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The Marriage of Meggotta
The quickening love between Meggotta de Burgh and Richard de Clare, members of the aristocracy ruling feudal England, is severely tested when Henry III turns against Meggotta's father, his former adviser
283 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
4 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Edith Pargeter
48 books194 followersaka Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, Ellis Peters (later editions of her work are sometimes published under this pseudonym), and John Redfern
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
West Midlands Literary Heritage website biography
Novelist. Born September 1913 at Horsehay, Shropshire. Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. Edith attended Dawley Church of England School and the Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. Through her mother, she grew to love the history and countryside of Shropshire, her home for all of her life.
Before World War II she worked as a chemist's assistant at Dawley. During this time she started writing seriously for publication while gathering useful information on medicines that she would draw upon later when tackling crime stories. Her first published novel was Hortensius, friend of Nero (1936), a rather dry tale of martyrdom that was not a great success but she persevered and The city lies foursquare (1939) was much more warmly received.
During the war she worked in an administrative role with the Women's Royal Navy Service in Liverpool, a relatively brief period away from Shropshire, and for her devotion to duty she received the British Empire Medal. Many more novels appeared at this time, including Ordinary people (1941) and She goes to war (1942), the latter based on her own wartime experiences. The eighth champion of Christendom appeared in 1945 and from now on she was able to devote all her time to writing. She was particularly proud of her Heaven tree trilogy, which appeared between 1961 and 1963, which had as a backdrop the English Welsh borderlands in the twelfth century.
It was not until 1951 that she tackled a mystery story with Fallen into the pit, the first appearance of Sergeant George Felse as the investigating police officer. Her other great character, and the one for which the author will continue to be known the world over, Brother Cadfael, was to follow many years later. The first appearance of this monk at Shrewsbury Abbey was in A morbid taste for bones (1977) and he mixed his herbs and unravelled mysteries in this atmospheric setting for a further nineteen novels. This kept the author very busy for the remaining 18 years of her life, to the virtual exclusion of all other work.
The name "Ellis Peters" was adopted by Edith Pargeter to clearly mark a division between her mystery stories and her other work. Her brother was Ellis and Petra was a friend from Czechoslovakia. A frequent visitor to the country, Edith Pargeter had begun her association and deep interest in their culture after meeting Czechoslovakian soldiers during the war. This was to lead to her learning the language translating several books into English.
She won awards for her writing from both the British Crime Writers Association and the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an honorary Masters Degree from Birmingham University and the Gold Medal of the Czechoslovak Society for Foreign Relations. There is a memorial to her in Shrewsbury Abbey.
After her death in October 1995, The Times published a full obituary that declared that here was "a deeply sensitive and perceptive woman....an intensely private and modest person " whose writing was "direct, even a little stilted, matching a self-contained personality".
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 18, 2016
This novel tells the tragic story of the turbulent political fortunes of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent and Justiciar of England, and the impact this has on two children, his daughter Meggotta and his ward Richard de Clare. Married in secret, they were inseparable, but fortune did not favour them.
I love this book. It is very well written, the politics do not overwhelm the emotions and personalities of the story. I love the way the final scene of the book links directly back to the beginning. This type of circular parallel is also reflected in the sub-plot of the irregular marriage of Simon de Montfort and his royal wife Eleanor. Hubert is the only noble to stand up and defend their actions. But he warns Simon to be wary of their king...and of course history proved this to be correct. The Marriage of Meggotta is a genuinely heartbreaking story and I would defy anybody to finish it without tears in their eyes.
I love this book. It is very well written, the politics do not overwhelm the emotions and personalities of the story. I love the way the final scene of the book links directly back to the beginning. This type of circular parallel is also reflected in the sub-plot of the irregular marriage of Simon de Montfort and his royal wife Eleanor. Hubert is the only noble to stand up and defend their actions. But he warns Simon to be wary of their king...and of course history proved this to be correct. The Marriage of Meggotta is a genuinely heartbreaking story and I would defy anybody to finish it without tears in their eyes.
May 9, 2021
You've read this story before: two star-crossed lovers must grow to trust and cherish one another, overcome the adversity of a tyrant king and his scheming minister, and keep faith through war and battle until the day their love can be fulfilled in peace. The difference here is that this couple are eight years old when we first meet them, and ten when they must face together the most difficult challenge of their lives. Meggotta de Burgh and Richard de Clare really lived, and this is the story of their love and marriage.
Actually, by the end of the book it becomes clear that there are really three love stories braided together here amid the backdrop of thirteenth-century England: Richard and Meggotta, the betrothed children and heirs to England's greatest landholdings; Simon de Montfort and Eleanor Plantagenet, young lovers daring to overturn a vow of celibacy and a kingly brother's disapproval; and Meggotta's parents, Hubert and Margaret, the mature and world-wise Count and Countess of Kent. Each of these narrative threads plays out in a world where marriages are matters of statecraft rather than affection, and each of the three meets a very different fate.
I love Edith Pargeter's characters; she writes with a lovely faith in the goodness of people and a genuine sorrow for the evils that arise from tangled situations and weakness of character in high places. Her protagonists are always so upright and good, often good to a fault, and usually meet their downfall through putting their trust in someone who cannot fail to fail them. The long-lived King Henry III of England is a central character in this story, as well as in two other books of Pargeter's that I've read, and even his thorough incompetence as a ruler, and all the suffering that that entails, receives a sympathetic treatment at her hand.
You could easily tell this story in a different way, one in which everyone who can wield a sword is struggling to claw their cynical way to the top of the political hierarchy, but that's not how medieval people lived. They needed one another, and they knew it. Trust and faith were the foundation of the realm, not its weak points. It was when people in high places broke faith or betrayed one another that they risked outbreaks of war or civil unrest.
I read this novel because I'd already read the first two of Pargeter's Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet, but had trouble finding the third and fourth. This was a perfect interlude to read halfway through the series: although unrelated plot-wise, it takes place a generation earlier than the Welsh quartet, and introduces two characters as young men who will become major players in English politics by the time of their maturity in The Brothers of Gwynedd: King Henry and Simon de Montfort. The true tale of Richard and Meggotta is like a small and beautiful embroidering along the margin of that majestic and tragic tapestry, and for that reason I enjoyed it.
Actually, by the end of the book it becomes clear that there are really three love stories braided together here amid the backdrop of thirteenth-century England: Richard and Meggotta, the betrothed children and heirs to England's greatest landholdings; Simon de Montfort and Eleanor Plantagenet, young lovers daring to overturn a vow of celibacy and a kingly brother's disapproval; and Meggotta's parents, Hubert and Margaret, the mature and world-wise Count and Countess of Kent. Each of these narrative threads plays out in a world where marriages are matters of statecraft rather than affection, and each of the three meets a very different fate.
I love Edith Pargeter's characters; she writes with a lovely faith in the goodness of people and a genuine sorrow for the evils that arise from tangled situations and weakness of character in high places. Her protagonists are always so upright and good, often good to a fault, and usually meet their downfall through putting their trust in someone who cannot fail to fail them. The long-lived King Henry III of England is a central character in this story, as well as in two other books of Pargeter's that I've read, and even his thorough incompetence as a ruler, and all the suffering that that entails, receives a sympathetic treatment at her hand.
You could easily tell this story in a different way, one in which everyone who can wield a sword is struggling to claw their cynical way to the top of the political hierarchy, but that's not how medieval people lived. They needed one another, and they knew it. Trust and faith were the foundation of the realm, not its weak points. It was when people in high places broke faith or betrayed one another that they risked outbreaks of war or civil unrest.
I read this novel because I'd already read the first two of Pargeter's Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet, but had trouble finding the third and fourth. This was a perfect interlude to read halfway through the series: although unrelated plot-wise, it takes place a generation earlier than the Welsh quartet, and introduces two characters as young men who will become major players in English politics by the time of their maturity in The Brothers of Gwynedd: King Henry and Simon de Montfort. The true tale of Richard and Meggotta is like a small and beautiful embroidering along the margin of that majestic and tragic tapestry, and for that reason I enjoyed it.
May 11, 2010
Most people know Edith Pargeter as Ellis Peters, author of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, but she was also a great writer of historical fiction. This book tells the heartbreaking story of the de Burgh family's persecution at the hands of the capricious Henry III. Henry becomes suspicious of Hubert de Burgh and his power, but ultimately it is Hubert's daughter Megotta and his former ward Richard who suffer. They are truly in love but their marriage is tragically thwarted. This could be the makings for a very melodramatic, sentimental, and overblown romance novel, but Pargeter is a far better writer than that. She takes on the full political situation as well as the emotional one, showing in a stark light the way in which the personal and political were often too tightly intertwined in the medieval world. Pargeter also does a nice job of bringing in the story of Henry's sister Eleanor and Simon de Montfort as a parallel to Richard and Megotta.
November 27, 2011
This fictional account of the sad fate of two 13th century children of English nobility is well researched and movingly written. Society versus the individual is a constant tension throughout human history but the English system of arranged marriage seems to be straight-out child abuse to the modern eye, prioritizing lands, titles and fortunes over the feelings of the human beings involved. Well done, and a very interesting insight into that era.
April 10, 2020
This book deftly weaves together two love stories --the poignant tale of two very young lovers and that of the King Henry III's sister Eleanor and Simon de Montfort--set against the backdrop of political intrigue which affects them all. Beautifully written
January 13, 2019
3.5 solid stars. Review to follow.
November 17, 2022
The Marriage of Meggotta
By Edith Pargeter
Reviewed November 17, 2022
The Marriage of Meggotta was written in 1979 by Edith Pargeter, who wrote under the names Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, John Redfern, and Ellis Peters, the creator of the beloved Brother Cadfael. According to the blurb on the back of the book, it is the last one she wrote under her own name. I’ve seen it described as a medieval romance, but don’t go confusing this with the bodice rippers that flooded the shelves at the book stores during this time. Yes, it is a love story...but perhaps not quite the kind you might be expecting.
Over the years, I’ve read many of Ms. Pargeter’s books (especially the Cadfael stories) but somehow missed this one, so when it was recommended to me I figured sure, why not. To make things even more interesting, I had recently discovered that one of the major characters, young Richard de Clare, is an ancestor of mine.
The story starts out in Burgh-next-Aylsham, Westminster in the year 1230, during the reign Henry III. Young Richard, son of Gilbert de Clare, has been brought to live with Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent and Justiciar to King Henry and his wife Margaret, eldest sister of King Alexander II of Scotland, to be raised among their household.
Gilbert was a powerful magnate in his own right, the Earl of Gloucester, and he and Hubert had agreed that Richard should marry Hubert’s daughter, Meggotta (a variation of Margaret), and would join these two important families. When Gilbert dies unexpectedly, the king decides that Richard should be Hubert’s ward, and having children who are supposed to marry later in life grow up together will allow them to get to know each other and thus create a good foundation for their marriage. After a rocky start, Meggotta and Richard, both about 10 years old, form a lasting friendship and as they get to know each other better, more tender feelings develop.
Of course, the road to true love is never smooth as Hubert falls foul of King Henry and the machinations of other courtiers. King Henry is the son of King John of Magna Carta fame, and came to the throne at the tender age of nine. As a minor, the governing of the country for many years was done in his name by older, more knowledgeable advisors, but now Henry chafes under them. He becomes suspicious of Hubert who, because of his position of power and authority, has made many enemies, enemies who are more than happy to lie, cheat, and steal to bring him down, and Henry is more than willing to believe their whisperings.
Suddenly Meggotta’s world is torn asunder. Her father is arrested, stripped of lands and titles, and though never convicted of anything, is imprisoned for two years. His wife Margaret is certain the king has his sights set on her and the children next, and takes them to seek refuge in the abbey at Bury where they remain throughout Hubert’s confinement. Worried that the king will take young Richard from them, and knowing how devoted he and Meggotta are to each other, the children are secretly married, swearing not to reveal this until the right time, when they are older and the current situation is resolved.
Eventually, after many hardships, a reconciliation is brokered between the king and his former justiciar. However, one of the terms of this reconciliation is that Hubert give up Richard and any idea of marriage between the boy and his daughter. Hubert, unaware of what took place while he was imprisoned, agrees. The two children, now in their early teens, have seen their relationship grow, from the young puppy love of childhood to deeper feelings of love. When their secret is eventually revealed, the consequences are not good.
Though they are the main characters, Meggotta and Richard’s story is not the only one. The theme of love is woven throughout the book. There is the mature love between Hubert and Margaret; the relationship between King Henry and his young bride, Eleanor of Province; and the secret marriage of Simon de Montfort to Henry’s sister, also named Eleanor.
You might think that a story of star-crossed lovers in which the two main characters are as young as they are might come across as either mawkish or worse, but in Pargeter’s hands their story is written in such a way that it is natural and believable, a sweet and tender love story with a bittersweet ending. Be sure to have your tissues nearby when you get near the end.
By Edith Pargeter
Reviewed November 17, 2022
The Marriage of Meggotta was written in 1979 by Edith Pargeter, who wrote under the names Peter Benedict, Jolyon Carr, John Redfern, and Ellis Peters, the creator of the beloved Brother Cadfael. According to the blurb on the back of the book, it is the last one she wrote under her own name. I’ve seen it described as a medieval romance, but don’t go confusing this with the bodice rippers that flooded the shelves at the book stores during this time. Yes, it is a love story...but perhaps not quite the kind you might be expecting.
Over the years, I’ve read many of Ms. Pargeter’s books (especially the Cadfael stories) but somehow missed this one, so when it was recommended to me I figured sure, why not. To make things even more interesting, I had recently discovered that one of the major characters, young Richard de Clare, is an ancestor of mine.
The story starts out in Burgh-next-Aylsham, Westminster in the year 1230, during the reign Henry III. Young Richard, son of Gilbert de Clare, has been brought to live with Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent and Justiciar to King Henry and his wife Margaret, eldest sister of King Alexander II of Scotland, to be raised among their household.
Gilbert was a powerful magnate in his own right, the Earl of Gloucester, and he and Hubert had agreed that Richard should marry Hubert’s daughter, Meggotta (a variation of Margaret), and would join these two important families. When Gilbert dies unexpectedly, the king decides that Richard should be Hubert’s ward, and having children who are supposed to marry later in life grow up together will allow them to get to know each other and thus create a good foundation for their marriage. After a rocky start, Meggotta and Richard, both about 10 years old, form a lasting friendship and as they get to know each other better, more tender feelings develop.
Of course, the road to true love is never smooth as Hubert falls foul of King Henry and the machinations of other courtiers. King Henry is the son of King John of Magna Carta fame, and came to the throne at the tender age of nine. As a minor, the governing of the country for many years was done in his name by older, more knowledgeable advisors, but now Henry chafes under them. He becomes suspicious of Hubert who, because of his position of power and authority, has made many enemies, enemies who are more than happy to lie, cheat, and steal to bring him down, and Henry is more than willing to believe their whisperings.
Suddenly Meggotta’s world is torn asunder. Her father is arrested, stripped of lands and titles, and though never convicted of anything, is imprisoned for two years. His wife Margaret is certain the king has his sights set on her and the children next, and takes them to seek refuge in the abbey at Bury where they remain throughout Hubert’s confinement. Worried that the king will take young Richard from them, and knowing how devoted he and Meggotta are to each other, the children are secretly married, swearing not to reveal this until the right time, when they are older and the current situation is resolved.
Eventually, after many hardships, a reconciliation is brokered between the king and his former justiciar. However, one of the terms of this reconciliation is that Hubert give up Richard and any idea of marriage between the boy and his daughter. Hubert, unaware of what took place while he was imprisoned, agrees. The two children, now in their early teens, have seen their relationship grow, from the young puppy love of childhood to deeper feelings of love. When their secret is eventually revealed, the consequences are not good.
Though they are the main characters, Meggotta and Richard’s story is not the only one. The theme of love is woven throughout the book. There is the mature love between Hubert and Margaret; the relationship between King Henry and his young bride, Eleanor of Province; and the secret marriage of Simon de Montfort to Henry’s sister, also named Eleanor.
You might think that a story of star-crossed lovers in which the two main characters are as young as they are might come across as either mawkish or worse, but in Pargeter’s hands their story is written in such a way that it is natural and believable, a sweet and tender love story with a bittersweet ending. Be sure to have your tissues nearby when you get near the end.
March 25, 2022
I enjoyed the Cadfael novels so I was a bit disappointed in this book. I'm not saying that it is all bad, but I found the characters a bit wooden.
The story itself is fascinating based on historical people. It is set in the 1230's during the reign of Henry III of England. He is characterised as a childish monarch, narcissistic. He is in his early 20's and chafing at the fetters of his older council, chief of which is Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. Hubert has a daughter, Meggotta, and he also has in his care the young Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. Meggotta and Richard fall in love but the downfall of Hubert de Burgh threatens to destroy that young love.
To mirror their young love, there is also the story of the young Simon de Montfort and the King's sister Eleanor. I had hoped for more about them but I guess they are not the focus here.
The book is well researched and historical fact is adhered to but it seems at the expense of dramatical storytelling. The story just felt flat. I had also hoped for a bit more about what happened after. Wikipedia can remedy some of it but what I want to know about is whether Richard was really poisoned! But I would very much like to go to Tewkesbury to see Richard's funerary monument. I wonder if there is one to Meggotta in Norfolk?
The story itself is fascinating based on historical people. It is set in the 1230's during the reign of Henry III of England. He is characterised as a childish monarch, narcissistic. He is in his early 20's and chafing at the fetters of his older council, chief of which is Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. Hubert has a daughter, Meggotta, and he also has in his care the young Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. Meggotta and Richard fall in love but the downfall of Hubert de Burgh threatens to destroy that young love.
To mirror their young love, there is also the story of the young Simon de Montfort and the King's sister Eleanor. I had hoped for more about them but I guess they are not the focus here.
The book is well researched and historical fact is adhered to but it seems at the expense of dramatical storytelling. The story just felt flat. I had also hoped for a bit more about what happened after. Wikipedia can remedy some of it but what I want to know about is whether Richard was really poisoned! But I would very much like to go to Tewkesbury to see Richard's funerary monument. I wonder if there is one to Meggotta in Norfolk?
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February 5, 2019I finished this book last night/early this morning. I am pretty sure I read it first about 20 or so years ago, but it is well worth reading twice. It does make you ponder on the freedoms that we now take for granted but in an age when the king was an absolute power, could not. Pargeter has always been an amazing historical writer, using all the historical resources available to reconstruct the past, but endowing it with the pathos and involvement of the reader that only a truly great writer can achieve.
This tale gripped me again, despite the fact that I knew from the start what the end would be.
The Cadfael stories that Pargeter wrote (under the pseudonym
Ellis Peters) are historically accurate and interesting, and made good TV, but many of her other writings, using her own name, move me far more, and draw me back time after time. I'd recommend her very highly, whether writing about early British history of Henry III as here, or the recent history of the aftermath of WW2 as in A means of Grace.
This tale gripped me again, despite the fact that I knew from the start what the end would be.
The Cadfael stories that Pargeter wrote (under the pseudonym
Ellis Peters) are historically accurate and interesting, and made good TV, but many of her other writings, using her own name, move me far more, and draw me back time after time. I'd recommend her very highly, whether writing about early British history of Henry III as here, or the recent history of the aftermath of WW2 as in A means of Grace.
January 19, 2018
In a nation with a king who has sway over who marries whom I the aristocracy, you marry without his permission at risk. This tale involves intrigue at court, the way power shifts because different people gain the King's ear, and the king is inconsistent. The consequences of falling from a position of honour are great.
The great love between a boy and girl,and the consequence of a choice made which many years later comes to light is written about in this book very well. If you have read The Heaven Tree trilogy you have already met the family of one of the children in passing.
Do read this book if you want an idea of medieval life as an aristocrat.
The great love between a boy and girl,and the consequence of a choice made which many years later comes to light is written about in this book very well. If you have read The Heaven Tree trilogy you have already met the family of one of the children in passing.
Do read this book if you want an idea of medieval life as an aristocrat.
October 26, 2025
A well written and very interesting historical fiction based on true events from 13th century England. The rise and fall of one aristocratic family in the reign of a king Henry, through whom we see the whims of the young king played out in the lives of countries and people, especially focusing on marriage politics surrounding one young girl and One young boy. Strangely prescient of what’s happening today in American politics (not through the eyes of strategic marriages). Ultimately tragic with a hint of redemption at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2025
A sad true story of life and betrayal and an interesting insight into the time of Henry III when he'd come into his majority and showed himself to be a man-child probably unfit to rule.
Not gripping writing but well written and interesting.
Not gripping writing but well written and interesting.
April 23, 2019
Tragic love story based on actual historical figures.
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July 22, 2020Not part of a series but it is in the same period as 'Heaven Tree' and speaks of the wheeling/dealing of marriages mainly to consolidate property and position. It's a sad 'Romeo and juliet' tale.
August 24, 2020
Set roughly in the same time and place as the heaven tree trilogy, which I had just finished, this book gives and gets an extra dimension.
October 19, 2020
Based on a true story, using historic documents. This is one of the saddest stories I've ever read. Two young children are used as political pawns in 13th century England.
October 25, 2024
love it when I can spoil the book by reading the main characters’ wikipedia articles and still cry at the end
January 5, 2017
A little stilted and distant, this workmanly rendering of a children's marriage, broken by political necessity. The crime here is not King Henry's, but the mother who so directed her children to marry. Not a happy telling.
The politics of King Henry's court are very confusing, but can't be ignored -- as such the simple (sad) main story is, in the end, just a symptom of the ways of a difficult reign.
Not particularly enjoyable, but serves as another puzzle piece in the England and Wales of the 13th century that so enthralls many of us.
The politics of King Henry's court are very confusing, but can't be ignored -- as such the simple (sad) main story is, in the end, just a symptom of the ways of a difficult reign.
Not particularly enjoyable, but serves as another puzzle piece in the England and Wales of the 13th century that so enthralls many of us.
July 13, 2012
A tragic tale, beautifully told by Edith Pargeter, and all the more poignant for being based on a true story. Richard de Clare is given into the guardianship of Hubert de Burgh in 13th century England, becoming the inseparable companion of his daughter Meggotta. The children marry but are torn apart when King Henry turns against Hubert and sets out to destroy his former friend and adviser.
May 5, 2008
Read a long time ago, but I remember I cried when I read it ...
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October 3, 2015Poetic voice as author tells the story of the doomed lovers against the backdrop of weak, wily, cruel Henry III, son of King John.
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November 16, 201679 hc ex library
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews