The People’s Queen

Set in late fourteenth century England, Vanora Bennett's rich, dramatic new novel presents an England uncannily like our own.The country is in turmoil, The King is in debt to the City, and the old order had broken down – a time of opportunity indeed, for those who can seize the moment.The king's mistress, Alice Perrers, becomes the virtual ruler of the country from his sickbed. Disliked and despised by the Black Prince and his cronies, her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the king's ambitious second son, John of Gaunt.Together they create a powerful position in the city for one of his henchmen, Geoffrey Chaucer.In this moment of opportunity,…