The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Stories 1) by Bernard Cornwell Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred’s fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the only English kingdom to survive the Danish assault. The struggle between the English and the Danes and the strife between Christianity and paganism is the background to Uhtred’s growing up. Marriage ties him to the Saxon cause but when his wife and child vanish in the… Read more »
Posts Tagged: medieval
The Falcons Of Montabard by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Falcons Of Montabard by Elizabeth Chadwick Sabin FitzSimon, disgraced son of an earl, has the opportunity to rebuild his career and salvage his reputation when the knight Edmund Strongfist leaves for the Holy Land to offer his sword and services to the King of Jerusalem. He asks Sabin to join him. Accompanying Strongfist is his daughter Annais. Sabin, he warns, is to keep away from her. Being grateful for the chance that Strongfist has given him, Sabin does so, but not without a feeling of regret, for he is attracted to Annais’s spirit, her courage and wonderful harp playing…. Read more »
The Captive Queen by Alison Weir
The Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir It is the year 1152, and a beautiful woman rides through France, fleeing her crown, her two young daughters and a shattered marriage. Her husband, Louis of France has been more monk than monarch, and certainly not a lover. Now Eleanor of Aquitaine has one sole purpose: to return to her duchy and marry the man she loves, Henry Plantagenet, destined for greatness as King of England. It will be a union founded on lust, renowned as one of the most vicious marriages in history, and it will… Read more »
Queen of Shadows by Edith Felber
Queen of Shadows by Edith Felber In fourteenth-century England, beautiful Queen Isabella-humiliated by her weak, unfaithful husband-is emerging from the shadows to take her revenge. But her newly arrived, twenty-one year-old Welsh handmaiden, Gwenith de Percy, also seeks vengeance-against the English invaders who crushed her beloved Wales. Isabella’s once-golden marriage is now her penance. Due to his rumored relations with men, Parliament forced Edward to share his throne-a demeaning arrangement that torments Isabella. With the help of her secret, noble lover, Roger Mortimer-an enemy of her husband, imprisoned in the Tower of London-the queen plots to take control. Thrilled by… Read more »
Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick
Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick Two very different women are linked by destiny and the struggle for the English crown. Matilda, daughter of Henry I, is determined to win back her crown from Stephen, the usurper king. Adeliza, Henry’s widowed queen and Matilda’s stepmother, is now married to William D’Albini, a warrior of the opposition. Both women are strong and prepared to stand firm for what they know is right. But in a world where a man’s word is law, how can Adeliza obey her husband while supporting Matilda, the rightful queen? And for Matilda pride comes before… Read more »
My Lord John by Georgette Heyer
My Lord John by Georgette Heyer With her signature wit, drama and impeccable historical accuracy, Georgette Heyer tells the story of a medieval royal family on the rise. Set in the last days of the reign of Richard II, just before Henry V succeeded him to the throne, the eponymous hero is Henry’s brother, John, Duke of Bedford. Heyer brings the medieval world to life, creating a panoramic view of a royal family’s intricacies, intrigues and sibling rivalries, along with the everyday lives of the servants, clerics, and vassals in their charge. (Goodreads) The book follows John, son of King… Read more »
A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin Two murdered princes; a powerful queen betrayed; a nobleman riding towards his certain death… The story of the Princes in the Tower has been one of the most fascinating – and most brutal – murder mysteries in history for more than five hundred years. In a brilliant feat of historical daring, Emma Darwin has recreated the terrible, exhilarating world of the two youngest victims of the War of the Roses: the power struggles and passion that lay behind their birth, the danger into which they fell, the profoundly moving days before their imprisonment, and… Read more »
Shield Wall by Justin Hill
Shield Wall by Justin Hill The year is 1016 and England burns while the Viking armies blockade the great city of Lundenburh. King Ethelred lies dying and the England he knew dies with him; the warring kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex and Northymbria tremble on the brink of great change. One man lives to bear witness to the upheaval: Godwin, barely out of boyhood and destined to become one of his country’s great warriors. When Ethelred’s son Edmund takes the throne, determined to succeed where his father failed, he plucks Godwin from domestic peace to be right-hand man in his loyal… Read more »
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santángel is enraged and takes retribution into his own hands. But he is from a family of conversos, and his Jewish heritage makes him an easy target. As Santángel witnesses the horrific persecution of his loved… Read more »
The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans
The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans London, 1465: an alien, foreboding place for fifteen-year-old peasant girl Anne, arriving to work as a servant at the household of a wealthy merchant. Danger and menace lurk around every dark corner, for Anne’s rare beauty provokes jealousy, lust and intrigue. As England awakes from the nightmare of the War of the Roses, a charismatic new king is on the throne. Yet peace is fragile – there are those close to the crown with traitorous minds and murderous intentions. Possessing an extraordinary knowledge of herbs and healing, Anne soon finds herself at the dangerous heart… Read more »
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