In 1135, Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, stealing it from his cousin Empress Matilda and sparking a 19-year civil war that would become known as the Anarchy, one of the bloodiest periods in English history. On the one side is Empress Matilda. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for […]
The Empress Matilda and the stolen crown
Carol McGrath’s novel The Stolen Crown retells the extraordinary story of the Empress Matilda and her fight to gain the throne of England during the 12th-century civil war known as the Anarchy. It’s a period, as she says, of “thrills, jeopardy and unforgettable characters”. When I began to write Empress Matilda’s story I wondered if […]