The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England

Content Warning: This section contains graphic violence, including depictions of war, mutilation, killing, and rape. Additionally, Jones uses language that reflects the attitudes of the historical figures in his work, including anti-Muslim, anti-foreigner, anti-LGBTQ+, antisemitic, and ableist sentiments.

Daniel Gwynne Jones is a British popular historian, television presenter, and journalist. He was born in 1981 and received a degree in History from Pembroke College, Cambridge. His books and television series primarily concentrate on medieval history from a political or military angle.

The English monarchs are the primary focus of The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, represented in the title. Jones uses Henry I and the Anarchy (the civil wars between Matilda and Stephen) as an introductory period setting the stage for the first Plantagenet king, Henry II (son of Matilda, and her husband Geoffrey Plantagenet). He ends his narrative just after the deposition of Richard II by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, then Henry IV. He says he selected this chain of kings because “they were the longest-reigning English royal dynasty, and during their times were founded some of the most basic elements of what we today know as England” (XXVII), creating the foundation for a compelling story with meaning to a modern reader.