1215: The Year of Magna Carta

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The year 1215 saw a time of global upheaval from which the ripples can still be felt today - but it was also an age of domestic changes and the development of a way of life not entirely different from our own. From the oddest detail to the grandest political struggle, Danny Danzinger and John Gillingham paint an extraordinary picture of this fascinating age, featuring a cast of some of the most enduring names in history - "Bad" King John, Genghis Khan, St Francis of Assisi - as well as the thousands of ordinary people whose lives were affected by the historical events happening around them. The power struggles are balanced with the social issues of the day - fashion, communications, education, medicine, religion and sex - as the authors explore the attitudes and habits of a nation in flux, and the ways in which they sculpted the modern world.

Reviews

A fascinating, readable digest of social history which has "bestseller" written all over it. - Frank McLynn, Non-fiction read of the week, Sunday

An entertaining and informative study about the document widely regarded as the foundation of our liberties. Even more enjoyable than the account of the Magna Carta itself is the depiction of how we were, who we were and how many we were in the crucial year of 1215. - Antonia Fraser, Mail on Sunday

Danziger and Gillingham write clearly and accessibly to bring their slice of history to life...(they) admirably remind us of the chaotic soil in which the first glimmerings of British political freedom took root. - Simon Jenkins, THE SUNDAY TIMES

After reading it you have a sound grasp of both Plantagenet kingship and everyday life. You also get the wider picture: Saladin in Asia Minor, the fall of Bejing to Genghis Khan...the authors also make us understand what Magna Carta was really about. Danziger and Gillingham have the knack of walking us right into history and making us feel at home...this is a hugely enjoyable window into medieval life. - Independent

Author Bio

Danny Danziger was brought up in England and America. Now an award winning columnist for the Sunday Times, he is the author of eight books, including the bestselling Eton Voices and The Year 1000. John Gillingham is professor of history at LSE and the author of a number of highly-regarded academic works on the Middle Ages, as well as the popular history book Medieval Britain: An Introduction.