Edward II

The reign of Edward II was a succession of disasters. Unkingly, inept in war, and in thrall to favorites, 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 supporters of the crown. Hoping to lay the ghost of his soldierly father, Edward I, he invaded Scotland and suffered catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn. After 20 ruinous years, betrayed and abandoned by most of his nobles and by his wife and her lover, Edward was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle and murdered -- the first English king since the Norman Conquest to be deposed. Christopher Given-Wilson's remarkable and hugely enjoyable book gives a glimpse into the abyss: the terrors of kingship. When royal authority is based around strict succession by the eldest son, what happens when that eldest son is incapable of fulfilling his role? - Jacket flap.