Arise, England: Six Kings and the Making of the English State

Arise, England is a brilliant and lucid account of the emergence of the building blocks of the English nation during the Plantagenet years by two of the foremost experts in the field. From the bitter constitutional wrangling of King John and his barons to the upheavals of the Lancastrian revolution in 1399, Burt and Partington show precisely and engagingly why the Middle Ages matter - this is an essential book for anyone interested in this most fascinating era of British history.

In brilliantly forensic style, Burt and Partington tell the fascinating story of the English state - kings, people and institutions - across two tumultuous centuries. Arise, England is an absorbing and eye-opening account of what the Plantagenets did for us.

Caroline Burt & Richard Partington’s new book Arise, England is a terrific account of the Plantagenets who ruled for over 300 years.

Relates the “high drama” of 200 years of Plantagenet rule from 1199 to 1399, from the accession of John to Henry IV, setting Richard II’s fall in a longer context of turbulence and bloodshed. Other dramas included the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt and wars with France and Scotland, but the authors show that despite such challenges an endurable English state finally emerged.