Summer Siege (17 page)

Author’s note

I
have tried to keep this story as close to actual events as possible. The siege
of Dover Castle was documented in some detail by French chroniclers but
inevitably there are some gaps in details where I have used my artistic
licence. In my research, I also read extensively about some of the amazing
women that history talks of in this era. Those familiar with a noble women’s
role in Medieval England will know that very often they were called upon to
defend their castles while their husbands were away. While, undoubtedly, a
women’s lot was a hard one, history offers us a small insight into the bravery
of a handful of women. Of particular interest to me was
Nicholaa
De La
Haye
, who held out against a month long siege
of Lincoln castle in 1191 and directed the defence of Lincoln against the rebel
barons in 1217. It seems likely that there were many other women with similar
tales that were simply never recorded and I hope that Madeline is a fitting
tribute to the bravery of those unknown women.

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titles available on Kindle

The
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