Later, Gaveston is dispatched, and the Earl of Winchester is ordered by Parliament to share the throne with Edward.  Parliament's dissatisfaction with the King results in the balance of power being shifted away from the royal couple. Isabella is inflamed by her dislike for the Earl and his son, Hugh Despenser, who now has Edward's attention, and she wants revenge against the two of them. The newly arrived, twenty-one-year-old Welsh handmaiden, Gwenith de Percy, also seeks vengeance. She had promised her grandmother that she would seek retribution against the English invaders who crushed her beloved Wales, and she secretly plans to try to kill Edward. Gwenith's plotting against the King is complicated by the fondness and dedication that she develops toward Isabella.

In this remarkable, extensively researched novel by Edith Felber, who also writes as Edith Layton, Isabella matures from the child-bride of an incompetent, homosexual king to a strong willed, capable monarch in her own right.  With the help of her condemned secret lover, Roger Mortimer, Isabella plans to take control and oust the Despensers. Then, after engineering Roger's escape from the tower, they embark to France.  They manage to raise an army to overthrow Edward and his cohorts, naming Edward III, the juvenile son of Isabella and Edward II as King.  After accomplishing this,  Isabella begins to wonder if Roger might have an agenda of his own.

Isabella, the She Wolf of Paris, developed extraordinary influence in an era where women seldom had any power.  The fascinating royal intrigues make it impossible to know who one's enemies really are.  Felber has the incredible talent to make these strong historical figures come to life as though history was happening today. Exciting stuff...and right on the money historically. This is one that I will read over again with pleasure.