William II (Penguin Monarchs)

'To provide splendid settings for their displays of majesty, kings had great halls built, and none more so than Rufus'

William II, or William Rufus, son and successor to William the Conqueror, is most famous for his death: killed by an arrow while out hunting. Was it accident or murder? John Gillingham cuts through the prejudices of earlier accounts to bring this enigmatic figure out of father's shadow and reveal him as one of England's most effective and colourful warrior-kings.