![]() The manuscript found at Sotheby’s the History of William Marshal, is the backbone of Asbridge’s tale of this fascinating figure, but he contextualizes Marshal’s story with that of the Angevin dynasty, the family of Henry II, King Richard the Lionheart, and the infamous King John I, teaching an engaging lesson about the English monarchy and the fate of western Europe while setting the stage for his protagonist. Chapter One begins in a similar vein with the line, “In 1152 King Stephen of England decided to execute a five-year-old boy.” Talk about drama.Īsbridge uses drama to spice what becomes a wonderful walk through the historical method–but a walk done so skillfully that most readers will not even recognize where he is leading them. ![]() ![]() He begins his tale with a Da Vinci Code-style story of a young scholar finding a manuscript at a Sotheby’s auction that piqued his curiosity and seemed to have been unopened for the previous two and a half centuries. Asbridge is no stranger to writing popular history and his skill is evident from page xiii. ![]()
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