In 1326 Isabella remains in France with Roger Mortimer and prepares an alliance in Hainault, while Treasurer Walter de Stapledon becomes a visible representative of Edward II’s government. Threats against the bishop suggest that opposition to the king is moving from rumour towards organised violence.
Baldwin and Simon are asked to identify the would-be assassin before political anger becomes murder. Their enquiry places personal enemies beside national factions, and the historical fate of Stapledon gives the investigation the urgency of a government losing control of both London and the provinces.
Stapledon’s danger is inseparable from the collapse of Edward II’s regime. As treasurer and bishop of Exeter he embodies royal administration at a moment when Isabella and Mortimer are converting exile into invasion. The investigation therefore sits on the boundary between murder mystery and political revolution, where an attack on one official may signal that obedience to the king is already breaking down.
Cecelia Holland
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Elizabeth Chadwick
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David Field
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Rosemary Sutcliff
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Henry Treece
35 books