Author of the best-selling AGINCOURT, Juliet Barker now tells the equally remarkable, but largely forgotten, story of the dramatic years when England ruled France at the point of a sword.
Henry V's second invasion of France in 1417 launched a campaign that would put the crown of France on an English head. Only the miraculous appearance of a visionary peasant girl - Joan of Arc - would halt the English advance. Yet despite her victories, her influence was short-lived: Henry VI had his coronation in Paris six months after her death and his kingdom endured for another twenty years. When he came of age he was not the leader his father had been. It was the dauphin, whom Joan had crowned Charles VII, who would finally drive the English out of France.
Supremely evocative and brilliantly told, this is narrative history at its most colourful and compelling - the true story of those who fought for an English kingdom of France.
Tables: The French royal line: the House of Valois - The English royal line from Edward III
Chapter 4. The English Kingdom of France
Chapter 8. The Siege of Orléans
Chapter 9. A New King of France
Chapter 11. Trial and Execution
Chapter 12. A Year of Disasters
Chapter 14. Disorder and Defeat
Chapter 15. The Treaty of Arras
Chapter 17. Defending Normandy
Chapter 19. Missed Opportunities
Chapter 20. A Last Military Effort
Chapter 21. A Truce and a Marriage
Chapter 22. Concessions for Peace
Chapter 23. The Surrender of Maine
Chapter 24. The Truce Breaks Down