book details

Book: Broken Reed - The Lords of Gower and King John by Ann Marie Thomas

categories: Book, British History, King John, De Breos, De Braose, Llywelyn the Great, Llywelyn Ab Iorwerth, Welsh History, Gower, Swansea, Non Fiction, Medieval History

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Ann Marie Thomas

about this book: My interest in Gower local history resulted in my book, Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth. The success of that book encouraged me to return to my research and find another fascinating story to tell.

Broken Reed tells the story of William de Breos, 4th Lord of Bramber, who was the greatest of the de Breoses. He rose to become a close confidant of King John, who showered him with lands and titles, including the Lordship of Gower. Then John got nervous of his power, and when his wife revealed John's greatest secret, John turned on William and his family.

Their fall was so fast and so far that it was the final straw to the powerful barons who were already nervous of John's instability, and led to Magna Carta. 15 June 2014 is the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, an appropriate year for the promotion of this book.

This book was written for locals and tourists in Gower, but is of interest to anyone into this period in English or Welsh history. It includes information on the Angevin kings and Llywelyn the Great, Lord of Snowdon and first Prince of Wales. William's sons and grandson joined forces with Llywelyn to try to regain their lands, even marrying Llywelyn's daughters.

Like Alina, this book is written in a readable, storytelling style, but with full endnotes and bibliography for the academic. It is illustrated with beautiful line drawings by the talented illustrator Carrie Francis, who was an art student when she illustrated my first book. The cover is from an illustration in the first book.

eBook is available on Amazon and Smashwords, print book is available from Amazon or from the author, postage free.