The Poison Maiden (Mathilde of Westminster Trilogy, Book 2): Deceit, deception and death in the court of Edward II

The second compelling novel in acclaimed author Paul Doherty's new series set in medieval England during the reign of Edward II. The series features Mathilde of Westminster, and the action is played out against the glorious, violent and decadent court, where ghosts throng, and old sins and innocent blood cry to heaven for vengeance.

It's 1308 and England hovers on the brink of civil war. Edward II, his wife Isabella and the royal favourite Peter Gaveston Earl of Cornwall, have been forced to retreat to the King's folly, as just an arrowshot away lie the Great Lords and Philip IV of France, who are demanding that the Earl of Cornwall be charged with high treason.

Edward is trapped, and worse, he has learnt that Philip has the 'Poison Maiden' on his side, a formidable spy who did untold damage during his father's reign. As Edward trys in vein to unmask the identity of the spy, Mathilde, hand maiden to the Queen, also attempts to identify the source of this threat.

Soon the crisis spills over into violence. The Lords attempt to take Gaveston by force and the King and his Court, including Mathilde, is forced to flee. As the enemy closes in, Mathilde finds herself embroiled in a life and death struggle for the English crown.