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Home / People / Stephen, King of England

Historical person

Stephen, King of England

1095–1154

Stephen seized the English throne in 1135 after the death of his uncle Henry I, despite an oath to support Henry’s daughter Matilda. His reign descended into civil war after Matilda invaded, and Stephen was captured at Lincoln in 1141 before being exchanged for Robert of Gloucester. Neither side achieved decisive control. After the death of Stephen’s son Eustace, the Treaty of Wallingford recognised Matilda’s son Henry as heir. Stephen died in 1154.

Sharon Kay Penman’s When Christ and His Saints Slept gives Stephen a substantial and sympathetic role, while Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael mysteries unfold against his conflict with Matilda. Fiction often portrays him as personally generous but politically unable to punish rebellion or control magnates. That contrast helps explain why a well-liked warrior presided over prolonged disorder.

In Cecelia Holland’s Hammer for Princes, an experienced lord accustomed to campaigning, castle warfare and negotiation, Fulk tries to preserve his honour and estates while the political settlement of England remains uncertain. In Griff Hosker’s English Knight, in a land teetering on the edge of chaos, the crown of England hangs by a thread. Other novels featuring Stephen, King of England include Ellis Peters’s An Excellent Mystery, Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael’s Penance, Paul Doherty’s The Templar Magician, Hilary Green’s Twice Royal Lady, and Griff Hosker’s Earl.

Series

Series featuring Stephen, King of England (8 series)

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael in Order

by Ellis Peters 19 books 4.5

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael follow a former soldier and crusader who has become the herbalist of Shrewsbury Abbey. Between 1137 and 1145, Cadfael investigates deaths, disappearances and disputed identities while working within the rhythms of Benedictine life and the law of medieval England. The twenty novels unfold…

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The Anarchy Series in Order

by Griff Hosker 20 books 4.4

The Anarchy Series follows families, knights and warlords through the civil war between Stephen and Empress Matilda and into the Angevin settlement under Henry II. The sequence expands from northern England and Normandy to crusading, Wales, Ireland and the politics around Thomas Becket and Henry’s sons. It is…

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Bradecote & Catchpoll in Order

by Sarah Hawkswood 14 books 4.4

The Bradecote & Catchpoll mysteries are set in Worcestershire during the Anarchy, beginning in June 1143 and progressing chronologically through December 1145. Hugh Bradecote serves as undersheriff to William de Beauchamp, while the experienced Serjeant Catchpoll understands the city’s people, crimes and evasions. From the third novel they…

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Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Order

by Sharon Kay Penman 5 books 4.5

The five Angevin novels trace the Plantagenet dynasty from the succession crisis after Henry I through Henry II and Eleanor’s turbulent marriage, their sons’ rebellions, Richard I’s crusade, captivity and final campaigns. The sequence combines royal family drama with the Anarchy, Angevin state-building, church–crown conflict and the Third…

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The Kingsbridge Novels in Order

by Ken Follett 5 books 4.4

The Kingsbridge novels trace the development of a fictional English community across nearly nine centuries. Builders, merchants, clergy, landowners, labourers and reformers repeatedly contest who controls work, worship, law and education, while the town changes from an impoverished Anglo-Saxon settlement into a cathedral city and industrial centre. Chronologically,…

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Templar in Order

by Paul Doherty 2 books 4.1

The Templar novels trace the order from the First Crusade to its established power in the mid-twelfth-century Crusader States. The Templar follows Hugh de Payens, Godfrey de Saint-Omer and Eleanor as they travel east with the crusading armies and confront the brutality, deprivation and political bargaining behind the…

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The Norman Series: in Order

by Jean Plaidy 3 books 4.3

The Norman trilogy follows William the Conqueror and his heirs as they seize and consolidate the English crown. The sequence moves from the Norman Conquest through the reign of Henry I to the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, showing how conquest, inheritance and baronial loyalty reshaped England.

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Kinghood in Order

by Cecelia Holland 2 books 4.0

The Kinghood books are two independent medieval novels linked by their examination of contested rule rather than by recurring characters. Hammer for Princes follows an experienced Anglo-Norman earl through the final phase of the Anarchy, when King Stephen and the future Henry II struggle over England. The King’s…

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Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Stephen, King of England (1 book)