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 […]
Christian versus pagan: was Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony the first crusade?
Angus Donald, author of Blood of the Bear, examines Charlemagne’s conquest of Saxony in the late 8th century. It was a campaign not just about territory but about religion: Christian versus pagan. Could it be considered the first ‘crusade’? The First Crusade, historians claim, was launched by Pope Urban II in 1096, after the Pontiff […]
Historical books for summer reading 2024
We asked eight well-loved authors of both historical fiction and non-fiction to each suggest a couple of books they recommend for history lovers to enjoy reading over the summer. They’ve come up with an inspiring mix of books they’ve loved and books they’re looking forward to reading themselves, some just published, and a few old […]
A Savage Moon by Theodore Brun
Byzantium, 718, and the great siege is over. Crippled warrior Erlan Aurvandil is weary of war. But he must rally his strength to lead a band of misfit adventurers back to the North, to reclaim the stolen kingdom of his lover, Lilla Sviggarsdottir. For this, they need an army. To raise an army, they need […]
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 Vekel. […]