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Historical person
1155–1183
Henry the Young King was the eldest surviving son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Crowned during his father’s lifetime in 1170, he possessed the title of king but little independent authority or income.
Frustration contributed to the great rebellion of 1173–74 and later conflict with his brothers. Celebrated for tournament culture and princely generosity, he died from illness in 1183 while campaigning against his father and brother Richard. Henry the Young King was born in Bermondsey Abbey and died in Martel.
In Sharon Kay Penman’s Devil’s Brood, Henry the Young King, Richard and Geoffrey seek aid from Louis VII of France and other enemies of the Angevin realm, turning a family dispute into international war. In Elizabeth Chadwick’s The Greatest Knight, after rescuing Eleanor of Aquitaine during an ambush, he enters the household of Henry the Young King and earns fame on the tournament circuit, where victory can bring both wealth and dangerous envy. William’s loyalty is tested by court factions, rebellion within Henry II’s family and accusations intended to separate him from his young lord. Further fictional perspectives on Henry the Young King can be found in Ben Kane’s Lionheart, Jean Plaidy’s Revolt of the Eaglets, Elizabeth Chadwick’s Shields of Pride, Elizabeth Chadwick’s The Winter Crown, and Sharon Kay Penman’s Time and Chance.
Series
The five Angevin novels trace the Plantagenet dynasty from the succession crisis after Henry I through Henry II and Eleanor’s turbulent marriage, their sons’ rebellions, Richard I’s crusade, captivity and final campaigns. The sequence combines royal family drama with the Anarchy, Angevin state-building, church–crown conflict and the Third…
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Ferdia, a young Irish noble held hostage after the English invasion of Ireland, saves the life of Henry II’s son Richard and enters his service. He accompanies Richard through rebellion against his father, warfare in Aquitaine and the struggle for the English crown. When Richard becomes king, Ferdia…
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Elizabeth Chadwick’s Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy follows one of medieval Europe’s most formidable rulers from her inheritance of Aquitaine and first marriage to Louis VII of France through her turbulent partnership with Henry II of England. The novels place Eleanor’s marriages, motherhood and political ambitions within crusade, dynastic…
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The Plantagenet Saga spans the dynasty from Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine to Richard III. Across fourteen novels, family rebellion, disputed succession, royal marriage and war connect the Angevin Empire, the conquest of Wales, conflict with Scotland, the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses.
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Elizabeth Chadwick’s William Marshal cycle follows the Marshal family and the households bound to it from the civil war of the Anarchy to the crisis of King John’s reign. A Place Beyond Courage centres on William’s father, John Marshal, while The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion trace…
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Standalone books
