The Great and Terrible King

No king of England has had more influence on the peoples of Britain than Edward I. His conquests of unprecedented scale and the creation of the Model Parliament, the Crusade and the conquest of Scotland, the subjugation of Wales and... the construction of a magnificent chain of castles, his involvement in European conflicts, where the intertwined familial ties on the continent were severed for political gain. Edward gathered the greatest armies of the Middle Ages and convened the largest parliaments. After losing his wife, he erected the Eleanor crosses— the most majestic tombstones ever created in memory of an English monarch.
The author analyzes the forces that drove Edward: character, faith, his conception of England's destiny (largely shaped by tales of King Arthur), tracing the history of the drive and concessions that allowed for the gathering of finances and the formation of support forces to achieve ambitious goals.
Mark Morris is a historian, journalist, television presenter, and medieval specialist. He is the author of a number of best-selling books.