Mathilde of Westminster Trilogy
3 primary works Complete
Book 1
By 1322, Mathilde of Westminster was considered the finest physician in London. But in her years as lady-in-waiting to Princess Isabella, who married the feckless Edward II, she was drawn into the murky politics of the English court, where sudden, mysterious death was part of the tapestry of life. Many years later, when the glory is gone and all that remains are bittersweet memories, Mathilde looks back and chronicles her turbulent life. She has a keen eye for symptoms and causes - and not just the medical kind. With her sharp, suspicious intellect ready to distinguish between a fatality and an unnatural death, Mathilde is confronted by a host of chilling murders, personal danger and the murky intrigue that lies at the heart of the English and French courts at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The source of these horrors is the fierce political rivalry between Philip of France and Edward of England which manifests itself in a series of gruesome killings, one of which, actually takes place during Edward II's Coronation of January 1308, when a knight of the Royal Household, Sir John Baquelle was crushed to death.
Book 2
1308: murder and mayhem are rife in the court of Edward II. The 'Poison Maiden' is rumoured to have arrived in England forcing Mathilde of Westminsterto face her most dangerous opponent yet.England hovers on the brink of civil war. Edward II, his wife Isabella and the royal favourite Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, have been forced to retreat to the King's 'folly', as just an arrowshot away lie the Great Lords and Philip IV of France.They demand the King surrenderCornwall, so they can charge him with high treason.Edward is trapped, and worse, he has learnt that Philip has the 'Poison Maiden' on his side, a formidable spy who did untold damage during his father's reign. As Edward tries in vain to unmask the identity of the spy, Mathilde, handmaiden to the Queen, is called upon to assist the King in his endeavours. Soon the crisis spills over into violence. The Lords attempt to take Cornwall by force and the King and his Court, including Mathilde, are forced to flee. As the enemy closes in, Mathilde finds herself embroiled not only in a brutal struggle for the English crown, but also for her own life.
Book 3
Mathilde of Westminster must face a dangerous foe in the third novel in Paul Doherty's acclaimed series. March 1312 and England is divided. Edward II is in conflict with his barons over royal favourite Gaveston, and Queen Isabella is momentously pregnant with the first union of Plantagenet and Capetian blood. Meanwhile, rebel Robert Bruce prowls the Scottish border seeking advancement. Mathilde of Westminster senses a challenge for the throne is imminent. When the great Earls step up their campaign, the King and Queen are forced to flee to a fortified priory in Tynemouth, now vulnerable to the Scottish marauders on land and Bruce's allies at sea. With threats all around, the royal party can only despair when one of their camp is murdered. Will Mathilde be able to find the perpetrator before the King loses control of the throne?