Showing titles in Medieval

Will Britain take him in... or mark him as its enemy? Faustus Valerianus is the son of a Roman father and a British mother, a captive sold among the spoils after Claudius’ invasion. When both parents die within a month of each other, he sells the family farm and enlists, joining legendary general Agricola’s campaign to conquer the entirety of the British Isles. But Faustus will have to contend with more than ferocious British warriors and whip-cracking elements. For the bonds of blood can weigh heavy on one’s soul. The call of his mother’s true people.

It is 1347 and the French, after a crushing defeat at Crécy, are licking their wounds while their king raises a new army. Locked into a fruitless siege, the English are camped in the marshes around Calais. Among them is foot soldier and archer Martin Kemp, whose dreams of serving his king and reliving the chivalrous adventures of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table are tempered by the gory and brutal reality of siege warfare. Having narrowly escaped death in a surprise attack from the French, Kemp sees a chance for a reprieve when a shaky truce is signed.

'Fascinating, poignant and beautifully written. A story of love and the sorrow of war' CAROL MCGRATH 'An enthralling insight into the Wars of the Roses seen through the eyes of two powerful women. A superb read' CLARE MARCHANT 'A fascinating story of two powerful women on opposing sides of the...

Paul Doherty's 22nd medieval mystery featuring Sir Hugh Corbett is a gripping and gruesome tale of murder and mayhem sure to appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Bernard Cornwell. 1312. Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, has returned from the West Country to find Westminster in chaos. Edward II has fled in an attempt to protect his favourite from the wrath of his noblemen, and a royal clerk has been found dead, poisoned in a locked chamber.

‘Oh my word… fantastic… [The] stories intertwine so beautifully, it’s truly amazing. Such a lot of research must have to have been done but so worth it. I can’t recommend this book enough.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Could a rediscovered map show her the way? Present day...

In the depths of the valley, two women, centuries apart, are bound by fate… Present Eve, desperate for a fresh start, arrives in the Valley of Ravens to restore a long-abandoned cottage. Everyone knows the place is cursed. Why else would it be called The Witch’s House? As Eve begins her...

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

Bound together by a single ancient text, the unforgettable characters of Cloud Cuckoo Land are dreamers and outsiders figuring out the world around them: 13-year-old Anna and Omeir, an orphaned seamstress and a cursed boy, on opposite sides of the formidable city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and Konstance, decades from now, who turns to the oldest stories to guide her community in peril.

When a beggar at her door turns out to be a high born lady, Margaret learns of a family destroyed by the Norman invasion. She resolves to help the woman find her missing daughter—abducted and enslaved by a local mormaer. When the mormaer’s daughter is found murdered, the foreigners quickly become scapegoats. Can Margaret save her displaced countrywomen’s lives, while navigating her new role as queen in a foreign court?

Aleys is sixteen years old and unusual: stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret—but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn’t love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.

When Princess Matilda is eighteen years old, tragedy strikes the royal family, and she becomes the only child of the king of England - the de facto heir to the throne. As her dying father persuades the barons to pledge allegiance to her, Matilda returns to England - but the lords and clergy do not like an independent woman. And Matilda is nothing if not headstrong. When the old king dies, the country is plunged into instant chaos. So begins a fierce battle between cousins that will go down in history as a time called 'The Anarchy'.

**A spellbinding historical novel** The Sunday Times Bestseller ‘O’Brien is now approaching Philippa Gregory status’ – Reader’s Digest ‘A dangerous word, perhaps, for a woman. Power.’ From her first clandestine marriage, Joan of Kent’s reputation is one of beauty, rumour and...

There are plots to invade England and Normandy. There are assassination attempts and the only man who can stop all of these is the Earl of Cleveland. Moving from Scotland to Normandy and back again this is a fast moving novel set in the months before the civil war in England and Normandy begins.

A hero’s journey begins in an exhilarating new series by Griff Hosker. In 1335 the Black Death was just 13 years away from England, but there were other threats and dangers. Young John Hawkwood is forced to leave his home and seek a life in London. There he learns how to survive and, more importantly, how to fight. Leaving his life as an apprentice tailor he follows the army and King Edward to fight the Scots. He has a skill: he can not only use a bow, but he can use a sword and his mind.

'Does for Elizabeth's reign what CJ Sansom does for Henry VIII's' Sunday Times The first book in the iconic John Shakespeare series, beloved by thousands of readers, from true master of historical fiction, Rory Clements. ------------------------------------------------------- 'Sixteenth-century...

After years of fragile peace, the legendary warlord Arthur Pendragon is forced back into the bloody crucible of war to save Britain once more from Saxon invaders. His greatest battle, however, is not on the field, it is a fight for his own soul. When deep seated betrayals shatter his world, Arthur must abandon his throne and his people. He must decide whether to remain a broken mercenary in exile or return to confront a Britain ruled by his vengeful enemies and torn apart by savage armies. Can Arthur succeed and become a legend?

In her second volume of short stories, which follows the hugely successful 'Encounters', Barbara Erskine has created a compelling world of love, betrayal, suspense and grief. A biographer investigating a tragic death hears voices from the past drawing her towards the truth… A nineteenth...

An engineer finds himself in an alternate reality, Cornwall, in the year 715 A.D. He awakens in the body of a young Baron. James Fletcher continues on his world conquest. He has realized that nothing short of world domination will allow him to live in peace. No matter how he expands the new...

1579, St Andrews. A thirteen-year-old boy meets his death on the streets of the university city of St Andrews, and suspicion falls upon one of the regents at the university, Nicholas Colp. Hew Cullan, a young lawyer recently returned home from Paris, uncovers a complex tale of passion and duplicity, of sexual desire in conflict with the repressive atmosphere of the Protestant Kirk and the austerity of the academic cloister.

Bloomsbury presents Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler, read by Sara Vickers. LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION DAGGER 2024 LONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD 2024 'Suspenseful, atmospheric and full of twists and turns, I loved the brutal, backstabbing world that Isabelle...