Medieval Women

In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.

1442. Vlad Dracula is shattered. His life falls apart when he’s exiled from Wallachia’s court. Taken hostage by the Ottomans as a token of his father’s fealty, the child hostage vows to flee or die. A prisoner at the Ottoman Court, Vlad resolves to kill the sultan and escape. But with no one he can trust, not even his brother, Vlad knows his attempt might be his undoing. Can Vlad slay the sultan and liberate Wallachia? Or will his daring undertaking take his life? Den Of Spies is the thrilling first book in The Curse of The Dracula Brothers series of medieval historical fiction with a...

Can infatuation and overwhelming desire evolve into something even more powerful? A KING MADLY IN LOVE is a short story about a warrior king maddened with passion for the daughter of a defeated enemy: a woman whom under normal circumstances he would have executed. Excerpt: The King forced the door and entered the room. He intended to treat the daughter of his defeated opponent in the same manner his men were already handling some of the other women inside the fallen castle of the dead usurper. The usurper’s daughter was said to be a beauty. The King would have her first. He had taken her ...

Separate countries to rule. One heart to share. Will duty or love prevail? ◆ FIRST PLACE WINNER - 2022 CHAUCER Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction ◆ WINNER of the Highly Recommended award from The Historical Fiction Company ◆ Royalty ◆ Power ◆ Politics ◆ Love ◆ Struggle The year is 1508. Louis XII, King of France, wants to stamp France’s footprint upon Italy. Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, and ruler of neighboring realm Brittany, wants to produce a son and heir for Louis and to save the independence of Brittany from France. Louise of Savoy, the mother of the ...

1444. Three princes. Two clashing empires. One deadly game few survive. Vlad Dracula is shattered. After a daring escape sets him free, his kindness gets him recaptured, and he fears he ran out of chances. When his brother Radu saves his head, but the sultan’s mercy throws him back in jail, Vlad vows to get even or die. Can Vlad best Radu and clear his honor in the sultan’s blood? Or will his enemies break his spirit in a fate worse than death? Throne of Blood is the second installment in the Curse of the Dracula Brothers sweeping saga, where dark medieval history meets Romanian ...

The monastery at Siani was famous throughout the academic world for its library. The monks of medieval days routinely obtained ancient, crumbling manuscripts and recopied them. Among them, hidden in a wall in the cellar, the following parchment was found and faithfully recopied in the practiced hand of the Sianian monks several centuries after its original writing: “According to the official Catalogue of Popes, after the Holy Father Leo IV died in the Year of Our Lord, Eight hundred fifty five, he was succeeded by Pope Benedict III. I, Martin Paschal, swear upon my eternal soul that the ...

Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease. At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her.

The thought of trading her subservient role in her father’s home for that of being the dutiful wife of someone she had never met caused her to shudder with revulsion. No, she thought to herself, what I crave is the opportunity to adventure across the sea, to behold strange and wondrous sights far beyond the city walls of Lubeck. To do that even once would almost be worth submitting herself to a loveless marriage based solely on familial advantage. But not quite, she admitted to herself. For if there was one thing of which Christina Kohl was certain, it was that she wanted her independence...

Juliane Fitzroy is the illegitimate daughter of Henry I--one of his twenty-two bastards. When her father weds her to a young Norman lord, Eustace de Breteuil, she thinks she has done well in life for the daughter of a Saxon concubine. But Eustace wants a castle he cannot have. He starts hostilities with its castellan, Ralph Harenc, egged on by the dubious Amaury de Montfort. To keep the peace, King Henry orders a hostage exchange between Eustace and Ralph. Juliane's pretty young daughters for Ralph's son. In a drunken rage, fuelled on by Amaury, Eustace breaks the truce and blinds Harenc's ...

After enduring years of her nobleman father's cruelty and abuse, Celestina Lunde is ready to take her own life rather than enter into an arranged marriage with an equally brutal man. But just when she is about to leap through the window of her tower bedroom, a brawny Highland warrior arrives at her home and changes everything.

Meg Langslow’s in for a busy summer. Her husband is directing a production of Macbeth, and most of the cast and crew are occupying spare bedrooms in their house. She also has to keep an eye on Camp Birnam, where a group of medieval reenactors are commemorating the real-life Macbeth by setting up what they fondly believe is an authentic medieval Scottish military camp. And then there’s Damien Goodwin, a filmmaker who has been hanging around, trying to document the production.

Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.

When dreams become reality, do we ever wake up?Fleeing her own kingdom, Garnet turned to the princesses of Ormio for help, starting with Ruby and Peridot. But Ruby was attacked by a surprisingly spry grandmother, and Peridot fell into restless sleep atop a pile of mattresses. As identical twins, they were inseparable with similar tastes in activities and men. This remains true even in their dreams, but some things aren't meant to be shared. Finding herself deaf and dreaming, Peridot travels across the USA, searching for the stranger named Leo. He might be a stranger, but he's also her ...

An elderly nun is accused of witchcraft after a priest dies under mysterious circumstances. When the nun tells Ela something that could turn the king against her nemesis, justiciar Hubert de Burgh, she knows she must whisper it in the king’s ear. Ela finds herself in a race to save the nun’s life as de Burgh tumbles from his lofty pedestal and chaos rattles the halls of power.

As whispers of a prophecy swirl, Synne and her sisters embark on a perilous journey to Denmark to prove her royal lineage. But their quest is shadowed by danger—a relentless bishop, bent on branding Synne a witch, follows them close behind. Arriving in Denmark, they are thrust into chaos as anti-Christian feelings rage. Forced to flee westward, they navigate treacherous forests and icy rivers that lead them to the legendary cities of Kiev and Constantinople. Along the way, they face the savage wilderness, relentless predator tribes, and the heart-wrenching loss of one of their own. In ...

Set in France and England at the end of the twelfth century, the moving story of a spirited, questing young woman, Isabelle, who defies convention to forge a remarkable life, one profoundly influenced by the fabled queen she idolizes and comes to know – Eleanor of Aquitaine

Edyth, wife of King Harold of England, disappeared forever on the day of the great Battle of Hastings in 1066, taking with her the legitimate heirs to the thrones of England and Wales. This is the story of that amazing woman, who loved and married the King of Wales and then the man who would be King of England, only to witness his historic defeat by the light of Halley's Comet.

In a world where bloodlines dictate fate, Eleanor of Brittany faces a grim reality. Once a prized bride, she becomes a pawn in a deadly game of power. Her dreams shatter when the marriage meant to secure her future crumbles, leaving her at the mercy of her uncle, the cruel and infamous King John. With her younger brother Arthur seeking vengeance and a throne he believes is rightfully his, they ally with France, igniting a brutal conflict. Captured and imprisoned in England, Eleanor's only crime is her royal lineage. Will she find a way to reclaim her freedom, or will her legacy be one of ...

In the winter of 1271, death stalks the corridors of Wynethorpe Castle on the Welsh border. When the Grim Reaper touches the beloved grandson of the castle lord, Baron Adam sends for his daughter, Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal, and her subinfirmarian, Sister Anne, to save the child with their prayers and healing talents. Escorting them to the remote fortress is Brother Thomas, an unwilling monk fighting his private demons.

SHE MADE LOVE. THEN SHE MADE HISTORY. The stunning prequel to the prize poly Sleeping Lotus series! In a world where magic is bestowed by dragons, Kori Hashimoto-Barren would rather be normal. After all, her parents were sacrificed to a dragon seven years ago, and she couldn't hate the beasts more if she tried. But this year, the dragons are returning for their new sacrifice, and Kori will have no choice but to offer herself. She can only hope that--as an indentured servant to a magelord--her life is too boring for the dragons to want it. That is, her life used to be boring... until Eidan ...