Q & A

First of all, for those of us not familiar with English history, can you tell us about Rosamund Clifford? Was she actually murdered? And is the tower in the maze a real place?
There's very little known about Rosamund Clifford, she's mentioned in the annals very briefly, but the fact that she's the only mistress of the king mentioned at all shows she was important to Henry 11. She died moderately young and the rumour was that Queen Eleanor had poisoned her in a fit a jealousy. How true that is we don't know. As for the maze, again legend says that the king kept her in a tower surrounded by a maze so that only he could visit her -- a perfect gift for a novelist. There obviously was a tower because six hundred years later the Duchess of Marlborough, when she was building the palace of Blenheim (where Winston Churchill was born) pulled it down.

We see less of Henry II in this novel, but we finally get to meet his formidable wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. For those of us who've seen "The Lion in Winter" we know that these two were hardly a loving husband and wife but you portray their tension as threatening the peace and security of the entire country. Is that based in fact?
Oh yes. Whether it was out of jealousy or because she wanted more power, Eleanor encouraged her sons to rebel against their father. Most of the fighting between them took place on the Continent but the peace of England was threatened for a while. I don't make these things up. Henry imprisoned his wife in the castle of Chinon in the Loire Valley at one point but she escaped dressed as a boy. When she was caught a second time he made sure she didn't get away again by bringing her to England and shutting her up in one of his castles. It was a fairly benign imprisonment because there are records of lavish clothes and wines being sent to her and her maids. And. as we see in "The Lion in Winter" she was let out occasionally to rejoin the family for Christmas and Easter. After Henry's death she emerged hale and hearty to live into her eighties.

The abbey of Godstow is portrayed as a little humanist oasis in a turbulent and close-minded society. Why did you choose it as the location for much of your story?
Because it was part of the story in real life. The ruins of Godstow are still there, on the Thames only a few miles south of Rosamund's tower was, and it is where she was buried -- the nuns obviously loved her because her tomb was next to their church's altar although, later, a scandalised bishop had it removed to the grounds -- we don't know where.

As this novel opens, we learn that Adelia has become a mother, and her lover has become a bishop. How has motherhood changed Adelia? And how has the religious life changed Rowley?
Adelia's become a bit more careful about hiding her profession in case she is charged with witchcraft and has her child taken away from her. But, because being a doctor and anatomist is built into her. she cannot help answering calls for help, whether it is from a suffering patient or the king who needs her particular skills. Now that Rowley is a bishop whose duty is to keep his Christian flock from straying into sin, he and Adelia have agreed not to meet again, though both are still desperately in love with each other. Mind you, there were plenty of bishops in those days who, though they were supposed to remain celibate, were known to keep young and pretty "housekeepers" in their households. Adelia and Rowley are more honourable than that -- indeed Rowley has voluntarily taken an oath that, as long as God keeps her safe, he will keep his distance when they meet. But, invevitably, they do meet ... and God doesn't keep her safe.

What is Adelia's next adventure?
Oh boy, there were so many wonderful and true happenings in the twelfth century that a historical thriller writer could keep going for book after book. For instance, the great abbey of Glastonbury in Somerset burned down and, because its relics of St Joseph of Arimithea and St Patrick etc were destroyed, fell into hard times when the pilgrims, which were its source of income, stopped coming. And you know what? Quite suddenly, its monks discovered the bones of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere in their churchyard. (In legend, Glastonbury is the site of Arthur's last resting place.) But before they could publicise this wonderful event, they had to get the king's permission and have the bones authenticated. Which is where I come in. Guess who Henry sends to look into the matter? Right, his own mistress of the art of death. It seems a safe enough mission for Adelia but somebody has their own reason for not wanting her to investigate those skeletons....