The Poison Maiden Mathilde Of Westminster Trilogy Book 2

Who can uncover the elusive identity of the Poison Maiden? The Poison Maiden is Paul Doherty's second compulsive novel set during the turbulent reign of Edward II, featuring Mathilde of Westminster.Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and Robin Hobb. 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. Just an arrowshot away lay 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 tries in vain to unmask the identity of the spy, Mathilde, handmaiden 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, are forced to flee. As the enemy closes in, Mathilde finds herself embroiled in a life and death struggle for the English crown. What readers are saying about The Poison Maiden: 'This is medieval mystery at its very best' 'A fascinating and illuminating page-turner of a book' 'This is a really good adventure; an atmospheric read, a great story, and lots to think on as you close the last page'

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 Cornwallbe chargedwith 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 embroiledin alife and death strugglefor the English crown.

A missing prince may provide the answers - can he be found? The Prince Lost to Time is Paul Doherty's second novel to feature Nicholas Segalla - a shadowy scholar travelling through time solving the past's greatest mysteries. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and C. J. Sansom. As the flames of revolution spread through France, they engulf the Royal Family, whose fairy-tale life in the magnificent palace of Versailles is shattered during the violent and bloody Reign of Terror. First to face the executioner is King Louis XVI, followed nine months later by his beautiful queen, the passionate Marie Antoinette. Several months before her death her young son and heir, Louis Charles, is torn from her arms, disappearing into the annals of history for ever. Although many presume him dead, legends spring up about the boy who would be king - did he die? If not, what happened to him? To keep his promise to the doomed queen, Segalla must brave treachery to unlock the answer. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Wonderful story' 'No one can make you feel as if you're living in different times like Paul Doherty' 'Paul Doherty's books are a joy to read'

A mysterious stranger appears in the Nile Delta - has the Emperor Akhaten returned to Egypt? Capturing Ancient Egypt in all its beauty and brutality, Paul Doherty's powerful novel, The Season of the Hyaena, brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of the hyaena world, in which the ally standing beside you at one moment may turn the next. Perfect for fans of Christian Jacqs and Wilbur Smith. 'An opulent banquet to satisfy the most murderous appetite' - Northern Echo Mahu, former Chief of Police and Keeper of the Secrets of the Heart is sitting down to record his memories. He sees uneasy quiet reigning in the Royal Circle at Thebes, after the disappearance of the Pharaoh Akenhaten and the abandonment of his new, sun-worshipping religion. Members of different factions are barely held together by loyalty to the six-year-old Emperor, Tutankhamun. Then extraordinary news reaches the Council: Akenhaten has returned to Egypt. The words are greeted with dismay by all who hear them, for surely Akenhaten is dead? Mahu can certainly vouch that the woman claiming to be the Emperor's wife, Nefertiti, is a fraud. Whoever the man is who has appeared in the Delta, he must be investigated. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Without a shadow of a doubt: 5 stars for the The Season of the Hyaena' 'The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of [Paul Doherty's] books' 'Doherty again manages to tell the story in a fascinating manner... [you] fly over the pages'

By 1322, Mathilde of Westminster was considered the finest physician in London. But in her years as lady-in-waiting to Princess Isabella, she was drawn into the murky politics of the English court, where sudden, mysterious death was part of the tapestry of life. Many years later, Mathilde looks back and chronicles her turbulent life. With her sharp, suspicious intellect ready to distinguish between a fatality and an unnatural death, Mathilde is confronted by a host of chilling murders. The source of these horrors is the fierce political rivalry between Philip of France and Edward of England. This manifests itself in a series of gruesome killings, one of which actually took place during Edward II's Coronation, when a knight of the Royal Household, Sir John Baquelle was crushed to death.

Mathilde of Westminster must face a dangerous foe in the third novel in Paul Doherty's acclaimed series. March 1312 and England is divided. Edward II is in conflict with his barons over royal favourite Gaveston, and Queen Isabella is momentously pregnant with the first union of Plantagenet and Capetian blood. Meanwhile, rebel Robert Bruce prowls the Scottish border seeking advancement. Mathilde of Westminster senses a challenge for the throne is imminent. When the great Earls step up their campaign, the King and Queen are forced to flee to a fortified priory in Tynemouth, now vulnerable to the Scottish marauders on land and Bruce's allies at sea. With threats all around, the royal party can only despair when one of their camp is murdered. Will Mathilde be able to find the perpetrator before the King loses control of the throne?

Can the mysteries of Ancient Greece, and Alexander himself, be unravelled? Alexander the Great faces the challenge of the Persian Centaur in The Godless Man, the second novel in Paul Doherty's magnificent series. Perfect for fans of Gary Corby and Margaret Doody. '[Paul Doherty's] Alexander is a loyal friend and likeable rogue intent on gambling everything to achieve his dreams of world conquest' - Times Literary Supplement Alexander has smashed the armies of the great king Darius III and is roaming the Western Persian Empire like a hungry predator, living up to his nickname of 'the Wolf of Macedon'. Arriving in the great city of Ephesus in 334 BC, his campaign is threatened by a series of violent murders carried out by a high-ranking Persian spy known as 'the Centaur'. Worse, one of Alexander's old tutors, Leonidas, is found face down in a pond at the House of Medusa. Alexander's friend and physician, the level-headed Telamon, must set about unravelling this mass of blood-strewn mysteries. As always one of the biggest obstacles is Alexander himself, a consummate actor whose lust for power and glory matches the carnage and intrigue that dog his footsteps like the Furies themselves. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Paul Doherty has the rare talent of making you feel as though you are there, be it medieval England, or battling with Alexander. The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of his books' '[You] lose yourself in the story' 'Five stars'

An investigation into the mysterious woman known as Jeanne of Arc... The turbulent times of the 15th century are perfectly captured in Paul Doherty's gripping mystery, The Serpent Amongst the Lilies. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and Susanna Gregory. At the behest of his master, Bishop Henry Beaufort, former criminal Matthew Jankyn is set among the followers of Jeanne d'Arc (the lilies). Charged with discovering whether Jeanne is really a saint, Jankyn must work out how best to ensure that the French war against the British can be foiled. But in spite of his lawless background, Jankyn comes to like Jeanne and to resent being pitted against her. But does Jeanne somehow know more about Jankyn's intentions than she is letting on, and what secrets is she keeping from him? What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'The plot and mystery slowly unfolds with unexpected twists and turns before finally being unravelled. An enthralling tale by Doherty at his best' '[You] lose yourself in the story' 'Five stars'