Blood Royal (aka The Queen's Lover)
It struck me from the start that it wouldn’t be easy for a girl just at the end of her teens to marry the Englishman who’d conquered her country, all but destroyed its wealth and glittering culture along with the lives of thousands of its citizens, and was now grabbing the crown of France off her father’s head too. To cap it all, the English king Henry V was twice the age of the princess whom he married in 1420 to ensure France’s utter humiliation at English hands. This book is about the dramatic events of the life of that princess, Catherine de Valois, who's always been given short shrift by the history books and in literature. But how could she have been so light in real life, when everything about her life, right from the start, had been so unremittingly grim?
More about this book
-
inspiration
Where the idea came from
-
background article
The Hundred Years’ War
More about the war between France and the Kings of England, who claimed they should be Kings of France too
-
background article, pictures and maps
French civilisation
Information and images about French culture, arts, Paris, and the University
-
background article, pictures and maps
Art objects
Pictures of some art objects found in Paris and Dijon, the Burgundian capital
-
background article
Christine de Pizan, Europe’s first feminist
… who managed not just to earn a living and support, but to become an influential poet and writer in the court
-
review
Critical acclaim
“One of the best historical novelists around has conjured up a fascinating portrait of this forgotten queen” and plenty more praise
-
further reading
Sources and background reading
Books relating to the various historical subjects covered in my story
-
reading group guide
Some discussion points
US cover
