<P><B>The first book on the important but overlooked French invasion of England in 1216, which was almost a second Norman Conquest</B></P><P>History came within a hair's breadth of repeating itself, 150 years after the Norman Conquest. In 1216, taking advantage of the turmoil created in England by King John's inept rule and the war over Magna Carta, Prince Louis of France and his army of mercenaries and French soldiers invaded England and allied with English rebels. The prize was the crown of England. Within months Louis had seized control of one-third of the country, including London. This is the first book to cover the bloody events of the invasion, one of the most dramatic but most overlooked episodes of British history. The text vividly describes the campaigns, sieges, battles, and atrocities of the invasion and its colorful leaders—Louis the Lion, King John, William Marshal, and the mercenaries Fawkes de Béauté and Eustace the Monk—to offer the first detailed military analysis of this epic struggle for England.