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A sweeping tale of romance and political maneuvering in an age where women -- especially queens - were only allowed peripheral roles.

William Morrow
March 2010
On Sale: March 16, 2010
Featuring: Catherine de Valois; Owain Tudor; Christine de Pizan
592 pages
ISBN: 0061689866
EAN: 9780061689864
Hardcover
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Vanora Bennett

Vanora Bennett
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Before the Tudors could rise to power, Catherine de Valois became Queen of two countries by making her own rules

Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French king Charles VI,
is born into troubled times. Though she is brought up in a
royal court, it is a stormy and unstable environment. Before
she is out of her teens, Catherine is married off to
England's Henry V as part of a treaty honoring his victory
over France. She is terrified at the idea of being married
to a man who is a foreigner, an enemy, and a rough soldier,
and is forced to leave her home for England.

Within two years she is widowed, and mother to the future
King of England and France—even though her brother has laid
claim to the French crown for himself. Caught between
warring factions of her own family and under threat by the
powerful lords of the English court, she must find a way to
keep her infant son safe. In Owain Tudor, a childhood friend
for whom Catherine has long had affection and who now
controls the Royal household, Catherine finds both strength
and kinship. As their friendship turns to love, however, she
risks not only her life and that of her son but the uneasy
balance of power in England and France that will be forever
changed.

History comes alive in this lyrical and moving true story of
one woman's courage and the inception of one of the most
famous royal lineages of all time.