by far the best of the three. Jones brings to life England in 1215 by discussing language, clothes, the way children were regarded, fashion and humour. He touches on why people in this age would have thought as they did, all within the context of the events which led to Magna Carta.

At the end of the book Jones has included a copy of Magna Carta along with the Charter of the Forest which nicely rounds the book off. It’s a great read and I’d highly recommend buying the illustrated edition as this only serves to further bring everything to life.

[The Over London Project · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great introduction into the year that the Magna Carta was written. I came to the subject pretty ignorant on the events leading up to--and after the events of King John's barons cornering him and getting him to agree to a bunch of reforms--and I think I may have picked the book to read. I really enjoyed the snippets that illuminated every-day life in between the over-arching events of the year. The writing style was clear, engaging and incredibly enjoyable. I can highly recommend.

[Alan Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us who went through our schooling in Britain are aware of 1215 as the year of Magna Carta, the year in which King John and his nobles met in a waterlogged field called Runnymede, and battered out a document that has since become known as the basis for western democracy.

But as Jones is at pains to point out in this book, for the average inhabitant of the British Isles at the time, they would have shown no interest in this. Magna Carta was a set of rules agreed by the king on how he would govern those Earls and Barons and major landowners. For the peasantry, life before and after Magna Carta was pretty much identical.

Furthermore, the document itself was initially legally in force for just a couple of months before it was annulled by the pope. It’s importance to history is undoubted, but at the time it was a political football, a medieval macguffin if you will, an attempt by John to avoid a costly war, and by the nobles to exert some authority over their wayward king.

Jones’ book deals with the events leading up to, and following, the signing of this document. But while this sits at the heart of the story, his stated intent is to tell the story of that one tumultuous year, not merely from the point of view of John and his barons, but digging down into what life was like for the ordinary folk of English society.

In order to do this, between each chapter of storytelling, he includes a sub chapter dealing with different aspects of regular life for the folk of the medieval nation, from the legal system, to farming methods, to the relationship with animals, to the way people dressed. These are also peppered with genuine anecdotes, often either gruesome or blackly funny, taken from the annals of the time.

Jones is a clever writer, with a knack of presenting history in a populist form without compromising on the facts and figures. He avoids the common mistake of history writers to present their subject as an exhaustive recitation of facts. Rather he has a light writing style and a nice turn of phrase that keeps you interested and never overwhelmed by the detail.

Furthermore, if you have ever sat down and read the text of Magna Carta itself, he does a good job of putting its often seemingly incomprehensible clauses into context and explaining not only what they mean, but why they were important. At a nice manageable length, it’s an enjoyable read, and will probably do a better job of explaining things to you than your history teacher ever did.

[Julia Gilchrist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, you read something so well written, it feels a little too "simple".

However, this is a skilful unpacking of the complexities of Plantagenet rule and England's adoption of the Magna Carta under King John. This era can be fiendishly difficult to understand with modern eyes and concepts, so finding a writer who carves through it like a hot knife on butter is just bloody fantastic!

At the critical scholarship level, Jones is extremely effective in narrating, describing and conveying the importance and outcomes of multiple small (and large) skirmishes comprising England's 'civil war'. He also gives just enough background on the machinations of Magna Carta, without driving you to tears over the detail. I'm one of those people nerdy enough to know the Magna Carta, but in contrast to reading a blow-by-blow of its creation (*see Jones' "Magna Carta" for this level of detail), this one offers a different perspectiveby delivering a bird's eye / contextual view. This genuinely helped place the document alongside Pope Innocent's Fourth Lateran Council, which arguably generated similar lasting change in England / Christendom - and it also helped me to make better sense overall of this piece of English history and how it links to subsequent eras and change.

Being Australian, I sometimes wonder why I remain fascinated by English history, especially since my ancestry is Scots/French/Irish. However, the sheer depth of scholarship, interesting points of view from which the English write about history and how they profile key personalities, as well as social history, helps me to better understand the forces shaping my ancestors lives whilst also explaining their various reasons for emigrating to Australia.

[Ninaminacat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the early 13th century

When I saw "A Realm Divided' in the Kindle Unlimited selection, I realised I knew nothing about King John. This well-researched book, with notes and an extensive bibliography, was a good way of rectifying the situation, since it not only offers details of the political situation which led to the drawing up of Magna Carta in an engaging way. Most of the chapters are divided into two parts, the first devoted to the main narrative, while the second ensures that the reader is not following the story of King John and Magna Carta in a vacuum, but understands something about early 13th century society, under varied headings such as "Justice, Law and Outlaws" and " Eating, Drinking and Making Merry". Sometimes I felt that there was a little unnecessary repetition of facts already explained, but this was a minor annoyance.

The stunning plates are well worth veiwing in full colour on your phone or tablet even if you normally read on your Kindle. It's a shame that the explanatory captions weren't a little fuller and that the details of the locations of the photographs' subjects weren't included here rather than in a separate list of illustrations.

4.5 stars overall.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focused on the time leading up to the creation of Magna Carta and its subsequent impact on the Plantagenet lands, this fascinating book is quite easy to read and provides ample information about not only the actions of the royal court during the civil war crisis, but also sheds light on its consequences for ordinary people. The book is filled with interesting tidbits about clothes, food, education and other fields concerning everyday life in the early thirteenth century during King John's reign.

Despite the atrocities committed as a result of John's feud with the barons, Dan Jones transports us back to a time when people were just as human and bursting with life. Magna Carta might have been a document designed by the barons to pressure the king into realising their demands and establish an environment of collaborating government, but we should not forget that it also included clauses regarding the freedoms of the people. As years went by, Magna Carta lost its binding nature and people left behind the chaos and violence that led to its development, but it steadily became the basis to the world as we know it today.

[Gerry Grenfell-Walford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very light reading, but nonetheless well researched and well written. A perfect balance. I have always been fascinated by the brilliance-awfulness of Henry II, and his children with Eleanor of Aquitaine. This is a nicely focussed work, specifically about the circumstances that brought Magna Carta into being, and the unlikely circumstances that kept it alive and relevant.
Some Victorian historiographers got very excited with Magna Carta and loaded it with all manner of glamorous significances. The virtue of this book, is not only that it really tones that down (it's quite some leap from MC to representative democracy and human rights!) but in this book Jones gives us a feel for the true value of the charter in it's own time and immediately post 1215 and explains simply why it came to matter.
As I work my way through the reading list, I believe I've a copy of Jones' 'In the time of King John' somewhere, and I'm looking forward to that having read this.

***** Great
**** Good
*** Fair
** Poor
* Oh dear

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like a book that actually gives history warts and all in a very readable way, and this is one of those! It takes you to the year 1215 and weaves the magic into the web of the Magna Carta and it's importance (or unimportance) at the time. It also shows that this year was important in other ways.
Jones write with knowledge and confidence, giving the reader the facts without any embellishments of monetary values or exchange rates, the information has been pared down to what the author feels is relevant to his aim: to show that the Magna Carta wasn't what we see it as now - a charter of rights of all man - but a contract between the king and the few (around 200) of his richest magnates. Still, the importance of this contract to posterity and the common man in later days gives this piece of legislation it's importance and value to us today.

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit by Dan Jones.

Although the chapters about the civil war were always interesting, Jones intertwines these chapters with essays about English daily ritual for every walk of life, from monarchs and barons to mere villeins. Already being very familiar with John, I would say I learned the most from these digressions, and I feel as if Jones could have written an entire book just on these topics.

One great thing about reading histories is that even after several biographies, you always come across new information. John making up secret codes to protect information and then forgetting the codes may be the funniest and 'John'-ist thing I've ever read.

Sort of my own digression, but I would love to see a MasterClass lecture by Jones on writing histories. As much as I love reading Jones, his writing style begs to be delivered orally.

[Andrew McAuley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable if unoriginal history

Dan Jones has an easily readable writing style, his books are easily accessible for most. This book seems to largely regurgitate other works he has crafted on the plantagenants, magna carta & King John. The focus on 2015 might indicate a higher level of detail but that is not so.

Instead the book is fleshed out with details of 13th century life, law and custom which although interesting ties in awkwardly with the main narrative, furthermore such everday details as we see are for the most part found in Ian Mortimer's Time travellers guide to the middle ages. In that respect I would say read mortimer's book and Jones' 'plantagenets' to get a better overall picture than this book holds. That said, on its own the book is worth reading and isn't too hefty.