From the much-admired author of Blood Royal, Fortune's Wheel is a stunning novel of courtly romance - and revenge.
As an old legendary king lies close to death, his seven-year old grandson heir unable to fight his corner, the barons and merchants of his court gather to divide the spoils. In the middle are the old king's famous mistress, herself a City woman, her protegee and the customs inspector, Thomas Chaucer, with his aristocratic wife and her sister, the mistress in her turn of the second most powerful man in the land, the king's second son.
This interconnected group of rivals gives Vanora Bennett the chance to explore how the scent of power and profit can change almost any character and how people react to the rise, fall and manipulation of reputation. This immensely ambitious novel is told through several voices including the remarkable royal mistress, Alice Perrers who always took that step too far; the ruthless but romantic John of Gaunt, the richest man in the kingdom; Thomas Chaucer, clever, mild, even cowardly at times but prepared in the end to stand out for his belief against his own interest; and Wat Tyler, childhood friend of the royal mistress and leader of the Peasants' Revolt.
- ISBN13 9780007281947
- Publish Date 5 August 2010
- Publish Status Postponed Indefinitely
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk