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Historical person

Stephen, King of England

1095–1154

Stephen seized the English throne in 1135 after the death of his uncle Henry I, despite an oath to support Henry’s daughter Matilda. His reign descended into civil war after Matilda invaded, and Stephen was captured at Lincoln in 1141 before being exchanged for Robert of Gloucester.

Stephen's authority varied greatly across England during the civil war known as the Anarchy, with powerful magnates and regional alliances limiting effective royal control. His capture at Lincoln in 1141 briefly placed Matilda in a position to claim the crown, but she failed to secure coronation and Stephen was restored. After the death of his son Eustace, the settlement usually called the Treaty of Wallingford recognised Matilda's son Henry as Stephen's heir.

In Charles Spencer’s The White Ship, Henry I’s attempt to secure the succession for his daughter Empress Matilda failed after his death, when Stephen seized the throne and England entered the civil war known as the Anarchy. In Alison Weir’s Queens of the Conquest, the first volume of England’s Medieval Queens examines the women who shaped the monarchy from the Norman Conquest to the accession of Henry II. Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Scotland, Adeliza of Louvain, Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne navigated conquest, succession war, regency and patronage. Stephen, King of England is treated fictionally in Sarah Hawkswood’s A Shroud of Snow, Ellis Peters’ An Excellent Mystery, Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael’s Penance, Griff Hosker’s English Knight, and Cecelia Holland’s Hammer for Princes.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Stephen, King of England (9 series)

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael in Order

by Ellis Peters 19 books 4.5(42,288)

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael follow a former soldier and crusader who has become the herbalist of Shrewsbury Abbey. Between 1137 and 1145, Cadfael investigates deaths, disappearances and disputed identities while working within the rhythms of Benedictine life and the law of medieval England. The twenty novels unfold…

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1. A Morbid Taste for Bones

First published 1977 · 4.4(5,667)

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2. One Corpse Too Many

First published 1979 · 4.5(3,326)

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3. Monk’s Hood

First published 1980 · 4.5(2,635)

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4. Saint Peter’s Fair

First published 1981 · 4.6(2,579)

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6. The Virgin in the Ice

First published 1982 · 4.6(2,403)

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7. The Sanctuary Sparrow

First published 1983 · 4.5(1,975)

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8. The Devil’s Novice

First published 1983 · 4.6(2,687)

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9. Dead Man’s Ransom

First published 1984 · 4.5(1,978)

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10. The Pilgrim of Hate

First published 1984 · 4.6(1,654)

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11. An Excellent Mystery

First published 1985 · 4.5(1,772)

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12. The Raven in the Foregate

First published 1986 · 4.6(1,734)

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13. The Rose Rent

First published 1986 · 4.5(1,668)

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14. The Hermit of Eyton Forest

First published 1987 · 4.6(1,688)

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15. The Confession of Brother Haluin

First published 1988 · 4.5(1,841)

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16. The Heretic’s Apprentice

First published 1989 · 4.6(1,413)

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17. The Potter’s Field

First published 1989 · 4.5(1,420)

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18. The Summer of the Danes

First published 1991 · 4.5(1,436)

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19. The Holy Thief

First published 1992 · 4.6(1,467)

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20. Brother Cadfael’s Penance

First published 1994 · 4.6(2,945)

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The Anarchy Series in Order

by Griff Hosker 20 books 4.4(42,540)

The Anarchy Series follows families, knights and warlords through the civil war between Stephen and Empress Matilda and into the Angevin settlement under Henry II. The sequence expands from northern England and Normandy to crusading, Wales, Ireland and the politics around Thomas Becket and Henry’s sons. It is…

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1. English Knight

4.3(3,750)

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2. Knight of the Empress

4.4(2,796)

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3. Northern Knight

4.3(2,480)

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4. Baron of the North

4.4(2,332)

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5. Earl

4.4(2,289)

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6. King Henry’s Champion

4.5(2,153)

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7. The King Is Dead

4.5(2,065)

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8. Warlord of the North

4.4(2,037)

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9. Enemy at the Gate

4.5(2,057)

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10. The Fallen Crown

4.5(2,113)

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11. Warlord’s War

4.4(1,891)

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12. Kingmaker

4.5(2,029)

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13. Henry II

4.5(1,850)

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14. Crusader

4.5(2,302)

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15. The Welsh Marches

4.5(1,995)

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16. Irish War

4.4(1,888)

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17. Poisonous Plots

4.5(1,752)

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18. The Princes’ Revolt

4.5(1,687)

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19. Earl Marshal

4.6(1,804)

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20. The Perfect Knight

4.5(1,270)

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Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Order

by Sharon Kay Penman 5 books 4.5(9,638)

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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1. When Christ and His Saints Slept

First published 1994 · 4.4(2,650)

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2. Time and Chance

First published 2002 · 4.4(1,825)

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3. Devil’s Brood

First published 2008 · 4.7(1,606)

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4. Lionheart

First published 2011 · 4.3(1,818)

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5. A King’s Ransom

First published 2014 · 4.6(1,739)

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The Kingsbridge Novels in Order

by Ken Follett 5 books 4.4(1,703,013)

The Kingsbridge novels trace the development of a fictional English community across nearly nine centuries. Builders, merchants, clergy, landowners, labourers and reformers repeatedly contest who controls work, worship, law and education, while the town changes from an impoverished Anglo-Saxon settlement into a cathedral city and industrial centre. Chronologically,…

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1. The Evening and the Morning

First published 2020 · 4.5(215,314)

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2. The Pillars of the Earth

First published 1989 · 4.4(906,506)

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3. World without End

First published 2007 · 4.4(325,007)

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4. A Column of Fire

First published 2017 · 4.4(212,952)

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5. The Armour of Light

First published 2023 · 4.4(43,234)

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The Anarchy Series in Order

by Derek Birks 1 book 4.3(106)

England in 1135 is thrown into a succession crisis when Henry I dies and his nephew Stephen seizes the crown despite earlier oaths to recognise the king’s daughter, Empress Matilda. Derek Birks follows Thomas, the illegitimate son of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, a young man whose Norman upbringing…

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1. Rebel Sword

First published 2024 · 4.2(106)

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Templar in Order

by Paul Doherty 2 books 4.1(663)

The Templar novels trace the order from the First Crusade to its established power in the mid-twelfth-century Crusader States. The Templar follows Hugh de Payens, Godfrey de Saint-Omer and Eleanor as they travel east with the crusading armies and confront the brutality, deprivation and political bargaining behind the…

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1. The Templar

First published 2007 · 3.8(295)

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2. The Templar Magician

First published 2009 · 4.1(368)

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The Norman Series: in Order

by Jean Plaidy 3 books 4.3(933)

The Norman trilogy follows William the Conqueror and his heirs as they seize and consolidate the English crown. The sequence moves from the Norman Conquest through the reign of Henry I to the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, showing how conquest, inheritance and baronial loyalty reshaped England.

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1. The Bastard King

4.2(360)

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2. The Lion of Justice

4.2(278)

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3. Passionate Enemies

4.1(295)

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Kinghood in Order

by Cecelia Holland 2 books 4.0(570)

The Kinghood books are two independent medieval novels linked by their examination of contested rule rather than by recurring characters. Hammer for Princes follows an experienced Anglo-Norman earl through the final phase of the Anarchy, when King Stephen and the future Henry II struggle over England. The King’s…

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1. Hammer for Princes

First published 1971 · 3.9(468)

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2. The King’s Road

First published 1970 · 3.9(102)

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Bradecote & Catchpoll in Order

by Sarah Hawkswood 14 books 4.4(24,872)

The Bradecote & Catchpoll mysteries are set in Worcestershire during the Anarchy, beginning in June 1143 and progressing chronologically through December 1145. Hugh Bradecote serves as undersheriff to William de Beauchamp, while the experienced Serjeant Catchpoll understands the city’s people, crimes and evasions. From the third novel they…

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