KING JOHN AND THE MAGNA CARTA (PITKIN)

A wide-ranging yet concise guide to the rule of King John and the barons’ revolt, the result of which was the beginning of civil liberty and the British constitution. John’s ruthlessness, his military incompetence and corrupt abuse of power, including blackmail and manipulation of justice, led to the signing of the Magna Carta which ensured he could only rule with ‘the law of the land’. Sean McGlynn tells the story of how this document came to exist, and the changes it wrought on English history.