The Sixth Surrender

A transporting debut novel set in thirteenth century France-when chivalry reigned and treachery ruled In the last years of her eventful life, queen-duchess Alienor of Aquitaine launches a deadly dynastic chess game to safeguard the crowns of Normandy and England for John Plantagenet, her last surviving son. To that end, Alienor coerces into matrimony two pawns: Juliana de Charnais, a plain and pious novice determined to regain her inheritance, and Guerin de lasalle, a cynical, war-worn mercenary equally resolved to renounce his. The womanizing Lasalle and the proud Juliana are perfectly matched for battle not love-until spies and assassins conspire to reverse their romantic fortunes. Populated by spirited and intelligent women and executed in flawless period detail, The Sixth Surrender is a compelling love story that heralds the arrival of a major new talent in historical fiction.