She flees home to avoid certain death at the hands of the old man from the North. There is a refuge, Sir Thomas d'Ecouis, but only if he will marry her before she is caught by her pursuers. So begins the journey that takes her across England and takes her from a sheltered 16-year-old girl to a woman of 17 years, one far wiser than most.

Judith Hampton was as beautiful as she was proud and loyal. Her dear Scottish friend from childhood was about to give birth, and Judith had promised to be at her side. But there was another reason for the journey from her bleak English home to the Highlands: to meet the father she had never known, the Laird Maclean. Nothing prepared her, however, for the sight of the Scottish barbarian who was to escort her into his land...Iain Maitland, laird of his clan, a man more powerfully compelling than any she had ever encountered.

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.

English knight Sir Adam Dayne is offered the ultimate prize by the earl who raised him: lordship of Langford castle. All he must do is accept a betrothal to the Scottish Marcher warden's beautiful daughter, a match made to keep peace at the tumultuous Anglo-Scottish border. Sir Adam relishes the prospect - until he meets the woman he is to wed. Lady Cora Maxwell hates everything English, including the self-assured new lord who has claimed her hand in marriage. When Adam proposes a unique challenge, Cora is forced to face her greatest fears.

AD 1139 - When her husband perishes in a skirmish, the Lady Cantia du Bexley Penden is distraught. Her husband was assisting the mighty Viscount Winterton in the battle for the throne between Empress Matilda and Stephen of Blois, caught, like most men, in a vicious struggle for the rightful ruler of England.

The morn of her wedding, Arabella Cameron is filled with dread. But if marrying a man she doesn't love will end the feud between the Cameron and Mackintosh clans, she will do her duty. That is until outlaw Brodie Mackintosh arrives in her bedchamber and steals her away to the mountains! Brodie knows Arabella has every reason to hate him, but a forbidden kiss soon makes these sworn enemies question everything. And when Arabella's intended reclaims her, Brodie must fight with all his strength to make her his once more!

Discover the origins of the original de Wolfe pack, led by the man known as Warwolfe. Before the Duke of Normandy conquered England, a legend arose. A man so fierce, so brave, and so noble, that the mere whisper of his name could strike both fear and admiration into the hearts of all men. That name is Warwolfe. Gaetan de Wolfe is this man.

Brogan is a very large man with power and skill, but uneducated due to his family's immigrant social standing. He meets our heroine by chance, a member of the mighty de Nevilles, the most powerful ruling family in England. The Lady Avalyn du Brant's uncle is the all-powerful Richard Neville, "The Kingmaker". Although Brogan knows she is out of his league, he is nonetheless taken by her. Avalyn, too, is intrigued by the big soldier with the heavy accent and menacing presence.

AD 1258 - As Henry III spends most of his time in France, powerful English barons begin to form an alliance against him. Rising to power in this dark and uncertain time is the House of de Shera, headed by Gallus de Shera. A fortuitous moment in time sees him rescue a Welsh daughter of royal blood, Lady Jenniver Tacey ferch Gaerwen, and a powerful love story is born. But English barons would see their marriage torn apart even as they unite to rebel against Henry III.

She was the mother of Henry VIII and wife of Henry VII, but who was Elizabeth of York? Raised as the precious eldest child of Edward IV, Elizabeth had every reason to expect a bright future until Edward died, and her life fell apart. When Elizabeth's uncle became Richard III, she was forced to choose sides. Should she trust her father's brother and most loyal supporter or honor the betrothal that her mother has made for her to her family's enemy, Henry Tudor? The choice was made for her on the field at Bosworth.

In love and war, some oaths are meant to be broken.… Riding into the arena under the furling blazon of the blue falcon, Sir Conan de Corbney accepts a token from the young beauty Lady Chandra, sparking a romance foretold long ago. That is, unless Conan’s mother can help it. Colluding with her son’s rival, Sir Tedric, Lady Udele secretly arranges a more lucrative marriage for her son and weds him to Edwina - Chandra’s older sister - while Sir Tedric claims the fiery Chandra for himself. Thus begins the star-crossed lovers’ quest, amidst treachery and betrayal, for the path back to each other’s arms.

Sir Valor "Val" de Nerra is one of Henry II's most trusted knights. As the Itinerant Justice of East Hampshire, Val's word is law. A fair and just man, and a very handsome one, he enjoys a good deal of attention and respect. His life is a prestigious and wealthy one until he faces a decision one day that will change the course of his life.

Does he hate her clan enough to visit his vengeance on her? Or will he listen to her secret and his own heart's yearning? Hatred lives and breathes between medieval clans who often don't remember why feuds began in the shadowed past. But Eoin MacKay remembers.

Highland laird Conor McTiernay had always dreamed of an enduring love. But the reality of women who desired him only for his title and lands made him swear off marriage forever. That is until he first set eyes on the Englishwoman his men found hiding in the forest. But would she prove to be yet another beguiling seductress?

1228 A.D. - After a vicious battle with old adversaries that sees his father killed, Sir Dennis d’Vant finds himself the head of the House of d’Vant. A house descended from the kings of Cornwall, they are a proud but warring people. Their most hated enemy is their neighbor to the north, the rich and cunning Earl of Cornwall. Dennis, however, is not like his forefathers; a giant of a man and a skilled warrior, he is also quiet and gentle. He does not possess the same fiery instincts of his family and for that, he is often looked upon as weak.

The morn of her wedding, Arabella Cameron is filled with dread. But if marrying a man she doesn't love will end the feud between the Cameron and Mackintosh clans, she will do her duty. That is until outlaw Brodie Mackintosh arrives in her bedchamber and steals her away to the mountains! Brodie knows Arabella has every reason to hate him, but a forbidden kiss soon makes these sworn enemies question everything. And when Arabella's intended reclaims her, Brodie must fight with all his strength to make her his once more!

English knight Sir Adam Dayne is offered the ultimate prize by the earl who raised him: lordship of Langford castle. All he must do is accept a betrothal to the Scottish Marcher warden's beautiful daughter, a match made to keep peace at the tumultuous Anglo-Scottish border. Sir Adam relishes the prospect - until he meets the woman he is to wed. Lady Cora Maxwell hates everything English, including the self-assured new lord who has claimed her hand in marriage. When Adam proposes a unique challenge, Cora is forced to face her greatest fears.

In love and war, some oaths are meant to be broken.… Riding into the arena under the furling blazon of the blue falcon, Sir Conan de Corbney accepts a token from the young beauty Lady Chandra, sparking a romance foretold long ago. That is, unless Conan’s mother can help it. Colluding with her son’s rival, Sir Tedric, Lady Udele secretly arranges a more lucrative marriage for her son and weds him to Edwina - Chandra’s older sister - while Sir Tedric claims the fiery Chandra for himself. Thus begins the star-crossed lovers’ quest, amidst treachery and betrayal, for the path back to each other’s arms.

All Highland warrior Gavin Patrick wants is to get back to his native Scotland. Before Gavin leaves the battlefield, he's given a final mission - escort Lady Marie Colette to her fiancé. Under no circumstances is he to lay hands on the beautiful heiress...no matter how desperate the temptation. Forced to pose as a married couple to escape from France, Gavin and Marie Colette find themselves thrown into peril...and each other's arms. As the danger mounts, so does forbidden passion.

Once, Abrielle's name was on the lips of every unwed nobleman in London as a proud exceptional lady coveted for her bearing, her breeding, her wit, and her beauty. But when her stepfather, respected for his courage and valor during the Crusades, is denied his rightful title and the wealth that accompanies it, Abrielle finds herself suddenly disgraced, no longer a suitable match for any proper gentleman.

Anne Gifford's dowry - or lack thereof - is of no concern to Sir Dylan DeFrayne. Wrapped in each other's arms, what more could they possibly need? Yet the young lovers' passion can never be sanctioned - the DeFraynes and Giffords have been sworn enemies for decades. Lest more blood be shed, the two must keep their affair a secret…and plot their elopement. Clad in threadbare hand-me-downs, Anne never expects the powerful and aged Brennan Forbes to remember her face, let alone propose marriage.

Joan of Kent, renowned beauty and cousin to King Edward III, is destined for a politically strategic marriage. As the king begins a long dynastic struggle to claim the crown of France, plunging England into the Hundred Years' War, he negotiates her betrothal to a potential ally and heir of a powerful lordship. But Joan, haunted by nightmares of her father's execution at the hands of her treacherous royal kin, fears the king's selection and is not resigned to her fate. She secretly pledges herself to one of the king's own knights, one who has become a trusted friend...

In feudal England, Elizabeth Montwright barely escaped the massacre that destroyed her family and exiled her from her ancestral castle. Bent on revenge, she rode again through the fortress gates, disguised as a healer...to seek aid from Geoffrey Berkley, the powerful baron who had routed the murderers.

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn. Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets, and dare not give him her heart.

1200 A.D.—After decades of warring between the Lairds of Kerr and Prudhoe Castle in Northumbria, a tentative peace is reached. The Lady Carington Kerr is sent to Prudhoe as a hostage to ensure her father's good behavior, and a more reluctant hostage there never was. Small and dark, with emerald eyes and a luscious figure, she is as gorgeous as she is fiery. Enter Sir Creed de Reyne; a gentle giant of a man, he is, by nature, calm and wise. He is the ice to Carington's fire.

1305 A.D. Being descended from great, though disgraced family, can be a greater curse than most. As a direct descendent of Simon de Montfort, Lady Gray de Montfort Serroux has lived her life with the axe of shame hanging over her head. Because of this, her marriage matches were limited and she wed a dishonorable man who widowed her when he was murdered in a gambling game. Left with a young daughter to support, Gray and her daughter and her mother have been living in poverty.

Shaken from sleep during the night and bundled off to the Highlands by a burly Scot, Riona is at first terrified then livid. Hugh McCallum insists they were promised to each other as children to ensure peace between their clans. The stubborn laird refuses to believe he's kidnapped the wrong Catriona Duff. Instead he embarks on a campaign of slow-burning seduction....

Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin's Daughter is the first book in a captivating new saga about the next generation of Tudor royals, which poses the thrilling question: What if Elizabeth I, the celebrated Virgin Queen, gave birth to a legitimate heir?

With warfare blazing through Scotland, the fate of the Comyn-MacDougall legacy depends on one woman. Recently orphaned, young Margaret Comyn must secure her clan's safety through an arranged marriage. But when an enemy invasion puts her at the mercy of the notorious Wolf of Lochaber, her every loyalty - and secret want - will be challenged.

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.