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Authors: Jean Plaidy

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The Star of Lancaster

BOOK: The Star of Lancaster
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About the Book

Richard the Second is losing his hold on the crown and Henry of Bolingbroke, previously exiled by the king, returns to England to claim it. Richard is deposed and dies mysteriously, murdered some say on the orders of Bolingbroke, now King Henry the Fourth. But Henry finds the crown harder to hold onto than it was to win. He is beset by enemies, hampered by disease, and concerned about the rebellious behaviour of his son.

Dominating the court and with his eye on the crown is Harry of Monmouth, whose reckless conduct in low-class taverns with his crony Sir John Oldcastle causes scandal. When the king dies, Harry became King Henry the Fifth, and the change is dramatic for both him and Oldcastle. The licentious youth becomes a great king, and Oldcastle, the rake, turns into a religious reformer. Oldcastle dies a martyr and Harry becomes the conquering hero of Agincourt.

The Star of Lancaster is in the ascendant. Harry has brought France to her knees and married her princess. It seems that the long war was at an end. But a greater enemy than the French awaits Harry …

‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama’
New York Times

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781446427491

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Published by Arrow Books 2009

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Copyright © Jean Plaidy, 1980

Initial lettering copyright © Stephen Raw, 2008

The Estate of Eleanor Hibbert has asserted its right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to have Jean Plaidy identified as the author of this work.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

First published in Great Britain in 1981 by Robert Hale Limited

The Random House Group Limited 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SA

www.rbooks.co.uk

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780099533085

Contents

Cover

About the book

Title

Copyright

Praise for Jean Plaidy

About The Author

Further titles available in Arrow by Jean Plaidy

Map

I: Encounter in the Forest

II: The Child Wife

III: The Lord Harry

IV: The Last Farewell

V: The Forget-Me-Not

VI: The Prince and the Virgin Widow

VII: Hotspur

VIII: Isabella at the Court of France

IX: Prince Hal

X: Oldcastle

XI: Agincourt

XII: Death at Lollards’ Gallows

XIII: A Charge of Witchcraft

XIV: Katherine de Valois

XIV: Death of the Conqueror

Bibliography

Praise for Jean Plaidy

‘Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama’
New York Times

‘Outstanding’
Vanity Fair

‘Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting’
Observer

‘Plaidy has brought the past to life’
Times Literary Supplement

‘One of our best historical novelists’
News Chronicle

‘An excellent story’
Irish Press

‘Spirited ... Plaidy paints the truth as she sees it’
Birmingham Post

‘Sketched vividly and sympathetically ... rewarding’
Scotsman

‘Among the foremost of current historical novelists’
Birmingham Mail

‘An accomplished novelist’
Glasgow Evening News

‘There can be no doubt of the author’s gift for storytelling’
Illustrated London News

‘Jean Plaidy has once again brought characters and background vividly to life’
Everywoman

‘Well up to standard ... fascinating’
Manchester Evening News

‘Exciting and intelligent’
Truth Magazine

‘No frills and plenty of excitement’
Yorkshire Post

Jean Plaidy, one of the pre-eminent authors of historical fiction for most of the twentieth century, is the pen name of the prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert, also known as Victoria Holt. Jean Plaidy’s novels had sold more than 14 million copies worldwide by the time of her death in 1993.

For further information about our Jean Plaidy reissues and mailing list, please visit
www.randomhouse.co.uk/minisites/jeanplaidy

Further titles available in Arrow by Jean Plaidy

The Tudors

Uneasy Lies the Head

Katharine, the Virgin

Widow

The Shadow of the

Pomegranate

The King’s Secret Matter

Murder Most Royal

St Thomas’s Eve

The Sixth Wife

The Thistle and the Rose

Mary Queen of France

Lord Robert

Royal Road to Fotheringay

The Captive Queen of Scots

The Medici Trilogy

Madame Serpent

The Italian Woman

Queen Jezebel

The Plantagenets

The Plantagenet Prelude

The Revolt of the Eaglets

The Heart of the Lion

The Prince of Darkness

The Battle of the Queens

The Queen from Provence

The Hammer of the Scots

The Follies of the King

The Vow on the Heron

Passage to Pontefract

The French Revolution

Louis the Well-Beloved

The Road to Compiègne

Flaunting, Extravagant

Queen

The Isabella and

Ferdinand Trilogy

Castile for Isabella

Spain for the Sovereigns

Daughters of Spain

The Victorians

The Captive of Kensington

The Queen and Lord M

The Queen’s Husband

The Widow of Windsor

Chapter I
BOOK: The Star of Lancaster
7.5Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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