The Restless Kings

Longlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Prize 2019 'A vivid and humane study of the Plantagenets' diabolical and devious first family - a real joy to read.' Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets In The Restless Kings Nick Barratt presents the tumultuous struggle for supremacy between the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, and his four sons. This conflict tore apart the most powerful family in Western Europe and shaped the future of both Britain and France, with a significance which still resonates today. Exploring the personalities and crises facing this extraordinary family, The Restless Kings brings to life some of the most remarkable, complex, flawed and brilliant monarchs ever to have sat on the English throne, and will challenge everything you thought you knew about the medieval world.

Professor Nick Barratt is an author, broadcaster and historian best known for his work on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are. 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 - and has previously written on subjects as diverse as the story of Greater London and the Titanic.