Plantagenet 1 - The Plantagenet Prelude
Read Plantagenet 1 - The Plantagenet Prelude Online
Authors: Jean Plaidy
About the Book
When William X dies, the duchy of Aquitaine is left to his fifteen year-old daughter, Eleanor. But such a position for an unmarried woman puts the whole kingdom at risk. So on his deathbed William made a will that would ensure his daughter’s protection: he promised her hand in marriage to the future King of France.
Eleanor grows into a romantic and beautiful queen, but she has inherited the will of a king, and determines to rule Aquitaine using her husband’s power as King of France. Her resolve knows no limit and, in the years to follow she was to become one of history’s most scandalous queens.
‘Miss Plaidy, whose meticulous attention to historical detail can seldom, if ever, be faulted, has woven a vivid novel to launch the Plantagent saga on what will, undoubtedly, be a top selling course.’
South Wales Argus
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 9781446411711
Published by Arrow Books in 2007
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Copyright (c) Jean Plaidy, 1976
Initial lettering copyright (c) 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 1976 by Robert Hale Ltd Published in paperback in 1978 by Pan Books Ltd
Arrow Books
The Random House Group Limited
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
Random House Australia (Pty) Limited
20 Alfred Street, Milsons Point, Sydney,
New South Wales 2061, Australia
Random House New Zealand Limited
18 Poland Road, Glenfield,
Auckland 10, New Zealand
Random House (Pty) Limited
Isle of Houghton, Corner of Boundary Road & Carse O’Gowrie,
Houghton 2198, South Africa
Random House Publishers India Private Limited
301 World Trade Tower, Hotel Intercontinental Grand Complex
Barakhamba Lane, New Delhi 110 001, India
Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009
www.randomhouse.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780099493266
Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title
Copyright
Praise for Jean Plaidy
About the Author
Available in Arrow Books by Jean Plaidy
Family Tree
Eleonore and Henry
I: Duchess and Queen
II: Petronelle and the Count
III: The Lovers of Antioch
IV: The Royal Divorce
V: Queen of England
Henry and Thomas
VI: The King’s Will
VII: Fair Rosamund
VIII: The Rise of Becket
IX: The Abbess Bride
X: The Vacant See
XI: The Rising Storm
XII: The King’s Triumph
XIII: Flight from England
XIV: Rosamund’s Bower
XV: Traitor’s Meadow
XVI: Murder
XVII: The King’s Remorse
Bibliography
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 Jean Plaidy reissues and mailing list, please visit
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
‘Jean Plaidy has once again brought characters and
background vividly to life’
Everywoman
‘Well up to standard … fascinating’
Manchester Evening News
‘Exciting and intelligent’
Truth Magazine
‘No frills and plenty of excitement’
Yorkshire Post
‘Meticulous attention to historical detail’
South Wales Argus
‘Colourful … imaginative and exciting’
Yorkshire Post
‘Effective and readable’
Sphere
‘A vivid picture of the crude and vigorous London of
those days’ Laurence Meynell
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 French Revolution
Louis the Well-Beloved
The Road to Compiegne
Flaunting, Extravagant Queen