The Devil Is Loose

The Crusader Knights Cycle #4

by Graham Shelby

"Graham Shelby has re-created with painstaking exactitude the medieval world of the Angevin brothers - Richard the Lionhearted and John called Lackland - and presented it to us with a novelist's flair for fleshing out the pasteboard figures of history with detail and imagination. The murderous tumult of England and Normandy in the twelfth century is superbly drawn in this fine tale of the conceits of kings and the wars of influence that marked the passing of an age. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Philip of Franc,e Henry the Second, and William Marshal, model for the knight chivalric - all are here to contribute by their words and actions to the forming of nations and the uneasy balance of history."

Genres: Historical Fiction

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Graham Shelby (born 1939) is a British historical novelist. He worked as a copywriter and book-reviewer before embarking on a series of historical novels, mainly set in the twelfth century.

Chronological list of works:
The Knights of Dark Renown (1969), set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the reigns of Baldwin IV, Baldwin V and Queen Sibylla, majoring on the real-life knight Raynald of Châtillon and his arch-enemy Saladin.

The Kings of Vain Intent (1970), sequel to the above, dealing with the Third Crusade, depicting Conrad of Montferrat as the villain: the US edition contains an additional chapter.

The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword), about the conflict between King Stephen and Queen Matilda. (standalone novel)

The Devil is Loose (1974), a sequel to The Kings of Vain Intent, following the later career of Richard I of England.

The Wolf at the Door (1975), sequel to the above, about John of England.

The Cannaways (1978), a story of a fictional eighteenth-century family.

The Cannaway Concern (1980), sequel to the above.

The Edge of the Blade (1986). (standalone novel)

Demand the World (1990), based on the life of Eliza Lynch. (standalone novel)

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, informative, but not deep coverage of the characters and events, rather a "Cliff Notes" version. Shelby casts John as obnoxious, a despicable "Softsword."

Will likely re-re-read Myself As Witness and some of the Penman books for perspective.
Myself as Witness

[Nae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one :)