Son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV and sire of all the Tudors, John of Gaunt was always close to the English crown. But was he too rich and too powerful and did he have his eye on his nephew’s throne? Why was he such a focus of hate in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381? Bestselling historian Helen Carr tells the story of this extraordinary medieval figure who held the power behind the English throne, passionately upheld chivalric values, and took huge risks to be with the woman he loved.

Helen Carr is an award nominated historian specialising in English medieval history. Described by Dan Jones as ‘one of the most exciting voices in narrative history’, Helen has built her career in making medieval history exciting and accessible whilst rooted in scholarship. Helen is the Author of the Times best-selling, The Red Prince: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, one of the Sunday Times best books of 2021 and shortlisted for the prestigious Elizabeth Longford Prize. She is also the co-author and editor of What is History, Now? with Suzannah Lipscomb.Helen’s next book, a new history of the fourteenth century and the last Plantagenets, will be published by Hutchinson Heinemann (Penguin Random House) in 2025.
Helen writes a monthly column for BBC History Magazine and contributes to the TLS, The Spectator, Unherd and The New Statesman. She has been a royal historian CNN, NBC, Sky and CityTV and is an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society.