Constantine
About this book
A historical novel set in Greece in the 15th Century, the 2nd book of a trilogy charting the turbulent last years of the Byzantine Empire. The narrator is Thomas, the youngest brother of the Emperor John VIII Palaeologos, who has been made a Despot in the Peloponnese, then known as the Morea, along with his older brothers Theodore and Constantine. There they try to keep the peace between the local barons and sometimes even among themselves. In Constantinople the Emperor John is also beset by problems, not least of which is the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Murad II. Constantine is the most capable of all the brothers and is resolved to drive the Sultan’s army back eastwards to Anatolia. But will his determination be enough?