A Knight There Was – The Knights of England~Book II
Golden knights living in a golden age.
That’s how young Matthew Hart views his prince, his king, his father—and himself. Blessed by God, set apart from ordinary men. Invincible. Untouchable. The Warrior King, Edward III, who is often compared to King Arthur, has bested the French at Crecy (in the beginnings of what we call the Hundred Years’ War) and now Matthew, who, led by Edward the Black Prince, annihilates their enemy at Poitiers, becomes part of that legend.
England is at its zenith.
For Margery Watson, the offspring of an illicit union between a peasant woman and a lord (The Lion and the Leopard, Book 1), life is more difficult. Margery, who believes, as does the radical priest, John Ball, that the nobility oppress those they are sworn to protect, is nevertheless conflicted. After all, both common and noble blood course through her veins. And how can she resist Matthew Hart, who is strong, handsome and so certain of his place in society? (For 'tis the way of life: knights are to protect; priests are to pray; and peasants are to provide sustenance for all.) Margery and Matthew begin an affair, which ends in tragedy. For just as the Black Prince and his court, including Matthew, are bound for Bordeaux, Margery is tricked into marrying a loathsome goldsmith.
.
Matthew is determined to forget Margery Watson, who he believes has betrayed him. Margery, believing that Matthew betrayed HER, settles into life as the wealthy wife of London’s mayor.
Both mistakenly believing that time, distance—and heartbreak disguised as animosity—will be enough to keep them forever apart.
About Mary Ellen Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colorado Author)
Mary Ellen Johnson’s writing career was sparked by her passion for Medieval England. Her first medieval historical book, The Lion and the Leopard, was followed by The Landlord’s Black-Eyed Daughter, a historical novel based on the Alfred Noyes poem, “The Highwayman.” (Published under the pseudonym, Mary Ellen Dennis.) Landlord was chosen as one of the top 100 historical romances of 2013.
After taking a twenty year detour in a quixotic quest to change the world--rather like Arthurian knights’ quests to find the holy grail, which ended in similar failure— Mary Ellen has happily returned to historical fiction writing and her favorite time period, the tumultuous fourteenth century. Her five book series, Knights of England, follows the fortunes of the characters (and their progeny) introduced in The Lion and the Leopard through the Black Death, the reign of that most gloriously medieval of monarchs, Edward III, the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, and ends with the deposition and murder of Richard II in 1399.
There is nothing Mary Ellen loves more than bringing Medieval England alive for the reader. She particularly enjoys researching battles, campaigns, the daily lives of both lord and peasant, and trying to figure out our ancestors’ thought processes, particularly how they viewed their world. Oh, and did she mention the castles and cathedrals? Mary Ellen likes to say her favorite place in all the world is standing before the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral.
Something of interest, at least to Mary Ellen: when her genealogy was traced she found that she is related to many of those she's spent a lifetime reading and writing about—including John of Gaunt, Edward the Black Prince, Edward II, Edward III, even Richard the Lionheart! How can that be? Genetic memory? Reincarnation? Mary Ellen has no idea but you can bet she’ll be exploring the possibilities in future novels!
