Young Simon, recently and tragically orphaned, becomes caught up in the tensions gripping England as King Henry II and his former friend the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, engage in a battle of wills. Simon’s twin brother, Edmund, finds a place in the king’s court, but Simon, disabled with a paralyzed hand, is rejected. Taking refuge with a family related to the exiled archbishop, Simon suddenly finds himself banished to France along with them. Simon is swept along like flotsam to the feet of the archbishop, who has mercy on him and takes him to serve as a scribe in his household. Simon witnesses firsthand the turbulence of the next few years as king and archbishop seek to reconcile their differences over the laws governing church and state. When Archbishop Thomas Becket is at last allowed to return to England, Simon and Edmund, from their different vantage points, see the final escalation of the drama culminating in the king’s rash words and the archbishop’s heroic death.
With an expert pen Barbara Willard deftly recounts events leading to the archbishop’s martyrdom in 1170.

Includes:

• Introduction
• Map
• Illustrations
• About the author

Book Details:

• Time period: 1164-1170
• Location: England
• Content suitability (age): 10-up
• Read-aloud interest: 9-up