Book II: Rebellion

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The Story of a Courageous Woman, Book II of V

Lady Nephele’s Devilry is the story of Elizabeth of Bosnia, krstjani princess who at age 11 was taken, against her will, to become the next queen of Hungary, second wife of King Louis the Great. Despite incredible challenges, she never gave up her struggle to find self-agency in a political and religious culture that denied that agency to women.

Dr. Gregov has brought this young woman’s story to life. The five volumes of the book embed the meager known history of Elizabeth into the larger historical context of 1300s Eastern Europe and the Balkans to create a rich portrait of life in that turbulent century, a portrait that enlarges the historical narrative about Elizabeth’s life and proposes an answer to the many questions raised by recorded history. Fortunately for us, it also allows the reader to vividly imagine life in those medieval times.

In Book II – Rebellion we follow eleven-year-old Princess Jelisaveta and seven-year-old Nephele to the palace in Visegrad, Hungary, where Jelisaveta’s proud and independent composure arouse the immediate antipathy of the Queen Mother, who spends the next three years trying to break Princess Jelisaveta’s will. In this process, Jelisaveta comes close to death three times and is saved only by the ministrations of the loyal Nephele. These hard years are also the impetus for Lady Nephele’s entertaining and amusing stories in the History of Hungary Not Written in Books, a collection of stories she wrote about members of the Arpad and Angevin dynasties of Hungary and Naples. With the assistance of the castle scribe, she gathers these stories to share with Jelisaveta each evening to help Jelisaveta cope with the cruelties and rigors of the Queen Mother’s court and disciplinary measures. When Queen Jelisaveta’s first child is stolen at birth, Jelisaveta descends into a deep depression.