The provided text consists of excerpts from the historical novel The People's Queen by Vanora Bennett, published in 2010. The narrative centers on Alice Perrers, the notorious mistress of King Edward III, detailing her rise from humble beginnings, likely accelerated by the Mortality (plague), to a position of immense power at court. Key figures include John of Gaunt, the King's son, and Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet and official who holds conflicted feelings for Alice, acting as both a confidant and, inadvertently, a source of her downfall. The excerpts describe Alice’s manipulation of politics, finance, and people, culminating in her being the target of the Good Parliament due to corruption charges, as well as her eventual entanglement in the Peasants' Revolt led by figures like Wat Tyler.