Here Be Dragons

Wales and England, late twelfth to early thirteenth century. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth struggles to unite Gwynedd and establish himself as the leading native ruler in Wales. King John’s illegitimate daughter Joanna is married to him as part of an uneasy political settlement and gradually becomes central to both his household and diplomacy.

Their marriage is repeatedly tested by John’s campaigns, Welsh rivalries and Joanna’s divided loyalties between father and husband. The novel follows Llywelyn’s consolidation of power, the consequences of Magna Carta and John’s death, and the personal cost of building an independent Welsh principality beside an aggressive English monarchy.