Sophie Ambler

Sophie Thérèse Ambler’s The Song of Simon de Montfort is the story of a truly extraordinary man: heir to a great warrior, devoted husband and father, fearless crusader knight and charismatic leader. It is the story of a man whose passion for good governance was so fierce that, in 1258, frustrated by the King’s refusal to take the advice of his nobles and the increasing injustice meted out to his subjects, he marched on Henry III’s hall at Westminster and seized the reins of power. Montfort established a council to rule in the King’s name, overturning the social order in a way that would not be seen again until the rule of Oliver Cromwell in the seventeenth century.

Sophie Thérèse Ambler is one of our most brilliant historians; she draws on an abundance of sources that allows us to trace Montfort’s actions and personality in a depth not possible for earlier periods in medieval history, and tells Montfort’s story with a brilliant clarity that reveals all of the excitement, chaos and tragedy of England’s first revolution.