If you think politics are tough in 2015, you should try them in 1305! The king of France, Philippe The Handsome, is busy starting a war with Flanders, murdering one pope and appointing another, getting rid of the Jews and the Templars (he owed them both lots of money), introducing popular representation, and attempting to start a League of Nations.
Of course, that's not all he has to contend with. His daughter Isabelle, widely considered the most beautiful woman in Europe, has been married off to Edward of England, and isn't happy about it—she's in love with an outlaw and her new husband prefers boys to her beauty. All three of the king's sons have married women with minds, hearts, and bodies of their own: but when you betray a prince, it's not just infidelity—it's treason. Not long after the king sat in judgment on his daughters-in-law, the Templars' curse worked, and Philippe died. But it had been a wild ride.
All that—and the world's first indoor tennis court! The Crown & The Kingdom delivers a barely fictionalized story of a momentous time in medieval history and a quick and exciting read.