LIONHEART

Fans of the bestselling author have enjoyed his move away from Rome to the medieval period and the story of Richard the Lionheart told from the point of view of a young Irish noble, Rufus from Leinster, and now a retired Knight, telling his story 30 years after Richard's death. At the beginning of the book are several well drawn maps of the Angevin Empire and the Kingdom of France in the late 12th century and a list of important characters both historical and fictional. Part one begins AD1179 and the third part AD1187-89, during the reign of Richard's father, the Plantagenet Henry II. Henry is King of England, Wales, Ireland, Normandy, Brittany and Aquitaine. The House of Plantagenet reigns supreme, but there is unrest in Henry's house and his family talks of rebellion. Ferdia, an Irish nobleman taken captive during the conquest of his homeland, saves the life of Richard, the King's son, and in reward for his bravery he is made squire to Richard who is already a renowned warrior. Crossing the English Channel, the two are plunged into a campaign to crush rebels in Aquitaine. The bloody battles and gruelling sieges which followed would earn Richard the legendary name of Lionheart. But Richard's older brother Henry is infuriated by his sibling's newfound fame. Soon it becomes clear that the biggest threat to Richard's life may not be rebel or French armies, but his own family. An epic filled with arrows and spattered with blood. 381pp in new 2020 softback, maps.