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In the second book from the Eleanor of Aquitaine Series, as the blind seer from Antioch predicted, Eleanor marries the love of her life, Henry II of England. Passion rules the marriage as alpha male and alpha female compete for dominance. Meanwhile, to drag his war-torn kingdom back from the brink of anarchy, Henry must rely on the resources of the Eleanor's Aquitaine.
Marriage to the beautiful, intelligent Eleanor delivers Henry an empire from Scotland to the Pyrenees. Often, she must act as his regent in England while he tries to dampen dissent from across the Channel. Henry comes to fear that Eleanor is a more successful ruler. Only she can control the nobles of the Aquitaine, and, much to Henry's jealousy, she tames and enchants the rebellious Welsh king.
Over ten years, Eleanor gives birth to nine children. Again, as foretold, many are sons, future competition for Henry's crown and his affection for their mother, which makes him an ambivalent father.
Then there is the ambitious Thomas Becket., who Eleanor suspects is the greatest threat of all to her regal plans…
Helen Rayson-Hill trained as an infant teacher, and taught in country Victoria, Melbourne and the UK. Later, she became a drama teacher following a long interest in the theatre. After a family transfer to Brisbane, she was appointed Queensland Manager of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. For two years she co-ordinated National Arts Week in Brisbane working closely with the Queensland Government's Ministry of the Arts and Brisbane City Council. On returning to Melbourne, Helen held a position at the Victorian Arts Centre in the Membership and Fundraising and Development Department. For two years she was an adjudicator for the Victorian Drama League. Helen has also performed both on the stage in Melbourne and Brisbane and on television in Neighbours on Channel 10 and Something's in the Air on the Australian ABC network. Writing has always been an interest of Helen's and she is a member of the Writers' Circle at Melbourne's Lyceum Club. She has written plays for her drama students as well as sketches for amateur theatre. Also an artist specialising in oils, Helen has held several successful exhibitions at several Victorian galleries. Helen's short stories and memoir pieces have been published in anthologies, and she has written a children's book, Kid Detectives. The story was inspired by her grandson who wanted to know how children entertained themselves before electronic devices filled their lives. Helen has long been interested in Medieval history, especially in the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. After many years of research, inspired originally by the play The Lion in Winter by James Goldman, Helen was motivated to write about Eleanor's amazing life. Consequently, Eleanor, the Firebrand Queen became the first in a planned series of historical novels about this Medieval feminist.
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