In a substantial but riveting narrative, he turns the tables on modern revisionist historians by showing exactly how bad a king John was, despite his intellectual gifts, and in contrast how impressive Richard was - brilliantly successful in war, accomplished artistically and the nearest we are likely to get to the medieval ideal of chivalry. In a narrative that spans most of Europe and the Middle East, he shows these larger-than-life characters as they really were - Crusading, fighting vicious wars in France, negotiating with the papacy, engaging in ruthless dynastic intrigue, often against each other: in Richard's case, holding the kingdom together even when fighting in the Holy Land; and in John's, losing Normandy, catastrophically antagonizing the barons over Magna Carta and losing the Crown Jewels in the Wash. This is history at its most revealing and enjoyable. It conjures up a vanished world in vivid primary colours and in the process gives us the nearest we are likely to get to the truth about two compelling historical archetypes.