'Few contemporary Britons are as intelligent as Jonathan Sumption' The Telegraph'A timely red alert that democratic values cannot be taken for granted' The TimesNOW FEATURING A NEW ESSAY ON ISRAEL, GAZA AND INTERNATIONAL LAWAcross the globe, democracy is in crisis - in the UK alone, it has been rocked by Brexit, the pandemic and successive attempts by governments to bypass legal norms. But how did t...

'Sumption is that rare and precious thing: a serious, decent, honest thinker . . . and one of our finest historians.' Dan Jones, Sunday Times'Gripping and eminently readable . . . a compelling justification for the enduring value of historical narrative.' The Times'Unsurpassed, and probably unsurpassable.' Daily TelegraphIn this final volume of his epic history of the Hun...

Cursed Kings tells the story of the destruction of France by the madness of its king and the greed and violence of his family. In the early fifteenth century, France had gone from being the strongest and most populous nation state of medieval Europe to suffering a complete internal collapse and a partial conquest by a foreign power. It had never happened before in the country's history - and it would not happen again until 1940.Into the void left by this domestic catastrop...

In the second volume of his celebrated history of the Hundred Years War, Jonathan Sumption examines the middle years of the fourteenth century and the succession of crises that threatened French affairs of state, including defeat at Poitiers and the capture of the king.

'Compulsively readable' ( History) , this is the first volume in a series that details the long and violent endeavour of the English to dismember Europe's strongest state, a succession of wars that is one of the seminal chapters in European history. Beginning with the funeral of Charles IV of France in 1328, it follows the Hundred Years War up to the surrender of Calais in 1347. It traces the early humiliations and triumphs of Edward III: the campaigns of Sluys, Crecy and...

'Thoughtful, stimulating and even entertaining ... Lord Sumption's opinion is always worth listening to, even - or especially - if one disagrees with it.' Daily Telegraph'Time spent on Law in a Time of Crisis is time spent in the company of a brilliant mind considering interesting things' The TimesBrexit, the independence referendum, the pandemic: the UK is a country in crisis. And, in crises, we turn to the law t...

Divided Houses is a tale of contrasting fortunes. In the last decade of his reign Edward III, a senile, pathetic symbol of England's past conquests, was condemned to see them overrun by the armies of his enemies. When he died, in 1377, he was succeeded by a vulnerable child, who was destined to grow into a neurotic and unstable adult presiding over a divided nation. Meanwhile France entered upon one of the most glittering periods of her medieval history, years of power and...

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERIn the past few decades, legislatures throughout the world have suffered from gridlock. In democracies, laws and policies are just as soon unpicked as made. It seems that Congress and Parliaments cannot forge progress or consensus. Moreover, courts often overturn decisions made by elected representatives.In the absence of effective politicians, many turn to the courts to solve political and moral questions. Rulings from the...

Edward III lived through bloody and turbulent times. His father was deposed by his mother and her lover when he was still a teenager; a third of England's population was killed by the Black Death midway through his reign; and the intractable Hundred Years War with France began under his leadership. Yet Edward managed to rule England for fifty years, and was viewed as a paragon of kingship in the eyes of both his contemporaries and later generations. Venerated as the victor of Sluys and Cré...

The public appetite for spies, both real and fictional, seems inexhaustible. But where and when did spying begin and how has the art and craft of espionage developed over the centuries? Spies in History is a collection of portraits of some of the most famous spies we know, but it also includes some lesser known and more surprising names. A remarkable line-up of distinguished historians, scholars and writers examine the evolution of intelligence and counter-intelligence – from anci...

No English king has so divided opinion, both during his reign and in the centuries since, more than Richard III.He was loathed in his own time for the never-confirmed murder of his young nephews, the Princes in the Tower, and died fighting his own subjects on the battlefield. This is the vision of Richard we have inherited from Shakespeare. Equally, he inspired great loyalty in his followers.In this enlightening, even-handed study, Rosemary Horrox builds a complex picture o...

'He seems to have laboured under an almost child-like misapprehension about the size of his world. Had greatness not been thrust upon him, he might have lived a life of great harmlessness.'The reign of Edward II was a succession of disasters. Unkingly, inept in war, and in thrall to favourites, he preferred digging ditches and rowing boats to the tedium of government. His infatuation with a young Gascon nobleman, Piers Gaveston, alienated even the most natural supp...