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Ellen Jones

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The Fatal Crown: A Novel (The Queens of Love and War Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Ellen Jones (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 361 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Queens of Love and War

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Against the seething political intrigues of twelfth-century Europe, two royal heirs surrender to passion as they vie for the English throne.
At nine, Maud, an English princess, was sent to Germany to become the bride of the Holy Roman Emperor—a political alliance with a man her father’s age. At twenty-five, the widowed Maud must marry once again, this time to fourteen-year-old Geoffrey Plantagenet. But it is with Stephen of Blois, Maud’s fiercest rival for the British throne, that the headstrong princess discovers the true meaning of desire. Stephen, a descendant of William the Conqueror, believes absolutely in his God-given right to rule. Torn between his illicit passion for Maud and his own towering ambition, he knows he must choose. Stephen’s decision will wrench him from the arms of the woman he loves, ignite civil war, and lead to a shattering act of betrayal that, decades later, will come full circle and change the course of English history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this cumbrous historical novel, Jones postulates a turbulent love affair between the English princess Maud (born 1102) and her cousin and rival to the throne, Stephen of Blois--their passion complicated by political strife. Granddaughter of William the Conquerer, the historical Maud was wed at nine to an aging Holy Roman Emperor, later recalled from Germany as a widow of 25, named heir to the crown of England and married to 14-year-old Geoffrey Plantagenet. The novel dramatizes Maud's purported adulterous liaison with Stephen, who, despite their passionate involvement, angrily challenges her right to the throne when her father dies: their rivalry did in fact erupt into a devastating civil war; Stephen won, reigning until his death in 1154, whereupon Maud's son acceded to the throne, becoming the skilled administrator Henry II, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine. As depicted here, Maud is a temperamental romance heroine, manipulated by male chauvinists--feudal barons; her father, Henry I; her domineering, priggish husband, Geoffrey. Jones packs her fiction debut with factual passages that read as turgidly as a textbook, brightening the narrative with lust-filled interludes in royal bedchambers and a rustic forest lodge. The many hunting descriptions indicate inadequate research--a huntsman on the field would never feed his dogs raw boar meat--yet the period color and romance carry the tale to its bittersweet ending. 100,000 first printing .
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Jones packs her fiction debut with factual passages . . . brightening the narrative with lust-filled interludes in royal bedchambers . . . the period color and romance carry the tale to its bittersweet ending.” —Publishers Weekly

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AYRI4TI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Romance (January 29, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 29, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3385 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 679 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #944,308 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #968 in Historical Scottish Fiction
- #4,692 in U.S. Historical Fiction
- #55,467 in Historical Romances

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4.3 361 ratings

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Ellen Jones

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Ellen Jones was born in New York City and raised in a family of history teachers and musicians, who exposed her to a variety of ideas, cultures, and lifestyles. After graduating from Bennington College, she spent a few years studying drama in graduate school, which led to her first writing efforts.

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4.3 out of 5

361 global ratings

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Kathleen J Ruggio

Fatal Mistakes

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2014

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Well written and researched, Ellen Jones has delivered a great read. Great character development and so interesting. History of course is built on the shoulders of family, friends, mentors etc. and within this novel there is no stronger evidence of this. Those whom we love and sacrifice for in order to mold and guide is firmly shown throughout this book. As this guidance is given many mistakes are possible and forms history as we know it. This was my first book by this author that I have read. I thoroughly enjoyed the flow of the authors ideas and of course the romance. Looking forward to the next two in the trilogy.

One person found this helpful

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Laura511

Interesting and enjoyable read.

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2013

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I had never read about the first king of England and the family story behind them. It was very interesting and full of scandal (as it appears all royal families have). This novel kept my attention and while some of the middle dragged on too much, I still wanted to know what happened next. You start to feel empathy for certain characters and then you turn on them because of something they've done, then you feel empathy for the character you were just upset with- it has a great way of weaving real emotion into the storyline. Since I did not know any of the history of this storyline before I read, the ending was obviously full of surprises but I think even if you know how it all turns out you will still enjoy this book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes history with a bit of added flair, and enjoys this time period.

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BritishHistoryNut

The Woman behind the Plantagenets

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013

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If you want to learn more about Henry II (the first plantagent king), read this book about his mother. Maud is William the Conqueror's granddaughter & would make a perfect king if the English barons would let her. They won't, would rather have weak Stephen. While the romance between Stephen & Maud & the idea that Geoffrey Plantagenet is not Henry II's father is very well fiction, the story is still good. An easy read that I didn't want to put down or to end. If you're searching for very early Britisg history, go for it! Yes, the story is embellished, but I believe it stays true to the facts (when they're available)!

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old guy

Was Queen Maud a Queen or Not?

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2014

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Ellen Jones answered questions for this reader. Who on earth was Queen Maud? King Stephen! Where on earth did he come from? There has been a lot written about England's Norman kings, starting with Henry II, who was at least once portrayed in a very good movie. Before Henry there isn't much of a written record. I knew some of it, but not much, about William the Conqueror. Most of that came from a tapestry. I had seen Maud mentioned before but thought she came before Stephen. No! Ellen Jones has set me straight. First, there was William I. Then, there was William Rufus, followed, I think, by Henry I, who wanted his daughter to succeed him in an age that was run by men. So a nephew Stephen slipped in ahead of Maud, who never really became Queen Maud, but that's what she's called. The writer's thesis is that Maud loved Stephen, and he loved her, but she married a French count, who covered for her son by Stephen, who otherwise would be born a bastard. The son was to become the famous Henry II. Then things got complicated. Sure, the book covers a tough subject without much information available from the 12th Century about English politics. The author did pretty well with what she could find, and I found things interesting from time to time.

7 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Engaging book

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2022

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Well researched and engaging novel. Ellen Jones one of my new favorite authors. Definitely recommend this book. Look forward to more.

One person found this helpful

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ACDCJen

Great book about kings, queens, and conquest.

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2013

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I've been on an historical fiction kick lately, and this book came up in an Amazon search. The story centers around Maud and Stephen, their families and supporters, and is set in the 12th Century. It's a story that follows the main characters and their supporters as they marry, have children, and war over the throne of England. It's part romance and drama, and the author was able to weave these together very well. My only (tiny) complaint would be the somewhat lack of character development and the author's tendency to sometimes gloss over great stretches of time. But even these complaints don't detract much from the story. I got the second book in the trilogy because I enjoyed this book so much.

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Grandma M

A good book for a fan of British history

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017

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I absolutely LOVED this book. I do like historical fiction and while there is fiction mixed in with the facts in this book, there is enough fact to keep the story going. There is romance, anger, hate, war, and royal court plotting and planning. It is a good book for anyone who is a fan of history!

2 people found this helpful

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LEFountain

Good book, but the history lover in me cringed in some parts

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2014

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This is a good book. It was pretty well written and put together. It is a bit of a romance\lust book, but it is done in an interesting way. I only have two real complaints. One problem is that it constantly skips a lot of time. You go from paragraph to paragraph missing large portions of time. There are several chapters that begin with the phrase "several months later". In some places it would skip years ahead. I didn't like missing large portions of time. The second problem I had was the historical aspect. For the most part the book follows it pretty well for a fiction book. What really drove me nuts was the name switching. Empress Matilda's name became Maude. Stephen's wife (who was named Maude) became named Matilda. Every time I read Empress Matilda's name as Maude I cringed a little. Over all, it is a good book and I loved the new (highly doubtful) outlook on the origin of Empress Matilda's son King Henry.

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The Fatal Crown: A Novel (The Queens of Love and War Book 1) Kindle Edition

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