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Epitaph for Three Women
Epitaph for Three Women
Sep 13, 2025 6:54 AM

Author:Jean Plaidy

Epitaph for Three Women

The lives of three women who transformed history are brought vividly to life in this unforgettable novel.

On the death of Henry the fifth, a nine-month-old baby is made King of England. Ambitious men surround the baby king, including his two uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester. Shrewd and clever, Bedford seeks to uphold all his late brother had won and preserve it for young Henry the sixth. Gloucester, a man of poor judgment, greedy for wealth and power, has other ideas.

In Lancastrian England and war-torn France, there are three women whose lives are to have a marked effect on the future. Katherine de Valois, haunted by an unhappy childhood, finds love in an unexpected quarter and founds the Tudor dynasty; Joan of Arc leaves her village pastures on the command of heavenly voices; and Eleanor of Gloucester is drawn into a murder plot and becomes the centre of a cause célèbre. Murder, greed and ambition flourish alongside sacrifice, dedication and courage. These are turbulent times as the defeated become the victorious...

Reviews

Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama

—— New York Times

These books are page-turners; they offer a wonderful way to learn about history, their heroines are smart, strong and in control of their destinies and their stories will remain with you for ever...They are a celebration of women's spirit throughout history

—— Daily Express

Far and away my favourite writer

—— Wendy Holden

One of our best historical novelists

—— News Chronicle

Harwood is enviable skilled, handling pacing, delivery and plot with assurance and sly humour... The Ghost Writer has powerful moments and...a delicacy and tenderness that make it wonderfully readable

—— Times Literary Supplement

'One of the country's most widely read novelists

—— Sunday Times

Jean Plaidy has already established herself among the foremost of current historical novelists

—— Birmingham Mail

Jean Plaidy conveys the texture of various patches of the past with such rich complexity

—— Guardian

'A grand recounting of the second Punic War...Durham's epic is truly a big, magnificent, sprawling story complete with a sizable cast of compelling characters, intricately drawn battle scenes and fluid, graceful prose'

—— Booklist (starred review)
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