The Magna Carta is revered as the founding document of Western liberty. Its principles can be found in our Bill of Rights and in the Constitution. But what was this strange document, and how did it gain legendary status?
In this 800th anniversary year, New York Times bestselling author Dan Jones takes us back to 1215, the turbulent time when the Magna Carta was just a peace treaty between England’s King John and a group of self-interested, violent barons who were tired of his high taxes and endless foreign wars. The treaty would fail within two months of its confirmation. But this important document marked the first time a king was forced to obey his own laws.
Jones’s Magna Carta follows the story of the Magna Carta’s creation, its failure, and the war that subsequently engulfed England and is a book that will appeal to fans of microhistories of pivotal years like 1066, 1491, and especially 1776—when American patriots, inspired by that long-ago defiance, dared to pick up arms against another English king. Taking us from the Magna Carta’s creation to its failure to the war that subsequently engulfed England, Jones’s brings this vital document to brilliant life.