Rebellion

Name: Rebellion
Rating: 4.5 (1024 reviews)

by Richard Cullen Book 1 in the Chronicles of the Black Lion series.

First published 2024

Amazon

4.5(1,024)

In England in 1213, King John faces opposition from his own barons while Prince Louis, son of Philip II of France, prepares to exploit the weakness of the English crown. Estienne Wace, an orphaned squire raised as the ward of William Marshal, enters this struggle before he has fully established his place within the earl’s household.

Estienne must prove that courage and loyalty are not the same as obedience to every royal command. As rebellion develops towards open invasion, his service to Marshal places him between a distrusted king, ambitious nobles and a French claimant. The conflict gives him the identity of the Black Lion but threatens to strip him of the inheritance and belonging he hopes to earn.

William Marshal’s position makes the conflict especially difficult. He has served kings he did not always admire because he believes continuity of lawful rule matters more than personal preference, yet John repeatedly tests that principle. Estienne learns from a household in which loyalty is not blind obedience but a judgement about how far a knight may oppose a king while still claiming to defend the realm.