As a five-year-old boy, William was sentenced to execution and led to the gallows, yet against all odds rose through the ranks-- serving at the right hand of five English monarchs-- to become a celebrated tournament champion, a baron and politician and, ultimately, regent of the realm. Marshal befriended the great figures of his day, from Richard the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine to the infamous King John, and helped to negotiate the terms of Magna Carta. By the age of seventy he was the most powerful man in England, yet he was forced to fight in the frontline of one final battle, striving to save the kingdom from French invasion in 1217.

Originally published as hardcover : New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

Childhood & youth: becoming a knight -- Adulthood: a knight in service -- Middle age: a lord of the realm -- Old age: England's great magnate -- Epilogue.