"Jon Snow won't be the only 'bastard' whose name readers will remember." —Entertainment Weekly Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half-brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who's been in love with Tilla since they were children. Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards' Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness. The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey...

Sex, power, mystery and blood - this fresh approach to the British monarchy recounts gripping, untold stories about their unofficial offspring.

Since 1066 when William the Conqueror (alias William the Bastard) took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowledged at court and founded dynasties of their own - several of today's dukedoms are descended from them. Others were only acknowledged grudgingly or not at all. In the 20th century this trend for Royals to father illegitimate children continued, but the parentage, while highly probable, has not been officially recognised. This book is a new, genuinely fresh approach to British "Kings and Queens", examining their lives and times through the unfamiliar perspective of their illegitimate children. Interviewees include many of their descendants. But beyond personal narratives it also sheds light on the perennially fascinating topic of sexual habits; the links between politics, power and patronage; the class system, scandal and celebrity; and the different expectations we have of men and women.

Sarah Miles was illegitimate, and of distant royal descent. Her childhood wasn't easy - she was dyslexic with a severe stammer - and rebellion was her means of expression. In London she revealed a talent for acting. This book is the first part of a two-volume autobiography.

Since 1066 when William the Conqueror (alias William the Bastard) took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowedged at court and founded dynasties of their own - several of today's dukedoms are descended from them. Others were only acknowledged grudgingly or not at all. In the twentieth century this trend for royals to father illegitimate children continued, but the parentage, while highly probably, has not been officially recognised. This book - split into four sections: Tudor, Stuart, Henoverian and, perhaps most fascinating, Royal Loose Ends - is a genuinely fresh approach to British kings and queens, examining their lives and times through the unfamiliar perspective of their illegitimate children.

The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian ideas about legitimate marriage, it is assumed, set the standard for legitimate birth. Children born to anything other than marriage had fewer rights or opportunities. They certainly could not become king or queen. As this volume demonstrates, however, well into the late twelfth century, ideas of what made a child a legitimate heir had little to do with the validity of his or her parents' union according to the dictates of Christian marriage law. Instead a child's prospects depended upon the social status, and above all the lineage, of both parents. To inherit a royal or noble title, being born to the right father mattered immensely, but also being born to the right kind of mother. Such parents could provide the most promising futures for their children, even if doubt was cast on the validity of the parents' marriage. Only in the late twelfth century did children born to illegal marriages begin to suffer the same disadvantages as the children born to parents of mixed social status. Even once this change took place we cannot point to 'the Church' as instigator. Instead, exclusion of illegitimate children from inheritance and succession was the work of individual litigants who made strategic use of Christian marriage law. This new history of illegitimacy rethinks many long-held notions of medieval social, political, and legal history.

The many storied monarchs of twelfth century England lived, fought, loved, and died surrounded by their illegitimate relatives. While their many contributions have too often been overlooked, these illegitimate sons, daughters and siblings occupied crucial positions within the edifice of royal authority, serving their legitimate relatives as proxies and lieutenants. In addition to occupying roles and offices at the center of royal administration, Anglo-Norman and Angevin royal bastards, exiled to the fringes of family identity by a twist of fate, provided the kings of England with military and political support from amidst the aristocratic affinities into which they were embedded. Rather than merely inert pieces on the dynastic game board or passive conduits of royal association, these men and women were engaged participants in contemporary politics, proactively cultivating and shaping the thrones’ relationship with its principal subjects. This book, the first full length study dedicated to the subject, examines the seminal conflicts and changing shape of the royal dynasty during a period of turbulent and formative development in the nature and institutions royal government through the rarely before accessed perspective of the reigning monarchs’ illegitimate family members and deputies. More than that this study aims, as far as possible, to illuminate and bring to life the lives, triumphs and tragedies of these fascinating half-forgotten personages. The victims of a rapid and profound demographic and social change which drastically recontextualized their position with royal family identity and aristocratic society, the bastards of the English royal family found new methods to survive and thrive.

Join an epic, action-packed magical adventure, full of conspiracies and danger, in the Royal Bastards fantasy series. Royal Bastards: Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children. At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half-brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax's floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla longs to sit by her father's side, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who's been in love with Tilla since they were children. The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time.... City of Bastards: Tilla is safe from her murderous father in the dazzling capital of Lightspire, where she lives a life of luxury under the protection of the Volaris King, alongside her boyfriend, Zell, and best friend, Princess Lyriana. So why isn't she happy? Maybe it's the whispers and stares that follow her wherever she goes, as the daughter of the traitor waging war against Lightspire. Or maybe it's the memories of her beloved brother, Jax, who lies cold in his grave even as she tries to settle into a life in the city's prestigious University. Then Tilla stumbles upon the body of a classmate—a friend. The authorities are quick to rule it a suicide and sweep it under the rug, but when Tilla is attacked by a mysterious man with terrifying powers, she's convinced of a conspiracy. Her friends beg her to stay silent; what she's suggesting is impossible...and treasonous. The deeper she digs, the more questions she uncovers.... War of the Bastards: A year has passed since the fall of Lightspire. The Inquisitor Miles Hampstedt rules Noveris with a blood-soaked iron fist. Tilla and her friends have become hardened rebels in the Unbroken, a band of guerilla fighters hiding out on the fringes of the Kingdom protecting the true queen, Lyriana Volaris. Even as they fight, they know their cause is doomed—that with every passing day Miles's army of Bloodmages spreads across the continent. But at least they have each other...and some halfway-decent drinks. With Miles's forces closing in, a ragtag team sets out on an eleventh-hour mission: form an alliance with Syan's people that could turn the tide of the war. But what they discover in the Red Wastes changes everything, including their very understanding of the magic that runs through Noveris. In the heart-pounding conclusion to the Royal Bastards trilogy, Tilla faces an impossible choice: unthinkable destruction in the name of peace...or an uncertain future that means confronting a terrible past.

Presents a historical profile of Henry VIII's mistress and the sister of Anne Boleyn, examining her affair with Francis I of France, rise and fall in the Tudor court, and obscure later years after she married for love.

Travel writer, explorer and novelist. 'Gaunts never give up', the motto of Mary's ancestor, Prince John of Gaunt (1340-1399) was quoted by Mary's father, William Gaunt, to his children. In the 1880s, Mary Gaunt was one of the first women admitted to Melbourne University. Miss Gaunt's desire to study law was denied since male academics believed women incapable of studying 'difficult' subjects. In 1909, Mary, now widowed, led her own expedition into the West African jungle, staying in remote villages to gather information for her book 'Alone in West Africa'. In 1913, in the absence of sealed roads, Mary travelled in a bone-shaking mule cart from Peking to the edge of the Gobi desert and returned to Europe on a Russian troop train. Her amazing experiences in China and Russia produced two more travel books. Mary donated her royalties to the Red Cross to help Belgian refugees. For many years she lived in Italy and, during World War Two, died in France. Prelude: Outwitting Mussolini1. 'Gaunts never give up'2. Encountering prejudice at university3. Finding Doctor Right4. Mary postpones a visit to China5. Africa - the 'Dark Continent'6. Heading a band of naked warriors7. 'Madame, you have the heart of a lion'8. 'Murder Hill' and German Togoland9. Black magic among the Ashanti10. The male dinosaurs of Londonís RGS11. Through Tsarist Russia to Peking12. Inside the walls of the Forbidden City13. A political assassination14. The Great Wall of China15. 'Behind every small foot is a jar of tears'16. Chengde and the hunting palace of the Manchu17. The temple of the Three Mountains18. 'Please keep your last bullet for yourself'19. Last days in China20. Exploring the Amur River and Saghalien21. On a troop train through Siberia22. St Petersburg and after23. Captured by Germans24. The Gaunts in wartime25. The final years of a cosmopolitan author