William Marshal

Historian David Crouch follows the working life of William Marshal, who held the title 1st Earl of Pembroke and Strigul. Across the reigns of four English kings, Marshal's path took him from the household of the young Prince Henry, where he began as tutor in 1170, to the highest position in the realm.

The book's final stage is Marshal's regency for the nine-year-old Henry III, which he assumed in 1216. Crouch uses that arc to examine how one man rose through royal service and the court politics around it.