<DIV><p></p><BR><BR> <B>A transporting debut novel set in thirteenth century France-a time when chivalry reigned and treachery ruled </B> <br><BR> In the last years of her eventful life, queen-duchess Aliénor of Aquitaine launches a deadly dynastic chess game to safeguard the crowns of Normandy and England for John Plantagenet, her last surviving son.<br><BR> To that end, Aliénor coerces into matrimony two pawns-Juliana de Charnais, a plain and pious novice determined to regain her inheritance, and Guérin de lasalle, a cynical, war-worn mercenary equally resolved to renounce his. <br><BR> The womanizing Lasalle and the proud Juliana are perfectly matched for battle not love-until spies and assassins conspire to reverse their romantic fortunes.<br><BR> Populated by spirited and intelligent women and executed in flawless period detail, <I>The Sixth Surrender</I> is a compelling love story that heralds the arrival of a major new talent in historical fiction. </div>