Simon the Coldheart

One of Georgette Heyer’s earliest historical novels, published in 1925, this medieval adventure follows Simon of Beauvallet, a boy of obscure and illegitimate birth who rises through sheer will and skill at arms. Cold, self-possessed, and fearless, he earns his knighthood in the service of Henry IV and Fulk of Montlice, then wins lands of his own on campaign in France, where he clashes with the proud Lady Margaret of Belremy. Heyer writes the fighting and the politicking of the early fifteenth century with obvious relish, and the hero’s icy composure gives the book both its title and its charm. It later lent its family name to her Elizabethan romance Beauvallet. A free PDF and EPUB edition are available here.