Four lives. Love, power, loss and survival in the medieval world.
My biographies explore the people behind the dynasties: women who sustained great families, a royal favourite whose intimacy with a king proved dangerous, and a queen whose descendants changed England. All four books are forthcoming from Pen & Sword.
Joan Beaufort · Eleanor Neville · Piers Gaveston · Catherine de Valois
Joan Beaufort
Joan Beaufort, Katherine Swynford’s Daughter: Matriarch of the North
Forthcoming from Pen & Sword · At proof stage
Joan Beaufort’s life connects the world of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford with the great northern families whose descendants shaped the Wars of the Roses. As daughter, wife, mother and countess, she occupied a place where royal politics and family loyalties met.
This biography follows Joan through marriage, motherhood and widowhood, exploring the relationships, estates and religious commitments that sustained her authority. It brings a formidable medieval woman into focus, alongside the family whose ambitions and divisions would outlive her.
Read about finding Joan Beaufort →
Eleanor Neville
Eleanor Neville: Widow of the Wars of the Roses
Forthcoming from Pen & Sword · At proof stage
What did the Wars of the Roses mean for the women who survived them? For Eleanor Neville, daughter of Joan Beaufort and wife of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, the struggle for the crown brought devastating personal loss. She outlived her husband and four sons.
St Albans, Northampton, Towton and Hedgeley Moor run through her family’s story. Behind those familiar battle names lies a woman facing bereavement, uncertainty and the consequences of political defeat. This book follows Eleanor through the world of the Nevilles and Percys, keeping her experience and endurance at its heart.
Read about Eleanor and the Battle of Northampton →
Piers Gaveston
A biography of Edward II’s favourite
Forthcoming from Pen & Sword · In preparation
Piers Gaveston’s rise brought him wealth, influence and the love of a king. It also placed him at the centre of a political struggle that ended in his violent death at Blacklow Hill in 1312.
Following him from Gascony to the English court, this biography explores ambition, exile, marriage, intimacy and royal power. It takes seriously the evidence that Edward II and Gaveston were probably lovers, while examining the political interests and personal loyalties surrounding them. The aim is to recover the man whose life is too often reduced to a label: the favourite.
Explore Oakham, Margaret de Clare and Gaveston’s world →
Catherine de Valois
The Rise of the Tudors, Queen Catherine de Valois: Princess of France, Queen of England, Mother of a Dynasty
Contracted to Pen & Sword History · In preparation
A French princess, queen of England, mother of Henry VI and grandmother of Henry VII: Catherine de Valois stood at the meeting point of three dynastic stories. Her own life deserves just as much attention as the famous men connected with it.
This biography explores her French childhood, her marriage to Henry V, early widowhood and her later life with Owen Tudor. It asks what choices were available to a royal woman whose family relationships carried such political weight, and follows the history of her reputation and remembrance. Catherine died long before the Tudor dynasty came to power; her story must be understood in the world she knew.
Follow the books as they develop
Publication dates, covers and ordering links will appear here when confirmed. Meanwhile, the blog shares discoveries, visits and the stories behind the writing.
