A great story about Constance of York, a granddaughter of Edward III, therefore a cousin to King Richard II, as well as a cousin of Henry IV, Bolingbroke. She was happily married to Thomas Despenser, who was beheaded as a traitor for being loyal to Richard at the time that Henry usurped the throne. Constance never forgave King Henry, and involved herself in plots to take the throne from him. Lots of intrigue, etc. ( )

A great read -- not your usual true love and battles and a happy ending -- this is a complicated tale of intrigue, treachery and conspiracy. This is not a quick and easy read. The "cast of characters" is large and complicated, it was well into 100+ pages before a grasped it all but well worth it. The author provided a list of characters to refer to which I found very helpful.

All in all a great read about a period I knew little about. As a side note, this book begins about the period that Katherine leaves off -- but is not related to that book and does not favor Henry of Bolingbrook that well. I did love the final scene between Constance and Henry's Queen. LOL. At the same time, I did enjoy reading about what become of Henry, as well as Katherine and John's two sons. Highly recommended.

As a side note, check out this author's other book, The Adventures of Alianore Audley. An hysterical send up of historical fiction, I doubt that Mel Brooks could have done better. Set in the period of Edward IV and Richard III. I recommend having a passing knowledge of the period or you'll miss half the jokes. ( )