The Queen's Man
4 primary works • 5 total works
Book 1
January AD 1193.
England lies uneasy, a land without a king.
Two months have passed since King Richard set sail for Acre. Two months and no word. Rumours abound that the king is dead. The Lionheart's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, prays for his safe return, holding the throne for one son while her other conspires to seize it. Who can she trust?
As a murdered man lies dying on the road to Winchester, he thrusts a blood-stained letter into the hands of a young squire. Justin de Quincy, the bastard-born son of the Bishop of Chester, now holds the key to the fate of the land. In this time of uncertainty he must prove his worth and show himself to be the Queen's Man.
Book 2
Book 3
July, AD 1193: A king's ransom is missing...
Richard the Lionheart, captured on his way home from the crusades, rots in an Austrian dungeon. Now England must raise a king's ransom. While his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, ransacks the land for gold to buy his freedom, Richard's younger brother, John, plots with King Philippe of France, England's bitterest foe, to ensure his brother dies in chains.
When one of the ransom payments vanishes in the fastnesses of Wales, Eleanor sends her agent, Justin de Quincy, to recover it. Thrust into a maelstrom of intrigue if not outright rebellion, De Quincy's devotion will be supremely tested. For the queen's treasure is elusive, and danger is everywhere...
Book 4
DECEMBER, AD 1193. England lies uneasy, a land without a king. Richard the Lionheart languishes in an Austrian dungeon and his brother John hungers for the crown. In the Lionheart's stead, Eleanor of Aquitaine rules. She is determined to prevent the outbreak of civil war, but the land is riven by treachery and there are few men she can trust.
Justin de Quincy is one of the few. Sharp-witted, bastard-born, he is the Queen's most trusted agent, a foil to John's machinations. But now John himself has asked for de Quincy's aid. A powerful conspiracy threatens the course of history and de Quincy will have to prove his mettle - or find an early grave - as he searches for its dark heart.
On the throne, in the Lionheart's stead, sits Eleanor of Aquitaine. At seventy, Eleanor is the most powerful woman in Christendom and as mother to both Richard and John she is determined to prevent the outbreak of civil war. But amid the royal court at the Tower of London, treachery is endemic and there are few men she can trust.
Justin de Quincy is one of the few. The bastard-born son of the Bishop of Chester, Justin has neither noble blood nor fortune – but he is blessed with a sharp mind and unshakeable loyalty. Gifts that will make him an agent of the Queen, taking him to the very centre of power – and into the heart of danger.
THE QUEEN'S MAN, CRUEL AS THE GRAVE and DRAGON'S LAIR see Justin moving from bustling streets of Winchester to the to the alehouses and stews of Southwark, from the horrors of Newgate Gaol to the mountains of Wales. He will prove his mettle – or find an early grave – as he uncovers the dark intrigues of Eleanor's court.