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Historical person
1165–1223
Philip II ruled France from 1180 to 1223 and greatly expanded Capetian power at the expense of the Angevin kings. He joined Richard I on the Third Crusade but returned early and later exploited Richard’s captivity and King John’s weakness.
Philip conquered Normandy and other continental territories and defeated a major coalition at Bouvines in 1214. His reign transformed the French monarchy from a limited royal domain into the dominant power of the kingdom. Philip II of France was born in Paris and died in Mantes-la-Jolie.
In Sharon Kay Penman’s A King’s Ransom, Returning from the Third Crusade, Richard I is forced onto an overland route and captured by Leopold V of Austria. He is transferred to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, who demands an enormous ransom while Philip II of France and Richard’s brother John offer political and financial incentives to keep him imprisoned. In Ben Kane’s Crusader, Ferdia accompanies him through France and Italy to Sicily, where disputes with local rulers and with Philip II of France delay the expedition before the army sails east. Philip II of France is treated fictionally in Sharon Kay Penman’s Devil’s Brood, Ben Kane’s Lionheart, Sharon Kay Penman’s Prince of Darkness, Richard Cullen’s Rebellion, and Bernard Knight’s The Elixir of Death.
Periods
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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The Roger of Huntley series follows a fugitive monk and crusader through the violence of the Third Crusade and the later crisis of King John’s reign. The early books place Roger among soldiers, pilgrims and rulers in the eastern Mediterranean, while the later novels return him to England…
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Chronicles of the Black Lion follows Estienne Wace from King John’s divided England into the wider conflicts and military cultures of the early thirteenth century. Rebellion places the orphaned squire in William Marshal’s household as baronial opposition and Prince Louis of France threaten the crown. Crusade carries him…
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The Outlaw Chronicles reimagine Robin Hood as Robert Odo, Earl of Locksley, a charismatic and violent criminal lord remembered by his lieutenant Alan Dale. The original novels carry Alan from his entry into the Sherwood band through the Third Crusade, Richard I’s wars, the loss of Normandy, Magna…
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The Crowner John Mysteries follow Sir John de Wolfe, a former crusader appointed county coroner for Devon during the reign of Richard I. Working from Exeter with his officer Gwyn and clerk Thomas, John investigates suspicious deaths through inquests, witness testimony and the limited forensic methods available at…
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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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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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These medieval mysteries follow the fictional royal agent Justin de Quincy in 1193, while Eleanor of Aquitaine governs for the captive Richard I and John manoeuvres for the throne. Each investigation links murder, theft or conspiracy to the political instability of the Angevin realm.
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The William Marshal trilogy fictionalises the life of the celebrated knight and regent from his childhood during the Anarchy to his final defence of the young Henry III. It follows Marshal through tournaments, service to Henry II and Richard I, the Third Crusade, King John’s loss of Normandy…
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The Crusader series follows the fictional Lancastrian knight Frederick Banastre and his descendants through the conflicts of the Angevin and early Plantagenet monarchy. Frederick enters the household of the future Richard I, campaigns in France and the Holy Land, and becomes involved in the political struggles caused by…
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Standalone books
Non Fiction
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.
