Joan, Fair Maid of Kent - Paperback

by Brenda Faye Brown (Author)

Joan, Fair Maid of Kent, lived in Fourteenth Century England and it was a brutal time in history. There were constant power struggles behind the throne. Very often King Edward III was not the most powerful person in England. During the fourteenth century the Black Plague attacked England with a vengeance. Approximately one-third of England's population died. During this time the people of England lived through one unimaginable horror after another. Whole families died. Dead bodies were often dumped into streets. There were funeral pyres everywhere and there was the constant smell of death. Royals were not exempt from this horror. Also during this time, England was embroiled in the One Hundred Years' War with France. Joan was caught in the middle of this. Joan's is a story of a strong and independent woman who followed her heart and had to struggle to do so. She was much more than just a pretty face. She was at one time possibly the most hated woman in England, and became the most admired and possibly the most powerful woman in England. She is primarily known for her secret marriage at the age of twelve, but less known for forming an army to save King Edward's claim to Aquitaine and negotiating a treaty between the Londoners and the very intimidating John of Gaunt. The Black Prince of England was her third husband. He was the first-born son of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault, the first black queen of England. Joan gave the Black Prince two sons, one son would be king, but it was the wrong son.