historical fiction – Page 8

On the 1100th anniversary of King Athelstan’s coronation #histfic #OnThisDayInHistory #non-fiction

Who was Athelstan?

He was the oldest son of Edward the Elder, but who was his mother?

It’s been suggested his mother might have been Mercian, and this also made him acceptable for the Mercians to declare him as king- but it’s impossible to determine more about her. We don’t even know her name, although it’s suggested that it was Ecgwynn. She was soon replaced, either because of her death or because Edward, on becoming king of Wessex, needed to cement his position through marriage with a powerful ealdormanic family. Lady Ælfflæd was Edward’s second wife.

Later discussions abound about Athelstan’s suitability to become king of Wessex, with many casting doubt on the union, but it is evident that Alfred believed the union was a lawful one, and his grandson would one day become king, although of where, we don’t know.

Equally, we don’t actually know when Edward’s second marriage occurred, was it before or after his father’s death?

Athelstan’s early life

Athelstan and his younger half-brother, Ælfweard, who we must assume was the oldest son born to Edward and his second wife, begin to attest charters in 901 both as filius regis although Ælfweard is named above Athelstan despite being younger.

Athelstan attests eleven of his father’s charters (Sawyer, P.H. (ed.), Anglo-Saxon charters: An annotated list and bibliography, rev. Kelly, S.E., Rushforth, R., (2022). http://www.esawyer.org.uk/ S365, S366, S371, S375, S376, S377, S378, S379, S381, S382, S383), Ælfweard only eight, but again, the number is still small and so may not be representative – in 901, Athelstan witnesses 2 charters, but Ælfweard only one.

Only three of the eleven charters that Athelstan witnesses under his father are deemed to be authentic, and only one of those witnessed by Ælfweard and Athelstan together which is dated to 901, when they were both young children. This would have been very early in Edward’s reign, when his cousin, Æthelwold, was still alive and contesting the rulership of Wessex, something that wasn’t resolved until the decisive Battle of the Holme, in either 901 or 902. Edward may have wanted to labour the point that he was the father to two potential male heirs, or æthelings. (His brother, Æthelweard is also termed filius regis, and so Edward might have been highlighting that if something did befall him, he had a brother who could also succeed him, as opposed to two young children.)

However, there is a large gap in the charter evidence for Edward the Elder in the middle of his reign, and so it is difficult to track any developments.

But with all that said, I don’t find Athelstan’s charter witnessing very helpful when trying to determine his place at the Wessex royal court at this time, his position as a young man or even how he got on with his father’s second wife (as well as his third wife) and her many, many children, who would bedevil him when he became king.

Was Athelstan raised in Mercia by his aunt and uncle?

Quote from William of Malmesbury about Athelstan being raised in Mercia.

The fact Athelstan was declared king of Mercia does seem to corroborate a statement made by William of Malmesbury, in the later Gesta Regum Anglorum, or The History of the English Kings, that Athelstan was raised in Mercia by his aunt and uncle, alongside his full birth sister, who may have been called Edith.

Or, it could be that his mother was Mercian. It’s frustratingly difficult to find explanations when events are merely told us as supposed ‘fact,’ and William of Malmesbury’s assertion has been little questioned, other than by historian David Dumville, even though it dates to two centuries after the events. It seems to be the ‘easy’ explanation as to why Athelstan became king of Mercia after his father’s death.

What was happening in Wessex?

Ælfweard, his younger half-brother, was declared king, until his death, 16 days after his father.

How did Athelstan become king of Wessex?

Quote from the Gesta Abbatum S Bertii Sithiensium marking the death of Edwin.

So, once he was chosen as Mercia’s king, how did he then become king of Wessex on the death of Ælfweard so soon after that of Edward?

This period is as equally hazy as what happened to make Athelstan king of Mercia.

But, after Ælfweard’s death, there is another son of Edward’s second marriage who could have become king, Edwin. As could the sons of Edward’s third wife, Lady Eadgifu, who were very young at the time, perhaps no more than one and three years old.

Why Athelstan was chosen is difficult to rationalise, especially if the Wessex witan were so uneasy with him. Some suggest he reached an agreement with Lady Eadgifu (his father’s third wife) that her sons would be his heirs. Others think there was a period of unease where Wessex was kingless. We have no explanation for Edwin being overlooked, and certainly, it seems he went on to cause his older half-brother problems. We have reports of Edwin’s death in 933 – apparently from drowning, but it seems likely, it was some sort of rebellion against his half brother, the king. The Gesta Abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensium, reports his burial by his cousin in Flanders.

I find this period quite interesting as by now, another Eadgifu, a half sister of Athelstan, who had been married to King Charles III of the West Franks, might have been in Wessex. She had a young son, Louis, but Charles had been usurped and imprisoned and certainly Louis was at the Wessex court when his grandfather died. It’s possible Eadgifu was as well. Would she not have supported her full brother against Athelstan claiming the kingship? Equally, we don’t know if Edwin’s mother was still alive. It is all very perplexing.

What we do know is that Athelstan underwent his coronation in September 925, so over a year after his father’s and half-brother’s death. The coronation took place at Kingston upon Thames. This delay has been interpreted as showing he met resistance in Wessex to his rule, but it might not have been that unusual. His father’s coronation was not immediate, although, admittedly, his father was faced with the rebellion of Æthelwold, his cousin and the surviving son of Alfred’s older brother, Æthelred I. Alfred and his brother seem to have reached an accord about the succession before Æthelred I’s death, and Alfred then rode roughshod over it.

A coronation with a crown?

There is some discussion about whether the surviving Coronation ordo (ceremony) was devised for Athelstan or not, but he was crowned with a crown and not a helmet, as earlier kings had been. We have a famous image of Athelstan, (we only have two contemporary/near-contemporary images of the tenth century kings) presenting a book to St Cuthbert, and in this image, he is shown wearing a crown. This was a departure from earlier ceremonies.

An image of King Athelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert — Frontispiece of Bede’s *Life of St Cuthbert*, showing King Æthelstan (924–39) presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

For more suggestions, and my fictional recreation of how Athelstan became king of Mercia, Wessex and the English, do check out my books, Kingmaker (the story of Lady Eadgifu), and King of Kings (which begins with the coronation of King Athelstan on 4th September 925).

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle quotations from M Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

Check out the Brunanburh Series page on my blog for more information.

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I’m delighted to welcome Mike Weedall and his new book, Escape to the Maroons, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #AmericanHistoricalFiction #AfricanAmericanHistory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Mike Weedall and his new book, Escape to the Maroons, to the blog with an excerpt.

Excerpt

Nathanial On Arriving At Maroons Camp

Besides the people waiting here, more are coming. I’m the center of attention. People whisper and point at me. I don’t like what’s going on. No one looks friendly. They must think I’m a white man. Should I say something? Better leave that to Lincoln.

This place looks sizable. The ground is dry. Trees and thick brush are on all sides. We crossed smaller islands like this getting here. Moses called them hummocks. This appears to be much bigger. There must be different ways in and out of here. I’m exhausted and need to sit. Better stand until Lincoln says that’s okay.

How did this day lead me here? This morning, I planned to stand up in court and explain why they should grant me freedom. My stepfather said I’d be a fool to do that and better run if I got the chance. I wasn’t expecting that advice from a minister who preached we should always obey the law. When that lazy deputy got distracted, I took off. What choice did I have other than to flee? I pray they don’t punish my family for raising me as a freeman.

What’s next? Lincoln is waving for me to follow him.

Here’s the Blurb

In 1792, an escaped slave, raised and living as white, is discovered and forced to flee into the Great Dismal Swamp.

Barely escaping a bounty hunter, a Maroons community of fugitive slaves rescues him. Over time, Nathanial comes to accept his true identity while fighting to overcome the suspicions of his new community. Because of his pale skin, he becomes a conductor on the underground railroad, slipping runners onto ships going north. On one of his missions, fate intervenes and places Nathanial’s community at risk.

This little-known chapter in American history tells how escaped enslaved people gave their all to live free while creating a community and economy in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments.

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Meet the Author

As the author of three books, Mike’s passion is finding the little-known stories of history and bringing them to life. History in school is too often events and dates. Mike seeks to discover the people who lived those events and reveal why those individuals made the decisions they did. Ultimately, there are stories to be mined, and who doesn’t love a good story?

In his historical novel “Escape To The Maroons,” Mike tells the little-known story of 1791 self-liberated slaves who chose to struggle for survival in The Great Dismal Swamp in their determination to live free. The term Maroons delineates areas where escaped slaves fled and could not be recaptured. It’s estimated that over 2,000 survived deep in the swamp around the turn of that century.

His first book “Iva: The True Story of Tokyo Rose” describes the tragic life of Iva Toguri. Trapped in Japan during World War II, this Japanese American woman was forced to work for Radio Tokyo. Although she never participated in propaganda, the racial animus of post-war America led to her being falsely labelled as Tokyo Rose and prosecuted for treason. Through her incarceration and the ongoing discrimination heaped upon her, Iva never lost her courage and determination.

“War Angel: Korea 1950” was his second book that followed a reservist nurse thrust into the carnage of The Korean War. Serving as an operating room nurse in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, the real MASH and strength of a woman is revealed.

Mike resides with his family in the Pacific Northwest where they enjoy experiencing the outdoors.

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I’m delighted to welcome G.M. Baker and his book, The Wanderer and the Way, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #MedievalFiction #SantiagoDeCompostela #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome G.M. Baker and his book, The Wanderer and the Way, to the blog with a guest post.

Guest Post

Religion has always been a problem for historical fiction. It’s not just that many readers today are not religious and tend to shy away from religious characters or religious ideas. Readers who are religious tend not to recognize their own beliefs or their way of believing in the religious habits and practices of the past. And yet, if we want our historical fiction to be anything more than modern people in fancy dress, we have to deal with the religious lives of historical characters, almost all of whom would have professed one faith or another.

But I think that the religious opinions and practices of people in the past were not as different in character from the opinions and practices of modern people as they might seem at first. I think religious belief in, for example, the early medieval period in which my novel, The Wanderer and the Way, is set, was different in character from religious belief today, and in some ways closer in character, if not in content, to the beliefs of modern non-religious people.

What I mean is that there are certain beliefs that we hold unselfconsciously. These are the beliefs that we grew up with, the beliefs of our friends and our community. We learn these beliefs growing up and adopt them not because we have subjected them to rigorous philosophical examination, but because they are the beliefs shared by our community. We are a mimetic species, and so we tend to believe what everyone around us believes. This ensures that we are accepted by our society, by our tribe.

For most of the development of modern humans we lived in small bands of hunter-gatherers. Those members of the band held in the highest esteem earned a place close to the fire and the best cuts of the latest kill. Those who were quarrelsome and disruptive of the tribe were dangerous to its harmony and safety. If they were too disruptive, they were likely to be exiled from the tribe, which was tantamount to a sentence of death. Today, teenagers sometimes take their own lives because they have been bullied online by their peers. Though they have suffered no physical harm, the ostracism of the tribe is so traumatic that it can drive some to suicide. In our bones and in our genes we still have a profound fear of ostracism.

Thus humans of all periods, including our own, are strongly driven to believe what the tribe believes, including its religious beliefs, or its rejection of religious belief. Historically we can note that during the Reformation, when a prince became protestant, his people tended to become Protestant with him. If he remained Catholic, his people tended to remain Catholic with him. In each case, there were martyrs, people like Thomas More and Bishop Fisher, people who clung to their beliefs on principle and would not change them to go along with the tribe. People of this kind hold their beliefs in a self-conscious manner. They know that their beliefs are at odds with those of the tribe, and while they may not all be martyrs, the nature of their beliefs is very different from that of most people who hold a belief unselfconsciously.

In the late 8^th century Europe, in which my Cuthbert’s People series is set, most people were Christians, but most of them would have been unselfconscious believers. They were Christian because their tribe was Christian. I don’t mean that their beliefs were insincere, any more than modern people are insincere in their unselfconscious beliefs. In some ways, unselfconscious beliefs can be fiercely held, since they are one of the threads that bind us to our tribe and earn us their fellowship and protection. What I do mean is that their method of belief was different from that of the modern religious believer, whose beliefs are almost always self-consciously held. The modern believer knows that their belief sets them apart from society at large. Thus modern religious fiction tends to be fiercely self-conscious in a way that appeals to the believer but repels the non-believer.

What I have tried to do in my Cuthbert’s People series, and in The Wanderer and the Way particularly, is to create a believable portrait of people who are unselfconsciously Christian. This is very different from modern books such as Brideshead Revisited or The Power and the Glory, where the characters are painfully self-conscious about their Catholic faith and how it sets them apart from their society.

Unselfconscious beliefs are not held lightly. They are the beliefs that we grew up with, things we have simply assumed to be true, and thus we hold to them very strongly and behave in accordance with them as far as we can. But they are not held defiantly or obstreperously by most people, who assume that all of the people around them believe as they do.

In The City of God, St. Augustine wrote that when the barbarians sacked Rome, those who fled to pagan temples were not spared, but those who fled to Christian churches were spared the wrath of the barbarians. It was therefore a bewildering shock to the people of Northumbria, and to the people of Europe, when the great Christian monastery of Lindisfarne was not spared in the great Viking raid of AD 793, the event that set in motion the wanderings of Elswyth of Twyford, the main character of my Cuthbert’s People series. The great scholar Alcuin, himself a son of Northumbria and a minister of Charlemagne, wrote a letter to the Christian people of Northumbria trying to reconcile this event with their belief that they were under the protection of God. That letter figures in The Wanderer and the Way.

Human beings tend not to trust people who do not share, and therefore challenge, their unselfconscious beliefs. Thus it is now, as it was in the 8^th century, a fundamental element of diplomacy to demonstrate one’s orthodoxy on the issues of the day. In the period covered by The Wanderer and the Way, the Kingdom of Asturias in Northern Spain was the last major holdout against the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. Alonso the Chaste, King of Asturias, sent several embassies to Charlemagne asking for recognition and aid against the Moors. I send my main character, Theodemir of Iria Flavia, as one of his ambassadors. There was at that time a controversy over the heresy of Adoptionism, originated by a Spanish bishop, which held that Christ acquired his divinity by adoption rather than being divine by nature. Thus I have Theodemir carefully instructed by Alonzo and Bishop Quendulf to demonstrate to Alcuin his knowledge of the controversy and his orthodoxy on the question.

In a book set today, I might have used a modern heresy, such as the rejection of vaccines or the denial of global warming, as an ideological purity test for an ambassador in the same way. Our fundamental tribalism and our insistence on adherence to orthodoxy as the basis for trusting one another has not changed much over the centuries, only what subjects we demand orthodoxy on.

This, I believe, is how historical fiction ought to treat religious belief in characters from the past, not by mocking it, nor by making an exemplary virtue of it, but by portraying it as the core unselfconscious belief that people of the past used to bind themselves together and explain themselves to themselves, in just the same way our unselfconscious beliefs bind us and help us explain ourselves to ourselves today. Whether such beliefs are true or false is, from an historical and fictional point of view, an entirely orthogonal question.

Here’s the Blurb

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, now the most famous pilgrimage route in the world, was founded in the early ninth century, largely due to the efforts of Bishop Theodemir of Iria

Flavia. As with most people of this period, nothing seems to be known of his early years.

What follows, therefore, is pure invention.

Theodemir returns footsore and disillusioned to his uncle’s villa in Iria Flavia, where he meets Agnes, his uncle’s gatekeeper, a woman of extraordinary beauty. He falls immediately in love. But Agnes has a fierce, though absent, husband; a secret past; another name, Elswyth; and a broken heart.

Witteric, Theodemir’s cruel and lascivious uncle, has his own plans for Agnes. When the king of Asturias asks Theodemir to undertake an embassy on his behalf to Charles, King of the Franks, the future Charlemagne, Theodemir plans to take Agnes with him to keep her out of Witteric’s clutches.

But though Agnes understands her danger as well as anyone, she refuses to go. And Theodemir dares not leave without her.

Buy Link

Universal Link

Meet the Author

Born in England to a teamster’s son and a coal miner’s daughter, G. M. (Mark) Baker now lives in Nova Scotia with his wife, no dogs, no horses, and no chickens. He prefers driving to flying, desert vistas to pointy trees, and quiet towns to bustling cities.

As a reader and as a writer, he does not believe in confining himself to one genre. He writes about kind abbesses and melancholy kings, about elf maidens and ship wreckers and shy falconers, about great beauties and their plain sisters, about sinners and saints and ordinary eccentrics. In his newsletter Stories All the Way Down, he discusses history, literature, the nature of story, and how not to market a novel.

Connect with the Author

Follow The Wanderer and the Way blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

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It’s the first day of the blog tour for Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing a recording of me ‘trying’ to say the character names correctly #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

It’s the first day of the blog tour for Warriors of Iron, the second book in the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy. I’m sharing a recording of me ‘trying’ to say the character names correctly #newrelease #MenOfIron #WarriorsOfIron #histfic

How do you say that?

You can follow the Warriors of Iron blog tour

Bookish Jottings Review

Sharon Beyond the Books Review

Scrapping & Playing Review

Amy McElroy Review

Let us Talk of Many Things Review

Ruins & Reading Review

TBHonest Review

StoriedConvo Review

Listen to the beginning of Warriors of Iron

Curious about the trilogy? Check out my blog for more details below

Blog links

The Dark Age Chronicles

To what extent can we – or should we – select one date or event as ‘the end of Roman Britain’? #non-fiction

Image shows a map of Early England showing the places mentioned in the text of the book — The Dark Age Chronicles Map

Purchase Links (click on the images)

Image shows the book cover for Men of Iron by historical fiction author MJ Porter

Image shows the book cover for Warriors of Iron by hstorical fiction author MJ Porter

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I’m sharing a post about the inspiration for The Secret Sauce to celebrate release day #histfic #historicalmystery

Why The Secret Sauce?

As fans of my historical mysteries set in Erdington, Birmingham (UK), will know, I always like to pick a ‘quirky’ hook for my stories. The Secret Sauce is no different. For those who don’t know, HP Sauce was made for many, many decades at Aston in Birmingham (it isn’t any more). As a child, I drove past the sign below at least monthly, if not more often. Initially, I hoped to call this book The Body in the Beans (what a great title), but alas, HP didn’t make baked beans in the 1940s. As such, I had to have a little rethink. I thought the idea was too good to forget. And so, The Secret Sauce has as its Birmingham-specific hook; brown sauce, which, for the purposes of the story, I’ve renamed BB Sauce (you need to read the book to find out what that stands for).

Image from Birmingham Museum, taken by my sister

However, HP Sauce is a brown, fruity sauce, with a fascinating history, and, I believe, a recipe that remains a ‘secret.’ It started life at the end of the nineteenth century, and through fair means or foul, ended up in the hands of the owners of the Midlands Vinegar Company. It survived the uncertainties of both world wars, although sourcing the ingredients was often challenging. The True Story of HP Sauce, produced in 1985, states that advertising for HP Sauce was stopped during the Second World War because it was so difficult to get a bottle. There was also a bomb shelter beneath the factory during WW2. The Ultimate HP Sauce Lover’s Guide mainly contains recipes. I have been ‘forced’ to try HP Sauce, as I’d never had it before. It reminds me a little bit of Branston Pickle:) I don’t think I’m a fan, but I suspect it’s probably a bit like Marmite – you love it, or hate it.

Just like the Bird’s Custard Factory, which was the inspiration for The Custard Corpses, HP Sauce was a Birmingham staple. In fact, I suspect, for many locals, HP Sauce is more well-known, whether fondly or not (because it could stink), than the custard factory.

Image sgows a hardback copy of The Custard Corpses and The Automobile Assassination with a bottle of HP Sauce and two books about HP Sauce, The True History of HPSauce and The Ultimate HP Sauce Lover's Guide.

If you look at the cover for The Secret Sauce, you’ll notice, as with the other books in the series, that I’ve made some changes to the ‘brand.’ One of the changes was to make the BB Sauce bottle bulbous, a stark contrast to the elongated one of HP Sauce. I also added another Birmingham staple to the BB Sauce bottle by opting for colours inspired by Aston Villa Football Club’s kit. Why did I do this? Well, a reader shared some photos of my books and beside them was an Aston Villa programme. It was too good an opportunity to miss, as after all, the two would have been located in Aston.

An image of the Trinity Road Stand at Aston Villa Football Club showing the emblem for the team, with its claret and blue colours (as well as some yellow). — Trinity Road Stand, Aston Villa Football Club, taken by my brother

Here’s the blurb

Birmingham, England, November 1944.

Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is summoned to a suspicious death at the BB Sauce factory in Aston on a wet Monday morning in late November 1944.

Greeted by his enthusiastic sergeant, O’Rourke, Sam Mason finds himself plunged into a challenging investigation to discover how Harry Armstrong met his death in a vat containing BB Sauce – a scene that threatens to put him off BB Sauce on his bacon sandwiches for the rest of his life.

Together with Sergeant O’Rourke, Mason follows a trail of seemingly unrelated events until something becomes very clear. The death of Harry Armstrong was certainly murder, and might well be connected to the tragedy unfolding at nearby RAF Fauld. While the uncertainty of war continues, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves seeking answers from the War Office and the Admiralty, as they track down the person who murdered their victim in such an unlikely way.

Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

All 3 hardbacks in the Erdington Mystery series in a row.

The Secret Sauce is available in ebook, paperback and hardback. Or order a paperback directly from me via my SumUp store. I hope to have the audiobook in a few months.

Check out The Erdington Mysteries series page for more details on The Custard Corpses, The Automobile Assassination and The Secret Sauce.

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I’m delighted to welcome D.C.Wilkinson and his book, Scents of Lavender, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #Romance #LGBTRomance #LGBTQ+ #IllustratedPoetry; #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome D.C. Wilkison and his book, Scents of Lavender: Queer Love Through the Ages – In Verse, to the blog with a snippet.

Snippet

Though they tried to vanquish us,

our love endures,

in the hearts of those

stirred by our flame

and undeterred by malice

and brutality.

From Hierocles

Book Trailer

Here’s the Blurb

Timeless and unwavering, love flows through a universal melody that echoes in every corner of the globe. Transcending borders and cultures, it sows the seeds of memories that sprout and blossom in Scents of Lavender, a collection of 25 illustrated poems that breathe life into evocative scenes where queer love proudly re-emerges from the depths of history, uncovering deep and everlasting bonds.

Each poem invites the reader to explore the narrator’s deeply personal and intimate perspective through pantheistic eyes. Written in the first person, every verse unfolds as both a reflection and a manifestation of a single universal mind and soul, drawing the reader into a shared understanding that love –in all its forms– is boundless, eternal, and permeates the cosmos.

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Universal Link:

Meet the Author

D. C. Wilkinson is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lifelong voyager of inner and outer realms. His literary work centers on his passion for historical tales, portal fantasies, and dreams and visions often weaved into narratives that highlight LGBTQ+ experiences.

He began his career in the Midwest as a student of Language Arts before relocating to the East Coast in his early twenties. A graduate of Columbia University and former New York City public school teacher, he now calls Connecticut his home, where he resides with his spouse and their beloved beagle.

Connect with the Author

Follow the Scents of Lavender blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

It’s happy release day for The Secret Sauce, the third book in The Erdington Mysteries #histfic #historicalmystery

I’m super excited to share the cover for The Secret Sauce, the third book in The Erdington Mysteries #histfic #historicalmystery

Listen to me read the beginning of Chapter 1

Here’s the blurb

Birmingham, England, November 1944.

Join Mason and O’Rourke for the third book in the quirky, historical mystery series, as they once more attempt to solve the impossible in 1940s Erdington.

The Secret Sauce is available in ebook, paperback and hardback. Or order a paperback directly from me via my SumUp store. I hope to have the audiobook in a few months.

Join my mystery-only newsletter here.

Check out The Erdington Mysteries series page for more details on The Custard Corpses, The Automobile Assassination and The Secret Sauce.

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#TheLastHorse is 5 years old, and for one day only, it’s FREE on Amazon Kindle. #bookbirthday #histfic #TheLastKing #Coelwulf #Mercia

https://amzn.to/4mzHQDd

https://amzn.to/4n5Eqbj (the less sweary version)

Limited hardback editions

There are also special edition hardback formats available directly from me for The Last King and The Last Warrior. Follow this link to discover them.

Check out all the details for The Mercian Kingdom: The Ninth Century.

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I’m delighted to share my review for The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman #bookreview #regency #historicalmystery

Here’s the blurb

In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

To most of Regency high society, forty-two-year-old Lady Augusta Colebrook, or Gus, and her twin sister, Julia, are just unmarried ladies of a certain age—hardly worth a second glance. But the Colebrook twins are far from useless old maids. They are secretly protecting women and children ignored by society and the law.

When Lord Evan—a charming escaped convict who has won Gus’s heart—needs to hide his sister and her lover from their vindictive brother, Gus and Julia take the two women into their home. They know what it is like to have a powerful and overbearing brother. But Lord Evan’s complicated past puts them all in danger. Gus knows they must clear his name of murder if he is to survive the thieftakers who hunt him. But it is no easy task—the fatal duel was twenty years ago and a key witness is nowhere to be found.

In a deadly cat-and-mouse game, Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan must dodge their pursuers and investigate Lord Evan’s past. They will be thrust into the ugly underworld of Georgian gentlemen’s clubs, spies, and ruthless bounty hunters, not to mention the everyday threat of narrow-minded brothers. Will the truth be found in time, or will the dangerous secrets from the past destroy family bonds and rip new love and lives apart?

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4mu3adg

My Review

It might have taken me way too long to get to this book on my TBR, but I have devoured it in three days.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin is a thrilling adventure set in the Regency period, with our main character, Augusta, or Gus as she prefers to be called, taking a journey into the underbelly of Regency society in an effort to save two women from their families, as well as a few other people.

The narrative builds steadily until the last 30% when it gallops to a fabulous conclusion, setting the scene beautifully for the next book in the series.

I’ve read Alison’s Dark Days Club Series as well, and I adore how she weaves a narrative through the conventions of the time, while still giving her female characters room to move. This is not a Regency romance, although there are elements of it. This is a Regency adventure with a thrilling heroine, no end of jeopardy and an eye to the history of the period.

Read this, fellow Regency fans. You will not be disappointed.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin is available now, as is the first book in the series, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, which I have, but I jumped straight in with book 2, because sometimes I do that stuff:)

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I’m sharing my review for A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith #historicalmystery #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

Winter, 1901. The Inner Temple is even quieter than usual under a blanket of snow and Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case. All is calm, all is bright – until the mummified hand arrives in the post…

While the hand’s recipient, Temple Treasurer Sir William Waring, is rightfully shaken, Gabriel is filled with curiosity. Who would want to send such a thing? And why? But as more parcels arrive – one with fatal consequences – Gabriel realises that it is not Sir William who is the target, but the Temple itself.

Someone is holding a grudge that has already led to at least one death. Now it’s up to Gabriel, and Constable Wright of the City of London Police, to find out who, before an old death leads to a new murder.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4nisd3l

My Review

I’ve not encountered Gabriel Ward KC before, but I’m very pleased I took a chance on A Case of Life and Limb.

This is a delightfully quirky mystery, beginning in late 1901, and taking the reader on a journey through the social mores of the age, and the conflict between the upper and lower middle classes, all played out beautifully between Gabriel and Constable Wright, with a few others along the way. And most of it takes place within the Inner Temple, and its seeming separation from what happens beyond its garden and walls.

The novel is filled with gentle humour and Gabriel is a bit of a sweetie behind his stern facade. I especially loved his interactions with the cat.

The mystery itself was well resolved, and I will certainly go back and read book 1 in the series.

A Case of Life and Limb is available now, as is book 1 in the series, A Case of Mice and Murder.