Kingbreaker Books

"This arm upholds the house of Lancaster..." 1461 AD. England is at war.The bitter feud between the rival houses of Lancaster and York reaches a bloody climax on the field of Towton. Here, the rising sun of York is truimphant, and the red rose of Lancaster trampled into the mud. The new Yorkist king, Edward IV, shows no mercy. The defeated Lancastrians are hunted down and killed, or forced to flee the kingdom. Among Edward's many victims are the Earl of Oxford and his eldest son, brutally executed for treason. John de Vere, the slaughtered earl's younger son, vows revenge on York. His destiny is to uphold the shattered house of Lancaster, through defeat and heartbreak and bitter loss. From the blood-soaked battlefields of late medieval England, to the intrigues of the French court, to piracy on the high seas. This is his story. KINGBREAKER (I): REBEL AND TRAITOR is by David Pilling, author of The Bloody Hand series, The Champion, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“Treason! Treason!” 1470. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, has been restored to his throne. John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, is now Lord High Constable of England. He and his allies, Warwick 'the Kingmaker' and the Duke of Clarence, now rule England. The mad king, meanwhile, is ruled by his formidable queen, Margaret of Anjou. The Yorkist cause is far from lost. Edward IV has escaped abroad, where he plans to return and reclaim his throne. Soon he sails for England to rally his supporters. The fragile peace of England is shattered, and the weary kingdom once again plunged into civil war. Defeated at Barnet, Oxford is forced to flee to Scotland and then to France, where he begs the French king for aid. He collects a fleet and turns to piracy, attacking Yorkist ships in the Channel, before descending on Cornwall. There, he raises the banner of Lancaster once more... KINGBREAKER (II): A STAR AND STREAMS is by David Pilling, author of The Bloody Hand series, The Champion,, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“Ravished with joy incredible...” 1483. John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, is now a prisoner. His allies, Warwick and Clarence, are dead. His king, Henry VI, has been murdered. Henry's son, Prince Edward, lies butchered on the battlefield. Margaret of Anjou is condemned to live in exile. The house of Lancaster is broken. Then, the warrior-king Edward IV dies unexpectedly. His two young sons are consigned to the Tower by their uncle, who takes power as Richard III. When the princes vanish, the Yorkists start to turn on each other. The Lancastrian cause, which seemed dead, starts to revive. An obscure Welsh exile, Henry Tudor, proclaims himself King of England and begins to assemble an army. Henry turns to the one man who can lead his army to victory against the battle-hardened Richard III. Oxford's time has come at last.... KINGBREAKER (III): THE RED ROSE is by David Pilling, author of The Bloody Hand series, The Champion, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.