John T. Appleby, the author of a number of biographies of English kings of the 11th–13th centuries, on the pages of his book recreates the era of the reign of John the Landless - the son of the great Henry II and brother of Richard the Lionheart, who found himself in the shadow of his illustrious predecessors and gained fame as a traitor and extravagant tyrant . The historian describes the environment and court of John, paying special attention to the peculiarities of life of that time, talks about clashes with the nobility, the confrontation with the French king and the conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, which almost ended with the adoption of Islam for all subjects of the eccentric monarch. Revealing the contradictory character of King John, Appleby does not give an unambiguously negative assessment of his actions, describing him not only as a tyrant and usurper, but also as a man who loved life in all its manifestations...