Sequel to The Greatest Knight (see link)
The year is 1197, and William Marshal is riding high. Having taken in marriage the wealthy and formidable (not to mention beautiful) Irish countess Isabelle de Clare, Marshal has four delightful children in his life (6 more would come in later years) and enjoys the position of of one of King Richard the Lionheart's most trusted and competent commanders.
However, his life would soon take a dramatic downturn. After Richard's death, his unscrupulous and power-hungry brother John inherits the throne. As different from Richard as can be imagined, John slowly pick's apart William and Isabelle's lives bit by bit, even demanding their eldest sons as hostages to endure their "good faith". William remains loyal to John through it all, but it takes ever more demeaning displays of prostration to retain even a modicum of royal favor.
The situation takes a toll not only on William's standing within the court and realm, but on his marriage and relationship with his heir. Pressured from more directions than ever before, William and Isabelle are tested to the limits, and failing that test could mean disaster for the entire kingdom.
Although author Elizabeth Chadwick states that The Scarlet Lion can be read independently of its prequel (see The Greatest Knight), I believe it would be much easier to read the books in order, since the first volume contains so much backstory of the main characters. In any case, Chadwick has done an excellent job chronicling the second half of the life of one of England's most extraordinary heroes.
