Following a brutally cold winter, King Wiglaf of Mercia is in the ascendancy in 836. Even Wessex’s Archbishop of Canterbury ventures to Mercia to broker a religious accord. But can the hard-won peace prevail? Viking raiders threaten Wessex. These bloodthirsty warriors are fast, skilful and have no reticence about killing those who stand in their […]
The Blazing Sea by Tim Hodkinson
Einar and the Wolf Coats have angered most of the kings of Northern Europe. With England no refuge, their only solution is to set sail across the Whale Road. A chance encounter with a slave trader leads them to Muslim Spain, but what starts as a joyous homecoming for one of the crew ends in […]
Historical books for summer reading, 2025
We asked five well-loved authors to each suggest a couple of books they recommend for history lovers to enjoy reading over the summer. Their choices include novels about the eve of the Roman Conquest and the eve of the Norman one; non-fiction about the long history of Black people in Britain and the island’s first […]
Stormcrow by Ben Kane
On the east coast of Ireland 13-year old Finn finds the sword of a slain Norseman, and with Odin’s raven watching, is given the name Stormcrow. When Finn’s family is torn apart by a random act of violence, and the sword lost, he embarks on a quest for revenge with his oldest friend, the shaman […]
The Bear Slayer by Donovan Cook
Four years after being banished from Vestfold, Ulf Bear-Slayer Bjørnson tries to live a life as a trader. But the peace he had hoped to find after avenging his family still eludes him. Plagued by his temper, Ulf gets into a drunken fight with Ragnar Lothbrok and is forced to flee Jelling, the royal seat […]
Norse Warrior by Griff Hosker
Through chaos, a warrior finds his path. When Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, declares war on the pagans of Denmark, Pomerania and the Baltic lands, he is unaware of the true might of the storm he is about to unleash. Meanwhile, in a small fjord in the north of Norway, a young Norse warrior is […]
Eye of the Raven by Tim Hodkinson
For the first time, Einar and the Wolf Coats find themselves divided, on opposing sides in a time of warfare: the Wolf Coats in Ireland, and Einar in the Saxon domains of England. Einar leads a warband for King Aethelstan, but struggles to find acceptance as a Norseman in Saxon lands. Can he truly make […]
Blood of the Bear by Angus Donald
In AD781, pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading. Duke Widukind, leader of the Saxon rebels, is sheltering in the North, beyond Karolus’s […]