Sceptred Isle

A New History of the Fourteenth Century

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE TIMES BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2025
The death of Edward I in 1307 marked the beginning of a period of intense turmoil and change in England. The fourteenth century ushered in the beginning of the bloody Hundred Years’ War with France, an epic conflict with Scotland that would last into the sixteenth century, famine in Northern Europe and the largest human catastrophe in known history, the Black Death.

Through the epic drama of regicide, war, the prolonged spectre of bubonic plague, religious antagonism, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty, this book tells the story of the fourteenth century via the lives of Edward II, Edward III and Richard II – three very different monarchs, each with their own egos and ambitions, each with their own ideas about England and what it meant to wield power.

Alongside the lives of the last Plantagenets, it also uncovers lesser-known voices and untold stories to give a new portrait of a fractured monarchy, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism, social rebellion and a global pandemic.

Sceptred Isle is a thrilling narrative account of a century of revolution, shifting power and great change – social, political and cultural – shedding new light on a pivotal period of English history and the people who lived it.

'A sparkling popular history'
Dan Jones

'Helen Carr is one of the most talented and compelling historians of her generation'
Sathnam Sanghera

© Helen Carr 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Helen CarrHelen CarrPenguin Audio

Europe

Great Britain

Medieval

England

Royalty

War

Middle Ages

Europe Great Britain Medieval England Royalty War Middle Ages

Critic reviews

A sweeping look at an era of upheaval, panic and change. Gripping, powerful history.

A cannily timed new history... [Sceptred Isle] tells the story of the 14th-century Plantagenets with verve.

A highly engaging re-evaluation of a tumultuous century.

Informative, anecdotal and entertaining... So many of the events of that tumultuous century find echoes today.

Gripping... Carr is an eloquent guide to the human realities of a century that often has a hallucinatory quality: vivid, desperate and haunting in its glories and its terrors.

Fast-paced and thrilling... a remarkably evocative account of the high drama, excessive bloodshed and significant societal change during this tumultuous age... hugely enjoyable.

Excellent.

In this vivid, finely researched book, Helen Carr takes us deep into England’s deadly fourteenth century and finds life and human colour. This is a sparkling popular history which brings the Middle Ages' most terrible century to life for a new generation.

Full of colour, with headlong energy, Sceptred Isle brings England’s calamitous fourteenth century to life vividly. While Fortune’s Wheel turns through cycles of famine, plague and war, Helen Carr’s engrossing narrative never loses sight of the complexity, and hope, of human experience.

I didn't want to do anything but read this book for a fortnight. Helen Carr is one of the most talented and compelling historians of her generation.

Most relevant

I read lots of books on medieval history and up to now this is the best book i have ever read on the subject!

It's not often you get a medieval history book that has all the detail with all of the juice and is so easy to follow!

Helen Carr writes with such clarity and although i have read lots on this fantastic century i learned so much more.

The book is about the 14th Century's Royal history which is mainly military, it's not about the lives of normal people except for the peasants in the section of the fascinating Peasants Revolt told here.

We have the full life events of Edward i, ii, iii and Richard ii which is the book start to finish. There is also a section on both Plagues.

This is a book which doesn't read boring unlike a lot of medieval books as the author did such a brilliant job of delivering her subject with all the juicy bits!

So much happens, it's thrilling from start to finish and it really does allow you to know who these characters are as people which was the author's intention.

What stood out for me was Isabella Macduff taking it upon herself to crown a King then facing the consequence of being hung in an iron cage to face the elements over the walls of a castle for 4 years. An event I'd never come across before which got me researching these terribly unfortunate women left humiliated in their suffering, women in cages.

And the power that Isabella of France had with her overthrowing of her husband as King that being Edward ii. Details I'd not encountered before. Further research on Isabella had me purchasing Alison Weir's Isabella book.

I listened to Sceptred Isle on audio and was so impressed that I had to have this gem on my bookshelf so I bought the physical copy too. I've not received it as yet but it looks utterly stunning filled with colourful illustrations upon looking at the hardcover images online.

Absolutely beautiful.