Devil’s Consort

Eleanor of Aquitaine inherits one of the richest territories in Europe and becomes queen of France through her marriage to Louis VII. Her intelligence, political ambition and refusal to accept a merely ceremonial role bring her into conflict with her husband and the expectations imposed on a medieval queen, particularly during the Second Crusade.

After the annulment of the French marriage, Eleanor chooses the younger Henry of Anjou, who soon becomes Henry II of England. The novel follows the transformation of a duchess into the ruler at the centre of the Angevin Empire, balancing romance with dynastic strategy, religious authority and Eleanor’s determination to control her own inheritance and future.