The Burning Candle: A Medieval Novel

by Lisa J. Yarde

Love is for women who have choices. She has none. In eleventh-century France on the eve of the First Crusade, Isabel de Vermandois becomes the wife of a man old enough to be her father. He is Robert de Beaumont, Comte de Meulan. A hero of the Norman victory at Hastings and loyal counselor to successive English kings, Robert is not all Isabel had expected. Cruel and kind by contrast, he draws her into the decadent court of King Henry I. As Robert’s secrets are unraveled, Isabel finds her heart divided. Her duties as a wife and mother compel her, but an undeniable attraction to the young William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, tempts her. In a kingdom where love holds no sway over marital relations, Isabel must choose where her loyalties and her heart lie. Based on the life of a remarkable medieval woman forgotten by time, The Burning Candle is a story of duty and honor, love and betrayal.

In The Burning Candle, Isabel de Vermandois proves her inner courage by enduring the brutal dominance of both her parents, as they force her into a marriage with a man older than her father. Although Isabel does not have a choice in her marital partner, she makes the best of life with Robert de Beaumont and becomes a dutiful wife. It is a fine balance for a woman of the medieval era, knowing what to bear and just when to stand up for she believes in against the odds. Robert appreciates his wife’s beauty and wit, but Isabel surpasses all of his expectations with her integrity. To do what is right when there is no reward takes the kind of personal strength that Isabel possesses. The greatest test she faces in later years is the temptation offered by William de Warenne, a man betrothed to her dear friend. Although Isabel acknowledges a growing attraction to William within herself alone, commitment to her marital vows and the children she has given Robert mean a great deal. She cannot abandon ideals she has long held just for the sake of a moment’s forbidden happiness with her lover. She is also smart enough to know the repercussions for her and William if Robert should ever discover their illicit love.