Spotlight: The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Winter Crown

Elizabeth Chadwick

ISBN: 9781402296819

Pubdate: September 1, 2015

Imprint: Sourcebooks Landmark

Genre: Historical Fiction

As Queen of England, Eleanor has a new cast of enemies—including the king.

Eleanor has more than fulfilled her duty as Queen of England—she has given her husband, Henry II, heirs to the throne and has proven herself as a mother and ruler. But Eleanor needs more than to be a bearer of children and a deputy; she needs command of the throne. As her children grow older, and her relationship with Henry suffers from scandal and infidelity, Eleanor realizes the power she seeks won’t be given willingly. She must take it for herself. But even a queen must face the consequences of treason…

In this long-anticipated second novel in the Eleanor of Aquitaine trilogy, bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick evokes a royal marriage where love and hatred are intertwined, and the battle over power is fought not with swords, but deception.

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Three Little-Known Facts about Eleanor of Aquitaine, One of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of the Middle Ages

By Elizabeth Chadwick

1) She was married in a scarlet wedding dress, but the dress may not have been red. Scarlet was the name of a very, very fine woolen cloth that came in many colors in Eleanor’s period, including gold, green, and blue. Red was also a common color to dye scarlet fabric, and the cloth eventually gave its name to the color, but in Eleanor’s time, there were many color variations.

2) Eleanor gave her husband Louis a vase for a wedding present that still exists today. It was made of carved rock crystal and was already hundreds of years old when she gave it to him. Her grandfather had brought it back with him from the Crusades. When she gave the gift to Louis, it was a plain, unembellished object, except for its detailed honeycomb carving. Later on, Louis gave it as a gift to his tutor, Abbe Suger, for the treasury of St. Denis. Suger then had it decorated with gold and precious gems, completely changing its original, more subtle appearance. You can still see the magnificent “Eleanor vase” in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

3) Eleanor’s grandmother bore the nickname Dangereuse. Her lover—Eleanor’s grandfather—wrote very explicit poetry about lust and love. When a bishop ordered him to give up Dangereuse, whose real name was Amaberge, he told the bishop, who was bald, that curls would grow all over his head before he ever did such a thing.

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About the Author:

“A star back in Britain, Elizabeth Chadwick is finally getting the attention she deserves here.”—USA Today. Chadwick is the bestselling author of over 20 historical novels, including The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion, A Place Beyond Courage, Lords of the White Castle, Shadows and Strongholds, The Winter Mantle, and The Falcons of Montabard, four of which have been shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Awards. Connect with Elizabeth on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.