Empress Matilda - Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction

The civil war between supporters of Stephen and the supporters of Matilda has proven popular as a subject in historical fiction. Novels dealing with it include:

• Graham Shelby, The Villains of the Piece (1972) (published in the US as The Oath and the Sword)
• The Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, and the TV series made from them starring Sir Derek Jacobi
• Jean Plaidy, The Passionate Enemies, the third book of her Norman Trilogy
• Sharon Penman, When Christ and His Saints Slept tells the story of the events before, during and after the civil war
• Haley Elizabeth Garwood, The Forgotten Queen (1997)
• Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth
• E. L. Konigsburg, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver
• Cecelia Holland, The Earl
• Joan Wolf, No Dark Place and The Poisoned Serpent are medieval romantic mysteries about supporters of both Stephen and Matilda
• Ellen Jones, The Fatal Crown (highly inaccurate)
• Juliet Dymoke, The Lion's Legacy (Being part of a trilogy, the first being, Of The Ring Of Earls, the second, Henry of the High Rock)
• Elizabeth Chadwick, "Lady of the English" (2011)

Indeed, some novels go so far as to posit a love-affair between Matilda and Stephen, e.g. the Janna Mysteries by Felicity Pulman, set during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.

Matilda is a character in Jean Anouilh's play Becket. In the 1964 film adaptation she was portrayed by Martita Hunt. She was also portrayed by Brenda Bruce in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of her son and grandsons.

Finally, Alison Pill portrayed her in the 2010 TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, an adaptation of Follett's novel, although she is initially known in this as Princess Maud not Empress Matilda.