The King's Knight skilfully blends action with real historical events and personages... Medieval England is a time of both blood and humanity." Richard Foreman, author Band of Brothers. 1381. England seethes with discontent over unfair and arbitrary taxation. The country is on the cusp of an uprising - a peasant's revolt. All it will take is a spark. Gregory Maudesley, second son of a minor noble and disillusioned knight for hire, returns home after nearly a decade abroad. Maudesley intends to claim his deceased father's lands but the knight is plagued by misfortune. Gregory journeys to London to secure an audience with the boy king, Richard II. But the England he travels through is very different from that of his youth. The road is treacherous and the greatest dangers of all await him in the capital. London is ablaze. Even the Tower of London has fallen to Wat Tyler's forces. But Richard, enlisting the help of Gregory, will ride out to meet the rebellion head on. A king and kingdom must stand, or fall. Revolt is the first book is The King's Knight series of novellas, chronicling the life of Gregory Maudesley and the dramatic reign of Richard II. Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Robyn Young and Michael Jecks. Praise for J. A. Ironside “Entertaining, well-researched and compelling.” Michael Jecks on An Argument of Blood. “Ælfgifa…steals every scene and is a character who would fit in any George R. R. Martin novel.” Tony Riches author of The Tudor Trilogy (An Argument of Blood). “Intense drama, creative working of the sparse historical record, and a detailed look into what made William and Harold tick… A rousing, page turning tale awaits you…” Paul Bennett, author of Clash of Empires (on 'A Black Matter for the King'). J. A. Ironside grew up in rural Dorset in a house full of books. She was exposed to history at an early age and happily never recovered – the presence of so many Roman ruins in the area inspired a lifelong interest in historical warfare. She has taught and studied martial arts and weaponry for 25 years. Her published works include An Argument of Blood and A Black Matter for the King, both co-written with Matthew Willis.

    As Duke of Gloucester he is torn between loyalty to his brothers, King Edward IV, and gratitude to the man who raised him, the Earl of Warwick, whose daughter Anne Neville captures his heart. This love-slowly at first and then totally and passionately-overcomes the awesome political forces of the Plantagenet King Henry VI and the machinations of the King of France, Louis XI.In Fortune's Wheel Rhoda Edwards' novelistic skill is once again matched by her extensive knowledge of English history. These figures of a courtly yet brutal past relive the fortunes of their lives in moving and sympathetic detail. Ultimately it is a testament to the power of a young man's love against all adversity.

    But before long, Eleanor realizes that her beloved Uncle Edward is not the mighty ruler his kingdom-or his queen-expected.Hugh's unbridled ambition and his intimate relationship with Edward arouse widespread resentment, even as Eleanor remains fiercely loyal to her husband and to her king. However, her allegiance may cost her dearly.From the battlefield to the bedchamber and through hope and despair, treachery and fidelity, The Traitor's Wife is a tale of an extraordinary woman living in an extraordinary time.

    His second son Edmund, aged just seventeen, is murdered by Butcher Clifford, his blood staining the cobbles of Wakefield bridge outside the chapel where he had vainly sought sanctuary. The House of York has fallen...but not for long. The Lancastrian army of Margaret of Anjou has reaped the whirlwind with the treacherous slaughter at Wakefield. Edward of March, Duke Richard's heir, is coming after them, tall, handsome, young and a fearsome warrior...and he wants vengeance for the death of his father and beloved younger brother. He fights his foes at Mortimer's Cross, where Three Suns mysteriously appear in the sky as an omen, and then fares on through an unseasonal snowstorm to the field of Towton...and victory in the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. The prize--the Crown of England. From the author of the I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET series A novella of 25,000 words

    

    He drove his kingdom to the brink of civil war a dozen times in less than twenty years. He allowed his male lovers to rule the kingdom. He led a great army to the most ignominious military defeat in English history. His wife took a lover and invaded his kingdom, and he ended his reign wandering around Wales with a handful of followers, pursued by an army. He was the first king of England forced to abdicate his throne. Popular legend has it that he died screaming impaled on a red-hot poker, but in fact the time and place of his death are shrouded in mystery. His life reads like an Elizabethan tragedy, full of passionate doomed love, bloody revenge, jealousy, hatred, vindictiveness and obsession. He was Edward II, and this book tells his story. The focus here is on his relationships with his male 'favourites' and his disaffected wife, on his unorthodox lifestyle and hobbies, and on the mystery surrounding his death. Using almost exclusively fourteenth-century sources and Edward's own letters and speeches wherever possible, Kathryn Warner strips away the myths which have been created about him over the centuries, and provides a far more accurate and vivid picture of him than has previously been seen.

    Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory. Katherine Digby, daughter to a country gentleman, is now maid of honour at the court of Anne Boleyn. Shy and intimidated by the glamour of the court, she soon inspires the enmity of the queen's sister in law, Lady Rochford. As Anne Boleyn and Katherine Digby grow to understand each other, friendship blossoms, but dark clouds are beginning to gather and Katherine soon realises that the queen is surrounded by sworn enemies - even among the ladies in waiting. When she is entrusted with the safe keeping of a paper, she cannot resist reading it. What she finds is an explosive secret which could threaten everything - even the queen's life. It is vital to protect her, but Katherine faces a formidable adversary in the form of someone who wishes Anne Boleyn dead. The Boleyn secret cannot remain hidden for long. Curl up and enjoy this Tudor escapade by the author of The Lady's Favour, The Shakespeare Trail, and William Shakespeare in 100 Facts.

    The illicit liaison triggers a chain of events that will destroy two kingdoms and bring down a dynasty.Set against the backdrop of the pagan-Christian conflict between kings Penda and Oswiu The Song of Heledd sweeps the reader from the ancient kingdom of Pengwern to the lofty summits of Gwynedd where Heledd battles to control both her own destiny and that of those around her. Judith Arnopp has carried out lengthy research into the fragmented ninth century poems, Canu Llywarch Hen and Canu Heledd, and the history surrounding them to produce a fiction of what might have been.

    Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother’s death ten years ago. She and the girls’ beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together and now it’s time to celebrate as Matty turns eighteen. But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him – only that he hasn’t returned home. With little money left they’re now forced to battle life’s misfortunes alone…

    The printing press had yet to be invented, and books were rare and costly, painstakingly lettered by hand and illuminated with exquisite paintings. Finn is a master illuminator who works not only for the Church but also, in secret, for John Wycliffe of Oxford, who professes the radical idea that the Bible should be translated into English for everyone to read. Finn has another secret as well, one that leads him into danger when he meets Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, a widow struggling to protect her inheritance from the depredations of Church and Crown alike. Finn's alliance with Lady Kathryn will take us to the heart of what Barbara Tuchman once called the calamitous fourteenth century.Richly detailed and irresistibly compelling, Brenda Rickman Vantrease's The Illuminator is a glorious story of love, art, religion, and treachery at an extraordinary turning point in history.

    When they find a home off the Frankish coast they begin to accumulate a vast fortune which earns them the enmity of other Vikings. The novel culminates in a bloody battle where Viking fights Viking but Hrolf begins to fulfill his destiny as Hrolf the Horseman!

    For all of the duke's boasts that Eleanor has the brains of a man and the soul of a warrior, everyone knows that a girl of fifteen cannot possibly hold the richest dukedom in France. Everyone, that is, except her dying father, who insists on leaving Eleanor his most valuable provinces---and making her prey to the first baron who rides in to kidnap her. Eleanor, though, is not content to sit idly by and let herself become a victim, and devises a plan to marry the heir to the throne of France. While her alliance to Louis VII may be a dazzling one, her husband is a cautious man whose wit and courage do not always match Eleanor's own, and she ultimately finds herself seeking an even greater match with Henry II of England. Sweeping from the courts of Paris to the perils of the Crusades, Duchess of Aquitaine gloriously illuminates the life of one of the most powerful, resourceful, and fascinating women in all of history.

    The breast of the mail bore a ragged hole and the heavy links were sticky. It took a moment for Hedyn to realize it was soaked in drying blood.“A bascinet and hauberk?” he asked.“Aye, you shall need these before the night is done.” . . . Treachery, disease, hunger, and death plague their steps as King Henry’s men near their fateful battle with the French army at Agincourt. Eager to see the world that lies beyond his small Cornish village, 12 year ol Hedyn, son of an archer and serf, is thrilled to be chosen to join King Henry’s army as it advances on Normandy. His excitement quickly gives way to exhaustion in body and spirit, as well as worry for the safety of his newfound friends and comrades. Can a mysterious stranger with a secretive past offer Hedyn hope amidst the horrors of battle?

    No woman could compete with her beauty, but another man? What could she do at the age of fourteen? Wait, only wait. And so she waited, nursing her anger, rejection, and disgust. She grew in beauty and wiles; the king, in weakness, as other men, worse men, took Gaveston's place. Wearly of waiting, Isabella turned to Mortimer of Wigmore. In his bed, she found comfort and love and cared little that people called her a harlot. But even the presence of Mortimer could not quench her thirst for vengence, once she had tasted blood. Like an unleashed fury, she pursued the king's paramours. She would tear England in half to quench her rage; if she failed, her son would avenge her honour. The contest that ensued decided the fate of England. In this historically accurate and thrilling story of power and passion, Hilda Lewis has created an unforgettable account of how the fate of nations has often been forged in royal bedrooms.

    Through the turbulence of civil war, Martin serves his cousins -- Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III -- and learns the cost of loyalty and love in battlefields and bedchambers in a time when life is cheap and treachery hides behind a smile. Through Martin's eyes, Meredith Whitford's superbly researched and richly woven novel shows Shakespeare's conniving and perverse Richard III in a realistic new light - as a patriot and a lover. Never before has perceived history taken such a surprising turn as Whitford corrects the Shakespearean myth and crowns a new hero, bringing back to life the passion and heat of a breathless historical moment that shaped the world - a moment we know as the War of the Roses .a time of thorns and treason.