In 1135, during the civil conflict between the usurper King Stephen and Empress Matilda (the daughter of Henry I), two cousins, Raymond and William (unavoidably, one of the many Williams in the story), are born and raised at Carew, in southwest Wales. Their growth through infancy to maturity becomes an important part of the theme of They Served the Devils Brood. It is a critical time in England and Wales as the barons are torn between loyalty to either faction, as well as having to deal with an increase in Welsh opposition to their presence. Calls are also being made for their knights and vassals to join the crusade against the infidels, who have taken control of the Holy Land. Henry Plantagenet, the son of Matilda, enters the fray as a youth but has to be content to wait till Stephen, bereft of a viable heir, agrees to name Henry as his successor. The Welsh Church is also facing increased demands from the centralized hierarchy of Rome. As Henry II takes over the reins of government, his influence on all involved becomes apparent. He is kept busyand with him, all his servantstravelling his domains in France and England. An exiled minor Irish king appeals to Henry to help him recover his rightful place and territory. He is given permission to gather such help as he can from the Norman-Welsh barons. Richard de Clare (Strongbow)rather down on his luck at the timeresponds. It takes some time, but with Raymonds help, plus that of Raymonds relations, the FitzGeralds, they invade the southeast corner of Ireland. Raymond proves to be a capable warrior and brilliant commander but has to struggle with his own troubles as he seeks the hand of the higher-born sister of Richard, Basilia de Clare.

A breathtaking and sweeping epic of a family at its breaking point, Devil’s Brood shows how Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine—two monumental figures once bound by all-consuming love—became the bitterest of adversaries... A.D. 1172. Henry II’s three eldest sons conspire against him and align themselves with his greatest enemy, King Louis of France, but it’s Eleanor of Aquitaine’s involvement in the plot to overthrow her husband that proves to be the harshest betrayal. As a royal family collapses and a marriage ends in all but name, the clash between these two strong-willed and passionate souls will have far-reaching and devastating consequences throughout Christendom.

In When Christ and His Saints Slept master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the lesser-known but fascinating periods of English history. The next addition in this highly acclaimed historical fiction series of the middle ages, and the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. When Christ and His Saints Slept begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.

Gerald of Wales was among the most dynamic and fascinating churchmen of the twelfth century. A member of one of the leading Norman families involved in the invasion of Ireland, he first visited there in 1183 and later returned in the entourage of Henry II. The resulting Topographia Hiberniae is an extraordinary account of his travels. Here he describes landscapes, fish, birds and animals; recounts the history of Ireland's rulers; and tells fantastical stories of magic wells and deadly whirlpools, strange creatures and evil spirits. Written from the point of view of an invader and reformer, this work has been rightly criticized for its portrait of a primitive land, yet it is also one of the most important sources for what is known of Ireland during the Middle Ages.

Sharon Kay Penman follows up her acclaimed novel Lionheart with this vivid and heart-wrenching New York Times bestseller about the last event-filled years in the life of Richard I of England, Coeur de Lion. November 1192. After his bloody crusade in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Richard and his crew are overcome by a sudden storm, its fierce winds propelling the ship onto the Sicilian shore. But this misfortune is just the beginning. Forced to make a dangerous choice, Richard finds himself in enemy territory, where he is captured—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—and handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor. Imprisoned in the notorious fortress at Trifels, from which few ever leave alive, Richard, for the first time in his life, experiences pure, visceral fear—while his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, moves heaven and earth to secure his release. Amid betrayals, intrigues, infidelities, wars, and illness, Richard’s courage and intelligence will become legend.

From the international bestselling author of The Sunne in Splendour and Lionheart This novel about the struggle for power in England in the Middle Ages centres on the life of Simon de Montfort, a French nobleman who came to England to lay claim to an earldom, married the King's sister, and eventually mounted a civil war against Henry III.

Many centuries ago, before Robin, before King Richard and Prince John, before even Herne the Hunter, there was Sherwood Forest. And at the heart of it, mystical paths were drawn together to protect the future. But something or someone in Robin’s time has chosen now to make a stand and destroy the past, the present and the future; with the help of the dragons, the ancient beasts of legend. And it will take a true hero to stop them. Alone and bewildered, Robin must put right a blood-debt he had no idea had even been raised. And who will fight at his side? Should he fail, Sherwood will merely be the first loss that England will face - and not the last… Here Be Dragons is the fourteenth book in Spiteful Puppet’s Robin of Sherwood collection, based in the Robin Hood universe of the classic ITV series.