From the author of the Kingmaker series, an epic and intimate tale of adventure, myth and the creation of one of literature’s greatest stories.
Warwick, 1468. One drowsy summer afternoon, Sir Thomas Malory – politician, courtier, 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. A Good Deliverance 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 is a fictional account of Thomas Malory, the man who wrote the famous Le Morte D’Arthur and, in doing so, perpetuated the myths of Arthur and his knights, queen, and, of course, Lancelot.
Our Thomas Malory, as presented by Toby Clements, is a man of his time, living a life that even he questions for his feelings of inadequacy. He doesn’t fight at Agincourt, and indeed, his deeds of martial glory come from a battle few remember. Locked up for a crime we, the readers, never truly understand, he finds a willing listener to his life’s tales in the son of his prison guard.
This is an intriguing tale, told in an unconventional way. Wary of losing the interest of his audience, much of the tale is told as an aside, the parts that his young listener won’t be interested in hearing. It does make the story a little disjointed, but it also allows us to sweep through some of the more mundane details and focus on what Thomas Malory (and the author) thinks is important to the reader. Perhaps very much as the Arthurian Legend, it focuses on brave daring-do (or not) and not so much on matters of the heart or Malory’s less honourable actions.
It is somewhat of a rambling tale – indicative of a man fearing for his life and determined to ensure someone knows his story before his death. It is also thoroughly enjoyable – fans of the period will delight in seeing the glories of Agincourt and the hot mess of politics and bickering kingship played out in a very different way – through the eyes, not of a common man, but through the eyes of one for whom everything is still very much out of his control. Thomas Malory must do as he’s bid to make his way in the world.
The ending of this tale is very abrupt – too abrupt – no doubt because I as the reader was hoping for some redemption for our main character.
In a genre where the legends of Arthur have always been so alluring for authors and readers alike, I admire this fresh attempt to tackle where much of our knowledge of the legend comes from. The book might have its faults, but in revealing even our scribe’s biases, it sheds a whole new light on the tales.
A fabulous take on the fifteenth century and the man behind the Le Morte D’Arthur (even if so much of it is fictional as we know so little about him).
I’m delighted to welcome Anna Chant and her book, Courage of the Conquered, from the Quest for New England series, to the blog.
Blurb
All the wonders of the Mediterranean have not prepared the English for the splendours of Constantinople. As Siward of Gloucester settles into the city, he is grateful to have finally found what he was looking for: A fine, god-fearing lord he is proud to serve and a safe place where he and Oswyth can await the birth of their child.
But as the months pass, doubts creep in. Emperor Michael proves to be a weak ruler, continually threatened with rebellion. Determined to keep the English army close, his promises of reward grow increasingly vague.
With tension in the city rising, Siward and his friends are caught up in the power struggle. While Bridwin maintains his loyalty to the emperor and Siward continues to trust in the friendship of the cunning Alexios Komnenos, Frebern grows close to John Bryennios, a man whose ambitions may include the imperial throne itself. With the friends drawn in different directions, Siward fears they could find themselves fighting on opposing sides.
Desperate to escape, he renews his efforts to find the home the English have so long craved. But the beauty of Constantinople conceals dangers that go far beyond Siward’s fears as sordid secrets and ruthless betrayal stalk the lives of those he holds dear.
As the English prepare for battle yet again, will Siward’s quest for New England end in heart-breaking tragedy?
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited
Meet the Author
Anna Chant grew up in Essex, with her first home a tiny medieval cottage. Aged 18 she moved to Yorkshire to study history at the University of Sheffield. In 2015, inspired by her love of medieval history and her Scottish ancestry, Anna started writing her first book with Kenneth’s Queen, the tale of the unknown wife of Kenneth Mac Alpin, published the following year. Taking inspiration from both history and legend, she particularly enjoys bringing to life the lesser known people, events and folklore of the past. When not writing, Anna enjoys walking the coast and countryside of Devon where she lives with her husband, three sons (if they’re home) and a rather cheeky bearded dragon.
I’m delighted to welcome Gina Buonaguro and her book, The Virgins of Venice, to the blog.
Blurb
In sixteenth-century Venice, one young noblewoman dares to resist the choices made for her
Venice in 1509 is on the brink of war. The displeasure of Pope Julius II is a continuing threat to the republic, as is the barely contained fighting in the countryside. Amid this turmoil, noblewoman Justina Soranzo, just sixteen, hopes to make a rare love marriage with her sweetheart, Luca Cicogna. Her hopes are dashed when her father decides her younger sister, Rosa, will marry in a strategic alliance and Justina will be sent to the San Zaccaria convent, in the tradition of aristocratic daughters. Lord Soranzo is not acting only to protect his family. It’s well known that he is in debt to both his trading partners and the most infamous courtesan in the city, La Diamante, and the pressure is closing in.
After arriving at the convent, Justina takes solace in her aunt Livia, one of the nuns, and in the growing knowledge that all is not strictly devout at San Zaccaria. Justina is shocked to discover how the women of the convent find their own freedom in what seems to her like a prison. But secrets and scandals breach the convent walls, and Justina learns there may be even worse fates for her than the veil, if La Diamante makes good on her threats.
Desperate to protect herself and the ones she loves, Justina turns to Luca for help. She finds she must trust her own heart to make the impossible decisions that may save or ruin them all.
Gina Buonaguro is the co-author of The Wolves of St. Peters, Ciao Bella and The SidewalkArtist, as well as several romance titles under the name Meadow Taylor. The Virginsof Venice is her first solo novel.
She has a BA in English from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and earned an MA in English from the University of British Columbia while on a Fulbright Scholarship. Born in New Jersey, Gina Buonaguro lives in Toronto.
I’m delighted to welcome Mercedes Rochelle and her new book, The Agnicourt King, from The Plantagenet Legacy series, to the blog with, France In Chaos.
France In Chaos
When Henry V landed on the shore of Normandy in 1415, he was relatively sure the French were in no position to offer him much resistance. Already in his father’s reign, both factions of a budding civil war had already approached the English for assistance against the other. Henry IV had responded with an invasion force in support of the Armagnacs against the Burgundians. The Armagnacs—the party of Charles, Duke of Orléans—had made a better offer. However, Prince Henry was in favour of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and this antagonism against his father’s policy placed him on the wrong side of the political fence. Henry IV’s death a year later put an end to that!
So what was this all about? Since 1392, poor France was afflicted by a schizophrenic king, Charles VI, who slipped in and out of madness with unpredictable frequency. He was sane often enough to negate removing him from the throne permanently, though the older he got, the less he was able to rule rationally even when cognizant. His illness created a political firestorm, as his nobles fought to control his presence; whoever possessed the king ran the country. In the early years of the king’s “absences” (as his schizophrenic episodes were called), the government was ruled by his brother, Louis, Duke of Orléans along with the queen. Orléans was bitterly opposed by John the Fearless, the king’s cousin, who was the popular favorite. In 1407, John had Louis murdered one night in the streets of Paris, but he was such a manipulator that he got away with it. Of course, Louis’s son Charles did all he could to condemn the Duke of Burgundy, but he was too young and inexperienced to pull it off. He eventually formed an opposing faction led by his father in-law, the brutal and effective Count of Armagnac, who carried on after Charles was captured at the Battle of Agincourt.
In 1412, when Henry IV sent an invasion force to France under his second son the Duke of Clarence, King Charles managed to patch up a peace between his warring factions. Clarence was bought off and returned home, but the temporary truce soon failed, and matters came to a head just after Henry IV died. Paris had become a proverbial powder keg, and simmering grievances broke into rioting, directed by agents of Burgundy but led by the powerful butcher’s guild. Under their ringleader, Simon Caboche, the Cabochiens sported white hoods, laid siege to the Bastille—sound familiar?—then turned their attentions to the Hôtel Saint-Pol where the Dauphin was staying. The insurgents seized and imprisoned many of the Dauphin’s supporters and detained the teenaged heir, confining him in the palace with his incapacitated father and helpless mother. Thus began a reign of terror where any suspected Armagnacs were arrested, imprisoned, and murdered. This went on for four months.
The Cabochien revolt, from Les Vigiles de Charles VII,BnF, Manuscrit Français 5054 – Wikipedia
But insurrections are bad for business, and eventually the Parisians had had enough. When the time was ripe, the Armagnacs gathered their forces and converged on the city, inspiring the anti-Cabochiens to rise up against their oppressors. It all happened very quickly. Caboche and hundreds of his followers slipped out of Paris, taking refuge with the Duke of Burgundy who was one of the first to leave. The Armagnacs moved in, arrested anyone suspected of misconduct, and launched their own reign of terror. They kept a strangle-hold on Paris for the next five years, though Burgundy periodically laid siege to neighboring towns and the city itself in an attempt to push them out.
Duke John was not one to take matters sitting down, so to speak. There was always King Henry of England, ready to discuss terms. Just like his father back in 1412, Henry negotiated with both sides while he prepared to invade. He hoped that John would offer to swear fealty to him, but Burgundy was not willing to go against his own king. So the best Henry could manage was something resembling a non-interference agreement; no one knew for sure what they came up with. But by all indications, Burgundy cooperated. He concentrated his efforts against the Armagnacs, throwing the government into such a panic that they dared not commit troops to the English invasion while Paris was threatened.
John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, Portrait after Rogier van der Weyden – Wikipedia
Harfleur was the first to experience the might of the English army. Henry laid siege to the city, blockading it both by land and sea. Repeated calls for help generated nothing but excuses: the king was working on it. They hadn’t gathered enough troops yet to confront the English. King Charles and the Dauphin both made their way toward Harfleur, but didn’t travel any further than Vernon, about eighty miles upriver, while the army slowly gathered at Rouen, thirty miles closer. Before he left Paris, the Dauphin sent messages in the king’s name to both the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Orléans, requesting them to send five hundred men each—but not to come themselves. This gave John the excuse he needed to pretend that he had been insulted, and he ordered all his lords in Picardy to stay put until he ordered otherwise. Neither he nor his men—with few exceptions—showed up at Agincourt. Too bad for the French; Burgundy’s leadership skills were sorely needed. Orléans belatedly decided to go. But he was an inexperienced twenty-one year old, and when he took command of the army—as was his right—he fatally ignored the advice of both the Constable and Marshal of France. He survived the battle, only to spend the next twenty-five years an English prisoner.
Because Burgundy stayed away, a disproportionate number of Armagnacs met their deaths on the battlefield of Agincourt. Once again, John the Fearless attempted to take advantage of the situation by laying siege to Paris. But once again, he was foiled. His day would come, but not for another three years, and when a new insurrection broke out in 1418, it made the Cabochien revolt look like a dress rehearsal. I’ll explore the Paris massacres in my next book, HENRY, SCOURGE OF NORMANDY.
Blurb
From the day he was crowned, Henry V was determined to prove the legitimacy of his house. His father’s usurpation weighed heavily on his mind. Only a grand gesture would capture the respect of his own countrymen and the rest of Europe. He would follow in his great-grandfather Edward III’s footsteps, and recover lost territory in France.
Better yet, why not go for the crown? Poor, deranged Charles VI couldn’t manage his own barons. The civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs was more of a threat to his country than the English, even after Henry laid siege to Harfleur. But once Harfleur had fallen, the French came to their senses and determined to block his path to Calais and destroy him.
By the time the English reached Agincourt, they were starving, exhausted, and easy pickings. Or so the French thought. Little did they reckon on Henry’s leadership and the stout-hearted English archers who proved, once again, that numbers didn’t matter when God was on their side.
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited
Meet the Author
Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channeled this interest into fiction writing. Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. The next series is called “The Plantagenet Legacy” and begins with the reign of Richard II.
She also writes a blog: www.HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story. Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the Univ. of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to “see the world”. The search hasn’t ended!
Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves.
I’m delighted to welcome Roberta Tracy and her new series, Zig Zag Woman, to the blog, with an excerpt.
Excerpt One
The Morehouses’ world turned upside down on a warm September day when Captain Hiram Clarke of the Los Angeles Police Department welcomed Margaret to the force with a book of rules and first aid kit. Had he included a crystal ball, she might have been able to predict the way murder and deception would riddle her life for the next twenty years.
On her first official day of work, Margaret tried to take advantage of a long-standing police department privilege, free trolley rides to Central Police Station on First Street. The pot-bellied conductor, who always tipped his hat to policemen and waved them aboard, eyed her up and down with suspicion. “Anyone not wearing a badge must pay!” he declared.
Assuming he had not had a chance to read the morning paper, she handed him the fare.
If she’d left home a few minutes later, Margaret would have ridden to work alongside Alice Stebbins Wells, Los Angeles’s first female policewoman with arrest powers, who never, ever paid to board a trolley.
Blurb
The last thing LAPD Detectives McManus and Tyson expect to find behind Pantages Theatre is a body rolled up in a blanket. The last thing Margaret Morehouse, one of the city’s first policewoman with arrest powers, expects to do is join the investigation. When a deadly explosion at the L. A. Times derails their efforts, Margaret finds herself at a crossroads and strikes out on her own, a path leading to delusion and self-discovery on a vaudeville stage. Her husband’s nephew Leland further complicates the situation by sharing a ransom note and confiding his failure to report his wife’s disappearance at the Dominguez Air Meet.
A brief stint as a magician’s assistant takes Margaret to Chicago, where she almost signs on as a zig zag girl, the term used for ladies performing in the “cutting-a-woman-in-two”
illusion. Instead, Margaret returns to the tumultuous world of early twentieth century Los
Angeles. Reunited with McManus and Tyson, she confronts prejudices and societal norms in efforts to identify a body, clear Leland’s name, and topple the stranglehold one powerful, amoral person has over many lives. Their efforts lead to dead ends and misconceptions before truth comes to light. Love is rekindled and danger uncovered in unlikely places. Margaret goes from Zig Zag Girl to Zig Zag Woman, no longer cut in two but headed on a clearer path.
Early experience as a staff greeting card writer introduced Roberta Tracy to witty people who shared the writer’s dream. Marriage, motherhood, and career intervened, but she maintained that creative desire.
A degree in nonprofit management led her to work situations where newsletters, grant proposals, and business correspondence took precedence. Still, she wrote poetry, some of which won prizes and publication, and children’s books set in worldwide locations. Recently, she co-authored Come Dream With Me, a part travelogue, part hippie nostalgia work of creative nonfiction, detailing the adventures of colleague Inese Civkulis.
No matter what writing projects unfold in the future, she’ll never find enough words to thank family and friends for their inspiration and encouragement.
I’m delighted to welcome back R.W. Meek and his new book, The Dream Collector “Sabrine and Vincent van Gogh”, to the blog with an excerpt.
The Dream Collector Excerpt 3
“The Mermaid Palace”
MAP IN HAND, I followed Theo’s route to the brothel district. At Place Victor Hugo, I stopped and thought this square might be where Vincent confronted Gauguin with a straight razor. According to Gauguin, his stare alone stopped Vincent in his tracks, causing him to run back to the Yellow House and use the razor on himself. The suspicion I brought to Arles was that the two artists, who held each other in high regard, would not reach such a violent juncture, unless there was a woman involved. Would the prostitute Rachel talk with me?
I reached Place du Calvaire, a three-quarter circle of tall, dreary houses except for the three Maisons de Tolerance,each brazenly painted a different primary colour. I kept a safe distance from House #1, Vincent’s brothel of choice, where his favorite Rachel worked. I lingered and wondered if Sundays were a busy day for brothels?
House of Tolerance #1 was painted a lurid purple-blue which I thought could have only been attractive to the coarsest eye. Gauguin mentioned that the brothel was ruled by a Madame Virginie. I knocked, but no one answered, every window shuttered, and the front door latch locked.
I noticed narrow alleyways separated the houses around the circle. The gated alleyway
next to the brothel was unlocked. Creaking open, I ventured into a dark, dank, and urine smelling passageway, coming to separate wooden gates.’ I pushed open the one leading to the back of the brothel. The scene before me defied immediate comprehension.
Here’s the blurb
Sabrine, hospitalized for five years at the infamous Salpêtrière Asylum for Women, gains her release due to intervention of her sister Julie Forette and a young Sigmund Freud. The reunited sisters are introduced to the dazzling art milieu of 1886 Paris, and soon become close friends to the leading Impressionists. Sabrine attracts a cult following as a poetess, the enigmatic “Haiku Princess.” Seemingly cured by Freud of her Grand Hysteria, Sabrine soon enters into a tumultuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh.
Julie and Sigmund Freud, alarmed by the eerie parallels between the emotionally volatile couple and their self-destructive impulses, begin an urgent search to discover the root causes for Sabrine and Vincent’s growing psychoses. Julie, ‘The Dream Collector’ seeks their most unforgettable dream for Freud’s interpretation and revelations occur.
The Dream Collectoris an exploration of the psychological consequences of betrayal, abandonment–and the redemptive power of art.
R.w. Meek has a Master’s degree in Art History from the American University in Washington, D.C., his areas of expertise are Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, with a particular interest in Vincent van Gogh.
His first novel The Dream Collector “Sabrine & Sigmund Freud” was voted runner-up by the Historical Fiction Company for best novel of 2022.
Born in Baltimore, he currently resides with his wife Pamela in Santa Clarita, California. He’s passionate about art, cinema, literature and jazz. His two dogs, Reve and Banjo, were awarded angelic status in heaven.
I’m delighted to welcome Nicolette Croft and her new book, The Curse of Maiden Scars, from the Maiden, Mother, Crone series, to the blog with an excerpt.
Excerpt
The Curse of Maiden Scars—Excerpt 1:
My story must have begun before life as a stray waif, but I didn’t know the tale. The cotton house takes in children as little as three—the unwanted offspring of criminals, crazies, and the contagious. By sixteen, we were expected to make room for younger sprogs and pursue meaningful work. It was weeks until my sixteenth birthday, and I didn’t have a plan. Choices for a girl like me were limited, so Camilla told me. I had some learning and hoped I might find a maid’s position. Whatever I was to become, I didn’t want it to include lurking about the seedy, dank Yorkshire streets like a wet cur.
A cackle of laughter echoed from inside the Inn that stood open behind me. A woman’s mound of blond hair tied in red, pink, blue, and black ribbons appeared in the window’s waving candlelight. She tossed her head back and let out a bright, spirited laugh as a burly man with a beard kissed her neck. I envied their intimacy. I longed to know such love and care.
Deep shivers tightened my sodden dress over my back, and a cough rattled through me. I was prone to illness. My lungs had never been strong. And the wetness only made things worse. I stuffed my head between my knees and swooned in lightheadedness. I closed my eyes and wished myself someplace warm and safe, dreaming of a small bed in a quiet room free of mold, surrounded by soft blankets, the amber light of candles, and a stack of leather-bound books with stories waiting for me to discover. Such a wish was only a fantasy to me—nothing in my real life resembled it.
Boot heels sounded beside me, ripping me out of my daydream. I lifted my head too quickly, and my vision faded darkly. Panic grew from the depths of my belly. Had I missed the opportunity to signal the workhouse strumpets, giving them time to sell their comfort for a copper?
A passerby kicked me and shot, “street rat.” He poured ale over my head and rolled with laughter. There was always laughter. I’d have kicked his feet out from under him if I hadn’t felt weakened from illness. I was accustomed to this sort of abuse, having scouted for culls since the age of eight, and wasn’t afraid to fight back if needed.
Here’s the blurb
Sixteen-year-old Renna Covert toils away in the shadows of a Yorkshire workhouse, her days filled with the mundane task of shelling cotton and the dangerous duty of scouting for punters. One fateful night, she crosses paths with two sailors and finds herself thrust into the heart of a chilling encounter at the local asylum.
These harrowing experiences catalyze Renna’s journey, promising newfound opportunities and revealing long-buried family secrets. Yet, at every turn, powerful forces conspire to thwart her quest for truth, forcing her to abandon her scullery work and embark on a daring escape to Venice alongside her steadfast companions.
In the labyrinthine alleys of Venice, Renna’s fate takes yet another twist. She is ensnared by a cunning Madam who trains her as a Venetian courtesan. But beneath the veneer of luxury lies a world fraught with danger, where Renna must rely on her withs and resilience to navigate the treacherous waters of deceit and betrayal.
Set against the backdrop of Venice’s tumultuous Napoleonic invasion of 1797, this is a tale of a girl’s struggle for survival. It is a story of resilience, defiance in the face of adversity, and, ultimately, one young woman’s determination to reclaim her identity.
Nicolette Croft can’t remember a time when she was not creating imaginary worlds inspired by her Hungarian and American ancestors. As a neuro-divergent learner, however, putting those stories to paper proved more challenging than imagining them. Because her determination would not allow her to settle, she pursued an English B.A. to improve her writing.
Young motherhood also brought unexpected challenges, which motivated her to pursue graduate work in twice-exceptional learners and education. She would later add an M.A. degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, specializing in neurodivergent people, trauma, and grief. Nicolette uses her natural gift of storytelling as an exploratory method for her clients.
The Curse of Maiden Scars is also an outgrowth of her personal journey and marks her first publication as a novelist, having previously published short fiction. When not at her counseling practice or researching historical facts for her latest story, Nicolette shares treasured time with family, friends, and her husband. Whether writing, cooking, traveling, or learning, the act of creation is always at the center of her colorful life.
With the release of a new title in The Last King series, The Last Alliance, I thought it time to address the ‘elephant’ in the room – all that d*** swearing, and not just swearing, but the heavy almost grotesque use of one particular swear word which some will bend over backwards to assure you was used no earlier than the sixteenth century (in the written records), 700 years after the books are set. (Check out Holy Sh*t by Melissa Mohr for a history of swearing.)
I’m not writing in Old English
Well, first things first, lovely people, aside from the names of the characters in these books, and perhaps the word ‘witan,’ every word in these books is modern-English. I’ve not attempted to have my characters sound ‘ye olde worldy’ and that was very intentional. Although, it seems, that s*** is, indeed, Old English. So, forget that, there is another word in there that is also Old English. (Check out the will of King Alfred, and Eadred for some Old English https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/07/the-last-will-and-testament-of-alfred-the-great.html)
The UK/US divide around swearing
I wanted my characters to swear. There, I’ve said it. I wanted them to swear and to shock with their language, but I also wanted them to sound like people today. Not everyone swears, admittedly, but most people do. In the UK, we have no problem with the F-word, although US audiences are horrified by it. In the UK, we don’t like the C-word, which in the US, is just fine and dandy – apparently. We swear and we curse and we’re not even (most of us) fighting for our lives against a deadly enemy, which my characters are forced to do.
Am I a potty-mouth?
I’ve had reviewers decry the swearing. I’ve even had reviewers decide the swearing in the books is because I somehow lack the intelligence to write a novel without swearing. Perhaps, most amusingly, a close friend was astounded by the language in the books – I am not, it seems, a potty-mouth in ‘real life’ (although, I can be pushed to it).
‘Oh dear me, that smarts.’
My characters face a life-and-death situation almost every day of their lives. I don’t think they’ll be sitting there saying, ‘oh dear me, that smarts,’ when they’re wounded, or even, ‘oh goodness me, I’ve killed that man.’ They are lethal, bloody and violent, and for all that, they are very relatable to a modern-audience perhaps struggling to truly comprehend what life ‘might’ have been like in Saxon England as the Viking raiders threatened the safety of all.
There are Cleaner Version
That said, I have no intention of forcing people to cast the books aside if they don’t like the swearing. There are also ‘Cleaner Versions‘, without much of the foul language. It tones it down a little, but the violence is not diminished.
Enjoy the fast-paced action
So, whether you love the swearing or not, you can still enjoy the tales of Coelwulf II, and book 9, The Last Alliance is available now in ebook, paperback, hardback and the Cleaner Version on kindle as well. And remember, allowing my characters to swear was done purposefully, indeed, on initial feedback, I actually added a lot more:)
Having written more books than I probably should about the Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and with more planned, I’ve somewhat belatedly realised I’ve never explained what Mercia actually was. I’m going to correct that now.
Having grown up within the ancient kingdom of Mercia, still referenced today in such titles as the West Mercia Police, I feel I’ve always been aware of the heritage of the Midlands of England. But that doesn’t mean everyone else is.
Where was Mercia?
Simply put, the kingdom of Mercia, in existence from c.550 to about c.925 (and then continuing as an ealdordom, and then earldom) covered the area in the English Midlands, perhaps most easily described as the area north of the River Thames, and south of the Humber Estuary – indeed, nerdy historians, and Bede, call the area the kingdom of the Southumbrians, in contrast to the kingdom of the Northumbrians – do you see what Bede did there?
While it was not always that contained, and while it was not always that large, Mercia was essentially a land-locked state (if you ignore all the rivers that gave easy access to the sea), in the heartland of what we now know as England.
What was Mercia?
Mercia was one of the Heptarchy—the seven ancient kingdoms that came to dominate Saxon England – Mercia, Wessex (West Saxons), the East Angles, Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons) and Kent.
In time, it would be one of only four to survive the infighting and amalgamation of the smaller kingdoms, alongside Northumbria, the kingdom of the East Angles, Mercia, and Wessex (the West Saxons).
The End of Mercia?
Subsequently, it has traditionally been said to have been subsumed by the kingdom of Wessex, which then grew to become all of ‘England’ as we know it.
This argument is subject to some current debate, especially as the king credited with doing this, Athelstan, the first and only of his name, might well have been born into the West Saxon dynasty but was potentially raised in Mercia, by his aunt, Lady Æthelflæd, and was, indeed, declared king of Mercia on the death of his father, King Edward the Elder in July 924, and only subsequently became king of Wessex, and eventually, king of all England.
Mercia’s kings
But, before all that, Mercia had its own kings. One of the earliest, and perhaps most well-known, was Penda, in the mid-7th century, the alleged last great pagan king. (Penda features in my Gods and Kings trilogy). Throughout the eighth century, Mercia had two more powerful kings, Æthelbald and Offa (of Offa’s Dyke fame), and then the ninth century saw kings Wiglaf and Coelwulf II (both of whom feature as characters in my later series, The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles and the Mercian Ninth Century), before the events of the last 800s saw Æthelflæd, one of the most famous rulers, leading the kingdom against the Viking raiders.
The Earldom of Mercia
And even when the kingdom itself ceased to exist, it persisted in the ealdordom and earldom of Mercia, (sometimes subdivided further), and I’ve also written about the House of Leofwine, who were ealdormen and then earls of Mercia throughout the final century of Saxon England, a steadfast family not outmatched by any other family, even the ruling line of the House of Wessex.
In fact, Mercia, as I said above, persists as an idea today even though it’s been many years since the end of Saxon England. And indeed, my two Erdington Mysteries, are also set in a place that would have been part of Mercia a thousand years before:) (I may be a little bit obsessed with the place).
I’m delighted to welcome Heidi Eljarbo and her new book, Trouble in Assisi, to the blog.
Here’s the blurb
Assisi, 1973.
On art historian Fabiola Bennett’s first day in Assisi, a local gentleman takes her aside to ask for advice about a painting that has wondrously appeared in the basilica’s bell tower.
So much for enjoying relaxing days filled with dining on pasta and gelato.
Soon, Fabiola and her besties, Pippa and Cary, are thrown into a shrouded mystery and caught up in a whirlwind of intrigue, theft, lies, and attempted murder, all of which overshadows the postcard-like charm of the small, historic town.
Rome, 1511.
Life is going well for Teodoro Nicoletti. Since he was a young man in Florence, he has worked and learned alongside the most-favored artist Raphael.
When Pope Julius II commissions Raphael to paint several frescos in the reception rooms of the Vatican Palace, Teodoro follows his master to Rome and discovers firsthand the admiration and rivalry between Raphael and two other reigning artists: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
But the prickliest thorn in Teodoro’s side is his beloved Elisabetta’s father. The old man is determined to keep his youngest daughter from becoming Teodoro’s wife.
Heidi Eljarbo grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.
Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
MJ Porter 