New York: Forge / Tom Doherty Associates, (1997) dj. Hardcover first edition - Historical novel about Melisende, the twelfth century Crusader Queen of Jerusalem, forced to marry an older man, and later regent to her young son who became the king . The story is told through the eyes of Lady Richildis, a fictional character, a young Frankish woman on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, who becomes one of Melisende's confidantes. Author's note. 464 pp. ISBN: 0-312858213.