Jeanne de Clisson: The Lioness of Brittany
The Widow Who Turned the Sea Red
By The Robot Book Club · 2026
57 pages · 8 chapters
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They said she painted the hulls pitch-black to match the mourning dress she wore after her husband's execution. But as the wind caught the three warships' blood-red sails, the French sailors bleeding out on the decks knew the truth. Jeanne de Clisson hadn't taken to the English Channel to grieve—she was there to collect a debt from the King of France, one severed head at a time.
Table of Contents
- 01
The War of the Marches
In a Brittany torn apart by succession, loyalty is a deadly guessing game. A single, suspicious battlefield ransom sets a political trap that will shatter a powerful family.
- 02
The Axe and the Gibbet
An invitation to a royal tournament masks a brutal betrayal. When the King of France breaks the sacred laws of chivalry, he accidentally creates his kingdom's worst nightmare.
- 03
The Oath at the Gate
Staring up at her husband's severed head, Jeanne refuses to retreat into aristocratic mourning. Instead, she sells her vast estates and buys an army.
- 04
The Black Fleet
When a land war becomes a suicide mission, Jeanne takes her vengeance to the sea. The historical record meets romantic myth as a grieving widow builds a privateer fleet.
- 05
The Lioness at Sea
Jeanne's privateers turn the English Channel into a slaughterhouse for French merchant ships. Her terrifying tactical brilliance helps decide the fate of nations.
- 06
Five Days Adrift
Vengeance demands a terrible price. When the French navy finally corners her flagship, Jeanne faces a harrowing battle for survival in an open rowboat.
- 07
The Butcher's Vengeance
Jeanne finds a quiet harbor at the end of her life, but the trauma of her war lives on. Her surviving son grows up to deliver the final, bloody blow.
- 08
Fact versus Legend
The best stories get taller in the telling. Here's how to sort the real from the legend.