INÊS
Queens of Portugal Trilogy, Book #1
by Catherine Mathis
An heir to the throne, a gorgeous blonde lady-in-waiting, the king's trusted advisor. When a father and son don't understand each other, the son pays an outrageous price.
Love, jealousy, loyalty, and revenge roil the court of 14th century Portugal.
In this engrossing launch to the Queens of Portugal trilogy, Catherine Mathis gives a fresh take on the tale of Pedro and Inês, Portugal's real-life Romeo and Juliet. Pedro's father would not have been king if not for his trusted advisor, Gonçalves. Once king, he wants no part in neighboring Castile's royal convulsions though his son, Pedro, befriends powerful Castilians.
The all-consuming drive of the king is to ensure his line rules Portugal for centuries to come. He needs legitimate, strong heirs. The Infante Pedro loves a woman not deemed worthy to wear the crown as queen. Between father and son is Gonçalves, the king's powerful, unquestioned counselor who is mentor to the son. Both Gonçalves and Pedro seek the attention of Inês.
There is a horrific cost to winning the love of Inês. She will not release her grip on Pedro until he keeps the two sworn oaths he made to her. Can Pedro do the impossible to satisfy Inês?
Inês is based on real people and events, exploring a cultural touchstone of Portuguese history.
Praise for Inês:
“Mathis masterfully weaves emotional depth into the narrative, creating a deeply engaging experience that leaves a lasting impression and invites readers on an unforgettable journey through the grandeur and intrigue of Portugal’s past.”
~ Mary Anne Yarde, The Coffee Pot Book Club 5* Review
“This exciting start to the Queens of Portugal trilogy describes the legendary love story of Pedro and Inês, and I was amazed at the excellent storytelling and how the author brings the courts to life. There is a lot of drama and intrigue, and the characters' emotions are beautifully captured in this engrossing tale.”
~ Readers Favorite 5* Review
Following in the footsteps of Inês
Inês is set in the years 1324 -1364. The novel explores the events underpinning the legend of Pedro and Inês, real people now regarded as Portugal’s Romeo & Juliet story. One of the great joys of writing the novel was discovering the story and then reveling in the setting.
Alcobaça Monastery
Coming around the corner from the car park, a visitor arrives in a large stone plaza with shops on one side and the towering Monastery of Alcobaça way across on the other side. Climb the stone steps and cross an elaborate portal to enter the abbey. There a tall somewhat narrow three aisle nave structure of grey stone overwhelms the visitor. If it can stun us today, I can only imagine the impression it would make on the mind of an early 14th century visitor. It is the height of nearly 66 feet (20 meters) and the length of 348 feet (106 meters). Pigeons fly around, steps sound on the hard stone floor, and the windows of clear glass draw your eye. Each side aisle’s vault matches the nave’s height and is supported by twelve smooth granite columns with modest capstones marching to the chancel. The tall clear mullioned windows add to the sense of height and awe. The Alcobaça Monastery complex was granted to the Cistercian order by Portugal’s first king in 1153 and built between 1178 and 1252. It is the largest Gothic building in Portugal.
The magic comes when you reach the transept. There are the glorious sarcophagi of Inês and Pedro. Each one rests on six stone statues: lions for Pedro and the half man / half beast representations of those who took the life of Inês and now support her for all time.
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Pedro’s vision centers on the trumpet sounding on the last day when they shall each rise, seeing the other first. Perhaps this is the grandest of romantic gestures. If you do not know their story, and I did not on that day, then it draws you in. In side chapels lie the remains of Portuguese royals.
Coimbra
Next up is the university town of Coimbra, the original capital of Portugal. The site is that of an ancient Roman city occupied by Goths, Visigoths, and Muslims before Afonso Henriques conquered the country (1139-1143). On the right side of the river the town rises on a hill of steep and winding streets. Across the Mondego River lies the ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha founded by the Poor Sisters of Clare in the 1280s. There is a delightful museum on the grounds with relics of religious and daily life from medieval times. It is here in the lay area (as opposed to the enclosed area of the religious) that Inês lived with Pedro in the home of Queen Beatriz, Pedro’s mother. It is here that Inês died.
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| Sta Clara a Velha (c) Carlos Luis MC da Cruz, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain |
Beginning in the early 1330s the river flooded the complex and finally the king in 1647 ordered the structure abandoned. Up the hill you come to the new buildings, the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova (New Santa Clara). The tomb of Pedro’s grandmother, Queen Saint Isabella, is there. You can walk the grounds of the ruins of the convent currently under conservation knowing Pedro and Inês and the children all lived and walked there.
Òbidos
Obidos is a magical medieval town which dawns on you when you try driving on cobblestone and pavement streets barely wider than a small car. Why didn’t we park outside the walls and walk in? Lesson learned. They have a medieval fair which is totally worth the experience: jousting, a parade, birds of prey, live music and dancing, booths, story tellers, and everyone jovial. You can stay and dine in the castle, now a pousada. You can walk the tall walls surrounding the town. You sense what it would be like to live in a medieval city. We stayed in a turret room in the castle on the last day of the year graced by a full moon. Climbing to the top of the castle to stand under moonlight was a lifetime memory. The narrow arrow slit windows allow almost no light and offer limited views. Inês and Pedro would have visited here more than once.
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| Òbidos, (c) Alexkom000, Wikimedia Commons |
Guimarães
The castle in Guimarães is the site where Queen Beatriz arranged for her husband, King Afonso, and her son, the Infante Pedro, to meet and come to peace after Pedro’s rebellion. The castle’s history goes back to the tenth century and becomes one of the central structures in the founding of Portugal as a country. By the later half of the 13th century the eight-tower fortress was complete. In town there is the ducal palace of the Braganza family, powerful nobles over centuries. You can take delightful strolls in the city center. We stayed in the Pousada Mosteiro de Guimarães with an elegant dining room serving one of the best meals we had in Portugal. The palatial rooms make you think being a monk is quite the life.
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| Padrão do Salado, Guimarães, (c) JI FilpoC, Wikimedia Commons |
Not far away is Braga where the Archbishop’s Palace (sigh, oh to be religious) has magnificent gardens.
There is Evora to the east towards Castile where you will find a Roman temple to Diana, another opulent pousada, a highly walkable town, and a Sé (cathedral), all of which must be explored. Evora was often a meeting place for the Cortes (a legislative type of meeting) and a final home to Pedro’s sister Maria.
While Sintra is not a part of the novel, it is absolutely worth a visit. Google it and become entranced. Many tourists visit the beaches, we did not. There is so much to see. Portuguese people are delightful and friendly.
Catherine Mathis was born in Berlin, the daughter of an American spy. As she grew up in Washington, D.C., her spy father turned into a drug enforcement agent. His career change wrecked any chance at high school popularity.
She graduated from Sewanee | The University of the South with a degree in history focused on the medieval period. After a career in finance, she returned to her first love of medieval history to ‘Share Iberian Tales.’
Outside of writing, spare time joys are family, friends, reading, collecting folk / outsider art, and travel.
Library Journal included Inês on its list of coming historical fiction for July 2025 - June 2026 in June 2025 during the annual meeting of the American Library Association. The book is in the Turbulent Relationship category, a great category name.
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