Rule‪!‬

How would a young king come to choose a sheltered country girl as his mistress?

How does a man of God become a man of war?

In feudal England, can you stop the king from abusing your rights?

Why would a family move halfway around the world, leaving the life they knew?

How can a mighty ruler balance the demands of his faith with military leadership?

How can the survivor of a horrible siege come to terms with living after so many had died?

What could the most powerful women in the western world possibly need when she retires?


These and other questions confront the characters of Rule! This historically accurate book views the rise and fall of great European empires through the eyes and lives of individuals.


Rule! tells nine tales, set in England, Ireland and Scotland, 1850s India, St. Helena Island in the south Atlantic, 13th Century France, and Charlemagne’s empire in the 9th Century. The stories are dramatic and realistic representations of people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. Each story offers end notes and a brief historical view of the times, place or people involved.

Rule! is the second book in the Helena’s Stories series, which brings personal points of view to history, offers personal perspectives of historical times and traces an American family's ancestral stories.