What do you think?
Rate this book
The Plantagenets #3
The Plantagenets: Lion of Mortimer
Weak in battle, powerless at court and absent in the the English crown has rarely sat less easily than on the head of Edward II.
Inheriting the Plantagenet throne in a powerful position, Edward needs a wife to continue the dynasty – but the beautiful, charming Isabella fails to stir his heart like his close friend Piers Gaveston.
Slighted and ignored, Isabella takes a new the ambitious nobleman Roger Mortimer. Seduced by Mortimer’s treachery, Isabella plots with him to murder her husband and take the throne.
With the Plantagenet line in danger of coming to an end, it is up to the young William de Montacute to bring Mortimer down and restore the crown to Edward's son and heir.
The Lion of Mortimer is the third in Juliet Dymoke's dramatic and emotional Plantagenet series, an epic chronicle of love, heroism, loyalty and betrayal bringing to life one of the richest periods in English a time of power struggles and compelling courtly intrigue.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
Inheriting the Plantagenet throne in a powerful position, Edward needs a wife to continue the dynasty – but the beautiful, charming Isabella fails to stir his heart like his close friend Piers Gaveston.
Slighted and ignored, Isabella takes a new the ambitious nobleman Roger Mortimer. Seduced by Mortimer’s treachery, Isabella plots with him to murder her husband and take the throne.
With the Plantagenet line in danger of coming to an end, it is up to the young William de Montacute to bring Mortimer down and restore the crown to Edward's son and heir.
The Lion of Mortimer is the third in Juliet Dymoke's dramatic and emotional Plantagenet series, an epic chronicle of love, heroism, loyalty and betrayal bringing to life one of the richest periods in English a time of power struggles and compelling courtly intrigue.
For fans of Sharon Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick.
Paperback
First published April 1, 1979
About the author
Juliet Dymoke
34 books25 followersJuliet Dymoke was born at Enfield in Middlesex and educated at a boarding school in the country. During the war she worked for The Canadian Army Medical Records and at that time married Hugo de Schanschieff who was then serving as an air gunner in he Royal Air Force.
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 2, 2025
I have been a puppet in Mortimer’s hands long enough
My favorite in the series so far because it’s about the intriguing events surrounding the mysterious death of Edward II.
My favorite in the series so far because it’s about the intriguing events surrounding the mysterious death of Edward II.
December 13, 2018
This is the least favourite of the books by Juliet Dymoke that I have read, but that isn’t saying much given how enjoyable I found the other two books. The Lion of Mortimer is a serviceable, fast-paced, highlights-reel of Edward II’s life and reign, focused around – not on the figure of Roger Mortimer, as the title suggests – three generations of the Montacute family and their connections with the royal family.
These are observers, not active agents in the story, who bear witness to the turbulent events of Edward II’s reign without being obtrusively thrust in the narrative. It’s a good approach to those novels that wish to tell the story of an event or reign from an “outside” perspective – I’m not rolling my eyes at how one single invented character has a hand in everything.
I do believe, however, that part of my disinterest in The Lion of Mortimer is because the royal family is held at a distance. We don’t really get into the heads of Edward II, Isabella of France, Piers Gaveston, Hugh Despenser the Younger, Thomas of Lancaster, Roger Mortimer, etc, and often what we do see of major events tends to be in a retrospective summary, sometimes delivered as dialogue.
However, the Montacute family is characterised well and given various roles to play. The grandfather, Will (all three male figures are named ‘William’), is a stalwart of the preceding king’s reign and is an early critic (but not unsympathetically so) of Edward’s reign and behaviour. The son, William, was brought up in Edward’s household and is frivolous like the king, but remains deeply loyal to him. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are at odds, with Elizabeth placed in Queen Isabella’s chamber, sympathetic towards her and critical of Edward, while their son, Will, is a companion of the Edward’s eldest son and heir, the future Edward III, and thus well placed to have a role in Edward III’s wresting of power from his mother and Roger Mortimer.
All of them are likeable, but I found Dymoke’s dispatching of William abrupt, his death occurring off page almost as an afterthought, when he had been the dominant figure of the narrative thus far.
I enjoyed that Dymoke’s treatment of Edward II focused on his physical strength and his interest in ‘commoner’ activities like thatching, boating and the digging of ditches. Despite the historical evidence, the homophobic stereotype of gay men as physically weak and cowardly has far too often led to this side of Edward being totally ignored and dismissed. His sexuality was implicit in Dymoke’s treatment and thus not ‘obvious’. This is disappointing, but possibly reflects the fact this book was written and published in the seventies. His character, although only seen in the periphery, was quite complex and Dymoke has created possibly my favourite take on Edward II in fiction.
Isabella is more villainous and Machiavellian than I personally see her, particularly in her early years as Edward’s queen and in her behaviour towards Piers Gaveston. But Dymoke doesn’t render her wholly unsympathetic, and I found her to be an enjoyable villain until she’s suddenly dominated by Roger Mortimer.
It’s clear that Dymoke’s exploration of their lives are heavily based on the dominant narratives about Edward II that have only recently been challenged. It’s disappointing, of course, and it has an affect on the historical accuracy of the novel – the discord between Isabella and Edward for example, can only been reliably dated to Hugh Despenser the Younger’s ascendency, their marriage appears to have been happy and companionable until that point, and there is no evidence that Isabella disliked Gaveston, or took Roger Mortimer for her lover, for example. The hot poker legend is also repeated, though thankfully not as an explicit scene – most historians now believe it is a legend developed well after Edward II’s reputed death.
There are formatting issues with this kindle edition – the paragraphs are not indented or separated by a line break, sometimes chopped up, issues with the chapter divisions (although marked as chapters, they are not recognised as such) – and occasional typos and grammatical errors. It’s a shame these are the most accessible editions of Dymoke’s work because they’re really quite good.
These are observers, not active agents in the story, who bear witness to the turbulent events of Edward II’s reign without being obtrusively thrust in the narrative. It’s a good approach to those novels that wish to tell the story of an event or reign from an “outside” perspective – I’m not rolling my eyes at how one single invented character has a hand in everything.
I do believe, however, that part of my disinterest in The Lion of Mortimer is because the royal family is held at a distance. We don’t really get into the heads of Edward II, Isabella of France, Piers Gaveston, Hugh Despenser the Younger, Thomas of Lancaster, Roger Mortimer, etc, and often what we do see of major events tends to be in a retrospective summary, sometimes delivered as dialogue.
However, the Montacute family is characterised well and given various roles to play. The grandfather, Will (all three male figures are named ‘William’), is a stalwart of the preceding king’s reign and is an early critic (but not unsympathetically so) of Edward’s reign and behaviour. The son, William, was brought up in Edward’s household and is frivolous like the king, but remains deeply loyal to him. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are at odds, with Elizabeth placed in Queen Isabella’s chamber, sympathetic towards her and critical of Edward, while their son, Will, is a companion of the Edward’s eldest son and heir, the future Edward III, and thus well placed to have a role in Edward III’s wresting of power from his mother and Roger Mortimer.
All of them are likeable, but I found Dymoke’s dispatching of William abrupt, his death occurring off page almost as an afterthought, when he had been the dominant figure of the narrative thus far.
I enjoyed that Dymoke’s treatment of Edward II focused on his physical strength and his interest in ‘commoner’ activities like thatching, boating and the digging of ditches. Despite the historical evidence, the homophobic stereotype of gay men as physically weak and cowardly has far too often led to this side of Edward being totally ignored and dismissed. His sexuality was implicit in Dymoke’s treatment and thus not ‘obvious’. This is disappointing, but possibly reflects the fact this book was written and published in the seventies. His character, although only seen in the periphery, was quite complex and Dymoke has created possibly my favourite take on Edward II in fiction.
Isabella is more villainous and Machiavellian than I personally see her, particularly in her early years as Edward’s queen and in her behaviour towards Piers Gaveston. But Dymoke doesn’t render her wholly unsympathetic, and I found her to be an enjoyable villain until she’s suddenly dominated by Roger Mortimer.
It’s clear that Dymoke’s exploration of their lives are heavily based on the dominant narratives about Edward II that have only recently been challenged. It’s disappointing, of course, and it has an affect on the historical accuracy of the novel – the discord between Isabella and Edward for example, can only been reliably dated to Hugh Despenser the Younger’s ascendency, their marriage appears to have been happy and companionable until that point, and there is no evidence that Isabella disliked Gaveston, or took Roger Mortimer for her lover, for example. The hot poker legend is also repeated, though thankfully not as an explicit scene – most historians now believe it is a legend developed well after Edward II’s reputed death.
There are formatting issues with this kindle edition – the paragraphs are not indented or separated by a line break, sometimes chopped up, issues with the chapter divisions (although marked as chapters, they are not recognised as such) – and occasional typos and grammatical errors. It’s a shame these are the most accessible editions of Dymoke’s work because they’re really quite good.
October 18, 2023
Oddly, Roger Mortimer figures very little in this book. It's much more about the kings in this period, and a (mainly fictional, although he seems to have been based on William Montague) friend of Edward III. For that reason, it wasn't a story I was expecting, I rather expected Roger to come to the front, and he never does.
In and of itself, it's a quite interesting story, but it is very short, which is a shame because there is so much to know about that period in history, and of course most of it is conjecture.
This was the third in the authors series, but they can all be read as stand alones, and are very undemanding, just don't take them as anything close to the truth.
In and of itself, it's a quite interesting story, but it is very short, which is a shame because there is so much to know about that period in history, and of course most of it is conjecture.
This was the third in the authors series, but they can all be read as stand alones, and are very undemanding, just don't take them as anything close to the truth.
September 5, 2017
Matches made
This book follows the next generation of the Plantagenets and the new relationships that develop. A very smooth and well presented story.
This book follows the next generation of the Plantagenets and the new relationships that develop. A very smooth and well presented story.
June 20, 2019
Fascinating
Juliet Dymoke has done it again. Another fine, well written book. The blood thirsty, ambition chasing and violently brutal lives of the time period are mind blowing.
Juliet Dymoke has done it again. Another fine, well written book. The blood thirsty, ambition chasing and violently brutal lives of the time period are mind blowing.
September 29, 2019
Just okay
Again this book was just okay. Not enough dialogue for me. Not sure if I will continue to read others in the series
Again this book was just okay. Not enough dialogue for me. Not sure if I will continue to read others in the series
October 11, 2019
Easy read of history and fiction
I enjoyed the writing and the characters. Very easy to read and makes you want to look up the real facts of England.
I enjoyed the writing and the characters. Very easy to read and makes you want to look up the real facts of England.
March 29, 2023
Great historic research, but not enough plot and character development.
October 22, 2023
Really good, and I liked the perspectives that both the king and queen were flawed, and I felt bad for both of them in the end. It's a very sad story.
February 17, 2021
Audiobook
October 22, 2013
While the third in a series, this was my first book by this author - but likely not my last if I can just get my hands on a few more. I've read quite a few incarnations of the story surrounding Edward II and his favourites as well as Isabella the Fair and Roger Mortimer by now and found this one to be among the most enjoyable ones I've come across to date. I really liked the portrayal of most of the characters as well as the writing.
May 12, 2016
Sack the proof reader - again
The tale is fine and rattles along nicely. Yet again though the proof reader is relying on predictive text rather than actually sitting down and READING the script carefully, preferably with an OED to hand.
The tale is fine and rattles along nicely. Yet again though the proof reader is relying on predictive text rather than actually sitting down and READING the script carefully, preferably with an OED to hand.
August 12, 2016
Another chapter in the Plantaganet saga
I enjoyed this book for the most part. The rule of Edward II and his horrific death. The ascendancy of Edward III. A story rather rushed in parts but a good read nonetheless.
I enjoyed this book for the most part. The rule of Edward II and his horrific death. The ascendancy of Edward III. A story rather rushed in parts but a good read nonetheless.
October 12, 2014
quite an enjoyable read
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews