Shadows and Strongholds

From humble beginnings and a narrow escape from death in childhood, William Marshall steadily rises through the ranks to become tutor in arms to the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Based on fact, this is the story of William Marshal, the greatest knight of the Middle Ages.

To save his soul, William Marshal takes the perilous road to Jerusalem, but the greatest danger he faces there is losing his heart. England, 1219. Lying on his deathbed, William Marshal, England's greatest knight, sends a trusted servant to bring to him the silk Templar burial shrouds that returned with him from the Holy Land 30 years ago. It is time to fulfil his vow to the Templars and become a monk of their order for eternity.

In the wild, windswept Welsh Marches, a noble young lord rides homewards, embittered, angry and in danger. He is Guyon, Lord of Ledworth, heir to threatened lands, husband-to-be of Judith of Ravenstow. Their union will save his lands - but they have yet to meet...for this is Wales at the turn of the 12th century. Dynasties forge and fight, and behind the precarious throne of William Rufus, political intrigue is raging.

Unable to inherit his father's title, Joscelin de Gael, the beloved bastard son of William Ironheart, is serving Henry II when he encounters the lady Linnet de Montsorrel. On her husband's death, Linnet is bestowed on Joscelin as a reward for his loyalty. While Joscelin's half-brothers plot to overthrow their own father, revelations of past loves and family secrets threaten Linnet and Joscelin's relationship.

It is a time for ambitious men to prosper, and royal servant John FitzGilbert Marshal is one of them. Raised high, as the kin of the deceased King Henry battle each other for England's throne, John reaps rich rewards but pays a terrible price for the choices he makes - as does his family. His wife, fragile, naïve Aline is hopelessly unequipped to cope with the demands of a life lived on the edge and, when John is seriously injured in battle, her worst nightmare is realised.

Thirteenth-century France: Bridget has grown up mastering the mystical gifts of her ancestor, Mary Magdalene, whose unbroken female lineage has kept a legacy of wisdom alive for a thousand years. But the all-powerful Catholic Church has sworn to destroy Bridget for using her healing talents and supernatural abilities. Her duty to continue the bloodline leads her into the arms of Raoul de Mountvallant – a Catholic.

Fresh from the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy has returned home in triumph, accompanied by the English nobles he cannot trust to be left behind. But Waltheof of Huntingdon is not thinking of rebellion; from the moment he sees Judith, daughter of the king's formidable sister, he knows he has found his future wife. The attraction is mutual, but in mediaeval Europe marriage has little to do with love. When William refuses to let the couple wed, Waltheof joins an uprising against him.

The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known... of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul... of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame... and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.

Two very different women are linked by destiny and the struggle for the English crown. Matilda, daughter of Henry I, is determined to win back her crown from Stephen, the usurper king. Adeliza, Henry's widowed queen and Matilda's stepmother, is now married to William D'Albini, a warrior of the opposition. Both women are strong and prepared to stand firm for what they know is right. But in a world where a man's word is law, how can Adeliza obey her husband while supporting Matilda, the rightful queen?

The thrilling first instalment in the Wars of the Roses series - set at the beginnings of this turbulent period of English history which saw the throne change hands six times in 30 years. The Swan sees Henry VI crowned King of England, and married to the young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou - and so begins the extraordinary story of how England became a divided nation, where brother took up arms against brother. This was the war which defined the England we know today.