[Greg Mele]

You've heard of the Seven Samurai and thrilled to the Dirty Dozen - now meet The Twelve of England, a Portuguese tale of adventure at the turn of the 15th century!

In the waning years of the fourteenth century, the household of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster was scandalized when twelve petulant English knights publicly mocked the twelve ladies-in-waiting to the Duke’s wife, calling them ugly to their faces. Outraged, the ladies sought immediate redress, but so fearsome were the knights’ reputations that none would step forward. Desperate for help, the Duke appealed to his son-in-law King João I of Portugal to find champions ready to fight for the ladies’ honor. Enter the “Twelve of England,” a band of battle-hardened Portuguese knights. Led by the redoubtable Álvaro Gonçalves Coutinho, known as “Magriço,” or “The Lean One,” these twelve fearless men set out for England to fight the English knights in judicial combat, prepared to shed their blood to save the honor of ladies they had never met.

Available now! http://www.freelanceacademypress.com/twelveofengland.aspx