Warwick in 1468. One drowsy summer afternoon, Sir Thomas Malory — politician, courtier, outlaw, renowned author of Le Morte D’Arthur — is seized from his garden and dragged to Newgate Prison for reasons unknown.
Shivering in his foul-smelling, filthy old cell, Malory mourns his misspent life as he awaits the execution bell.
But when the locking bar lifts, he is greeted by a boy of about twelve winters: the gaoler’s son.
Giddy with relief, Malory seizes the opportunity to recount his deeds to an audience.
So begins a prison confession of a perilously exciting life full of sieges, battles and court intrigue. This is the captivating tale of a man at odds with his past and the events that inspired him to write the first great work of prose fiction in English.
A Good Deliverance by Toby Clements is published on 4 July, 2024.
And there’s much more historical fiction in our round-up of over 180 books coming out this year.
