"Philip of Valois was marching towards Amiens with the war flag of France. The French king was preparing to fight. It was time for the King of England to settle matters with the Bavarian."
It is 1341 and Joan of Kent, the fourteen-year-old cousin of the King of England, is poised on the brink of marriage with the Earl of Salisbury's son. While plans are made for the king's continuing war against France, the families gather to celebrate the wedding. But the bride is in tears. For unknown to everyone, Joan has a secret and it is one so scandalous, so unspeakably shocking, that discovery could destroy this glorious marriage and place the lives of those Joan loves in danger.
From the glittering court of Edward III to the lonely border fortress of Wark, to the bleak marshlands before the walls of Calais, Joan must tread a careful path balanced between truth and deception, where love is an illusion and one false move could spell disaster.
When tragedy strikes at the heart of the royal family Joan finds herself facing a foe more deadly than a violent husband. Imprisoned in her chamber and with her fate resting in the hands of the Pope's tribunal in Avignon, there is nothing she can do but pray.
The Fair Maid of Kent is the story of an enduring love in a dangerous world where a man may not be all he seems and your most powerful enemy is the one you cannot see.
Inspired by the writings of Philippa Gregory and Hilary Mantel, and based on the life of Joan, the first Princess of Wales (and Caroline's seventeen times great-grandmother), The Fair Maid of Kent will appeal to fans of historical fiction.
