The Royal Rebel

Elizabeth Chadwick

WHEN you’re the cousin of the king, choosing your own husband would seem to be an impossibility in 14th century England, where royal women are traditionally used as political pawns in strategically important marriage games.

But King Edward III had not reckoned on the sheer bloody-minded tenacity and daring of Joan of Kent, a troublesome teenager who will rise from being the court’s royal rebel to become a woman of formidable influence.

The Royal Rebel – an enthralling and emotion-packed tale of outrageous scandals, dangerous rivalries, undying love and thrilling real history – comes from exciting historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick (pictured below) and is the first of an epic two-book series about the irresistible Joan, one of medieval England’s most audacious and memorable women. Over thirty years ago, Chadwick made waves in the world of historical novels with her dazzling debut, The Wild Hunt, a sweeping tale of warring dynasties, political intrigue and soaring romance set in the wild, windswept Welsh Marches at the turn of the 12th century.  

It was an instant bestseller and the opener for a stellar career that has seen a string of enthralling and award-winning stories mined from England’s rich medieval history… not least novels featuring the life and times of William Marshal, the legendary 12^th century soldier and statesman, and a brilliant trilogy starring Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of England’s most iconic queens.

And now Chadwick has set her sights on Joan (known as Jeanette to her contemporaries), another intriguing woman from history, and her remarkable life story takes us back seven centuries to a land where the king must be obeyed, tensions run high, war is only ever a heartbeat away, and where true love is that rare thing for princesses.

1338: England has declared war on France, and Jeanette of Kent, the teenage cousin to King Edward III, says goodbye to her family and travels overseas to Flanders with the royal court for the first time. Having often imagined herself as ‘a caged hawk, eager to fly’ but thwarted by the conventions of her sex and rank, Jeanette dreads being married off to ‘some flabby old baron’ and looks forward to the freedoms of travel. Once in Antwerp, she is captivated by the king’s talented and trusted household knight Thomas Holland whose job it is to guard the pregnant Queen Philippa. The girl’s interest in the knight is stoked not just by his raven-haired good looks but also by the common bond of having fathers who were executed after falling foul of those in power. Thomas, in turn, is increasingly drawn to the coquettish and outspoken Jeanette even though he knows that he is potentially ‘playing with fire’ as she is of high status and consequently a dangerous prospect.

But despite both knowing that their romance is forbidden, their love for each other grows stronger than the danger they face, and they marry in secret. However, before the two lovers can make their tryst known, Thomas has to leave for war with the king, and in his absence, Jeanette is forced by her ambitious mother into a second marriage to a man she detests and locked away from the world. When Thomas finally returns from battle and discovers that Jeanette is now married to another man, the real fight begins. As hostile family members do everything in their power to keep Jeanette and Thomas apart, the defiant lovers vow to be reunited... however high the price of that may be.

Using real people and events, and her own imagination, Chadwick’s spellbinding adventure is another sizzling and sumptuous journey into a fascinating corner of England’s past. This is an author who blends history and romance with perfect precision, filling the pages with rich period detail, action-packed drama and conflict, the minutae of medieval domestic life, and the lighter, sweeter notes of a heart-soaring passion. Inspired to discover more about the life of Jeanette through her vast and impressive research into the medieval period over many years, Chadwick quickly realised that there were many similarities and connections between the 14^th and 21^st centuries in terms of social changes and leaps in technology.

War, plague, excessive consumption and the overturning of what had seemed like a settled world order were the backdrop to Jeanette’s tumultuous life and the groundbreaking love affair between two young people which saw them determined to hold firm to each other despite all the obstacles thrown in their way. From the savagery of warfare to the intimacy of a castle solar and the dizzy heights of chivalry, the twisting, turning and often perilous world of Jeanette and Thomas springs to vivid life as their secret marriage becomes the catalyst for subterfuge, heartbreak and the threat of fatal repercussions.

Love, loss, hatred, suffering and survival all play their part in this gripping adventure which sees Chadwick at her storytelling best... and will continue in the already much-anticipated second chapter of Jeanette’s tumultuous story.
(Sphere, hardback, £22)