Behold the Bird in Flight: A Novel of an Abducted Queen

For fans of Maggie O'Farrell, a coming-of-age story and a royal love triangle marked by danger and longing, based on real events in medieval France and England.

Romantic and stubborn, eleven-year-old Isi plans to marry for love and be mistress of her own castle. But life in 1198 is full of threat and a series of tragic events teaches her growing up is hard.

When Isi falls for Hugh, a French nobleman, he consents to marry her, but only for her dowry. She longs for more. Hoping a jealous man will fall in love, she flirts with a king. The flirtation backfires: King John abducts and marries her. Now trapped in cold, warring England with a malicious husband, Isi must hide her yearning for Hugh and find her own power. If she fails, she won't live to return to her beloved.

Inspired by real historical figures--Isabelle d'Angoul?me, Hugh de Lusignan, and King John of Magna Carta fame--Behold the Bird in Flight is set in a period that valued women only for their dowries and childbearing. Isabelle's story has been mainly erased by men, but the medieval chronicles suggest a woman who developed her own power and wielded it. And as the woman behind the throne, who's to say she didn't influence history?

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 06/03/2025
ISBN: 9781647429102
Pages: 336

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001