Juliet Dymoke wrote mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. Not much appears to be known about her except that she was born in England during 1919 and died in 2001. She was a member of the Romantic Novelist Association.
Despite her relative obscurity today, Dymoke published an impressive list of titles. The Plantagenets is a 6-book series that covers the reigns of English kings from Henry II to Richard III.
- A Pride of Kings – Henry II, Richard I, John
The Royal Griffin – Henry III
The Lion of Mortimer – Edward II
Lady of the Garter – Edward III
The Lord of Greenwich – Henry V
The Sun in Splendor – Edward IV, Richard III
In addition to providing an overview of the reigns of these kings, several of the titles feature other lesser-known historical characters. A Pride of Kings gives us the point of view of William Marshal, a knight who served each of them. Lady of the Garter tells Joan of Kent’s story as well. It also introduces Edward III’s son, Edward the Black Prince. The Lord of Greenwich is Humphrey (spelled Humfrey), Duke of Gloucester and brother of Henry V.
To date, I have read two books in the series – 3 and 4. Reviews are forthcoming.
Not surprisingly, Dymoke serves history with a touch of romance. For this reason, she will appeal mostly to women. But the romance is light. There are no love scenes, which might otherwise place the books firmly in the historical romance genre.
If you like Sharon Kay Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick (the English author) or Jean Plaidy, you will probably like this series. It’s long out of print, so expect to piece it together one title at time through used book stores. (Bookfinder should get you started.) I was lucky enough to win an eBay auction for the whole series. But you don’t see these too often.