The Villains of the Piece — Graham Shelby

  A historical adventure chronicling The Anarchy, England's twelfth-century civil war, and an Anglo-Norman noble's efforts to protect the rightful succession. England 1134: These are the years of the long, bloody civil war over the succession of Henry I -- a conflict between the supporters of Henry's daughter and rightful heir, the beautiful and tyrannical Matilda, and her cousin, the usurper Stephen of Blois, a just and decent man but with no lawful claim to the throne.

This is a war in which even partisans can change sides according to who holds the advantage -- a war in which there is little courage, much deceit, and barely any honor.

The sole exception is Brien Fitz Count, Lord of Wallingford, friend of Stephen's but true to his vow of support for Matilda. He, his wife Alyse, and their retainers make of their small, strategic castle a fortress and rallying point, holding it against siege and worse at immense personal cost . . .

Praise for The Crusader Knights series:
 
“History with a dramatist's eye for a fine setting and a novelist's insight into human minds and motives” -- The Times Literary Supplement
 
“Vivid visual moments and all the technology of medieval warfare.” -- The Observer
 
“Highly enjoyable. . . . Exciting as well as psychologically convincing and thought-provoking.”  -- Financial Times