The Queen from Provence

BOOK: The Queen from Provence
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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

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

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

Contents

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
The Queen from Provence
The Hammer of the Scots
The Follies of the King

The French Revolution
Louis the Well-Beloved
The Road to Compiègne
Flaunting, Extravagant
Queen

Chapter I

IN SEARCH OF A BRIDEGROOM

A
s Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, and his friend, confidant and chief adviser, Romeo, Lord of Villeneuve, strolled together in the lush green gardens surrounding the castle of Les Baux, they talked of the future.

Raymond Berenger had had a happy life; his beautiful wife was as talented as he was himself. Between them they had made their court one of the most interesting intellectually in the whole of France, and as a result poets, troubadours and artists made their way to Provence, sure of a welcome and appreciation. It was indeed a pleasant life and the Count and Countess wished it might go on for ever. They were not foolish enough to think it could. But no earthly paradise could be completely perfect and though, during their married life, they had prayed fervently for a son who would govern Provence beside his father for many years and afterwards preserve that ambience of gracious ease and luxurious comfort, they had produced only daughters.

Even this they could not entirely regret, for dearly did they love their children and admitted that they would not have changed one of their girls for the son for whom they had petitioned so earnestly. Where in the world, Raymond Berenger asked his Countess, could be found girls who were as beautiful and talented as theirs? And the answer was: Nowhere.

BOOK: The Queen from Provence
7.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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