About the Book
Marguerite, eldest daughter of the Count of Provence, had married a king of France – and now her sister Eleanor is determined to make just as grand a match.
Good fortune and wily cunning bring her Henry of England. A good and generous husband but a weak king, he rules a nation that still remembers his cruel and foolish father, King John. As Henry showers gifts on his new bride his extravagance forces him to levy ever greater taxation on the land, and the spectre of revolt soon looms against him. For Simon de Montfort, the adventurer who will give England its first true parliament, the house of destiny is at hand.
‘It’s hard to better Jean Plaidy … both elegant and exciting as she steers a stylish path through the feuding Plantaganets’ Daily Mirror
‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama’ New York Times
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Epub ISBN 9781446427040
www.randomhouse.co.uk
Published by Arrow Books in 2008
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Copyright © Jean Plaidy, 1978
Initial lettering copyright © Stephen Raw, 2006
The Estate of Eleanor Hibbert has asserted its right
to have Jean Plaidy identified as the author of this work.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
First published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Robert Hale Ltd
The Random House Group Limited
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SA
www.rbooks.co.uk
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780099510277
Cover
About the Book
Title
Copyright
Praise for Jean Plaidy
About the Author
Available in Arrow Books by Jean Plaidy
I: In Search of a Bridegroom
II: A Journey through France
III: The Queen of England
IV: Married Bliss
V: The Mad Priest of Woodstock
VI: Birth of Edward
VII: A Newcomer to Court
VIII: A Sojourn in Provence
IX: Queenhithe
X: Ceremony at Beaulieu
XI: The Sad Little Bride
XII: The King and Simon de Montfort
XIII: The Bride from Castile
XIV: The Unhappy Queen of Scotland
XV: My Son! My Son!
XVI: Conspiracy in the Bedchamber
XVII: The Passing of a Dream
XVIII: London’s Revenge
XIX: Evesham
XX: Murder at the Altar
XXI: The Poisoned Dagger
Bibliography
Praise for Jean Plaidy
‘A vivid impression of life at the Tudor Court’
Daily Telegraph
‘One of the country’s most widely read novelists’
Sunday Times
‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama’
New York Times
‘It is hard to better Jean Plaidy … both elegant and exciting’
Daily Mirror
‘Jean Plaidy conveys the texture of various patches of the past with such rich complexity’
Guardian
‘Plaidy has brought the past to life’
Times Literary Supplement
‘One of our best historical novelists’
News Chronicle
‘An excellent story’
Irish Press
‘Spirited … Plaidy paints the truth as she sees it’
Birmingham Post
‘Sketched vividly and sympathetically … rewarding’
Scotsman
‘Among the foremost of current historical novelists’
Birmingham Mail
‘An accomplished novelist’
Glasgow Evening News
‘There can be no doubt of the author’s gift for storytelling’
Illustrated London News
The Queen from Provence
Jean Plaidy, one of the pre-eminent authors of historical fiction for most of the twentieth century, is the pen name of the prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert, also known as Victoria Holt. Jean Plaidy’s novels had sold more than 14 million copies worldwide by the time of her death in 1993.
For further information about our Jean Plaidy reissues and mailing list, please visit
www.randomhouse.co.uk/minisites/jeanplaidy
Available in Arrow Books by Jean Plaidy
The Tudors
Uneasy Lies the Head
Katharine, the Virgin
Widow
The Shadow of the
Pomegranate
The King’s Secret Matter
Murder Most Royal
St Thomas’s Eve
The Sixth Wife
The Thistle and the Rose
Mary Queen of France
Lord Robert
Royal Road to Fotheringay
The Captive Queen of Scots
The Medici Trilogy
Madame Serpent
The Italian Woman
Queen Jezebel
The Plantagenets
The Plantagenet Prelude
The Revolt of the Eaglets
The Heart of the Lion
The Prince of Darkness
The Battle of the Queens