M J Porter – Page 7

It’s happy release day to The Last Deceit, book 10 in The Last King series, so I’m sharing a blog post about my decision to include a fictional character

Here’s the blurb

Deceit and ambition threaten to undo the most fragile alliance.

King Coelwulf of Mercia has unwillingly accepted the need to ally with the kingdom of Wessex under the command of King Alfred. But King Alfred of Wessex must still prove himself, and Coelwulf can’t remain absent from Mercia indefinitely.

Returning to London, a place holding more fascination for the West Saxons and the Viking raiders than Coelwulf and his fellow Mercians, Coelwulf sets about reinforcing the walled settlement so long abandoned by all but the most determined traders. But Coelwulf knows Jarl Guthrum has set his eyes on Canterbury, and he must protect the archbishop in Kent, nominally under the control of the West Saxon king, even if King Alfred is no warrior.

But deceit and lies run rife through the West Saxon camp and when Coelwulf believes he’s held to his oaths and alliances, an unexpected enemy might just sneak their way into Mercia. The future of Mercia remains at stake.

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Deceit-England-action-packed-historical-ebook/dp/B0DK3J8JVK

Available in ebook, paperback, hardback and the Clean(er) Editions, with much of the swearing removed.

The Last Deceit also includes a new short story.

If you’ve not discovered The Last King/The Mercian Ninth Century Series, then please check out the Series page on the blog.

Ealdorman Sigehelm and Cooling

In The Last Deceit, I’ve included a fictional character called Ealdorman Sigehelm, who is based on a later individual that we know existed, the father of Lady Eadgifu, third wife of Edward the Elder. (By based I mean I borrowed his name and landholding).

I’ve done this because it’s fun to play around with the information I’ve learned about later in the era. It’s often one of the biggest problems in writing historical fiction. You need to know what happens before the events you’re writing about, as well as what comes after, as well as the actual events you’re depicting. And Cooling, in Kent, has an incredibly detailed history throughout the later tenth century, which we know about because of a remarkable charter. The text of which is below (it’s quite long.)

‘Eadgifu declares to the archbishop and the community of Christ Church how her estate at Cooling came [to her]. That is, that her father left her the estate and the [land]book, just as he legally acquired them and his ancestors had bequeathed to him. It happened that her father borrowed thirty pounds from Goda, and entrusted the estate to him as security for the money. And [Goda] held it for seven ‘winters’. When it came about, at around this time, that all the men of Kent were summoned to the battle at the Holme, Sighelm [Sigehelm], her father, did not want to go to the battle with any man’s account unpaid, and he repaid Goda the thirty pounds and he bequeathed the estate to his daughter Eadgifu and gave her the [land]book. After he had fallen in the battle, Goda denied the repayment of the money, and withheld the estate until six years later. Then Byrhsige Dyrincg claimed it unceasingly for so long, until the Witan of that time commanded Eadgifu that she should purge her father’s possession by [an oath equivalent to] that amount of the money. And she produced the oath in the witness of all the people at Aylesford, and there purged her father’s repayment by an oath of thirty pounds. Then she was still not able to possess the estate until her friends obtained from King Edward [the Elder] that he prohibited him [Goda] the estate, if he wanted to possess any [at all]; and so he gave it up. Then it happened in the first place that the king so strongly blamed Goda that he was deprived of all the [land] books and property, all that he owned. And the king then granted him and all his property, with [land] books and estates, to Eadgifu to dispose of as she wished. Then she said that she did not dare before God to pay him back as he had deserved of her, and she restored to him all his land except the two sulungs at Osterland, and she refused to give back the [land] books until she knew how loyally he would treat her in respect of the estates. Then, King Edward died and Æthelstan [Athelstan] succeeded to the kingdom. When Goda thought it an opportune time, he sought out King Æthelstan and begged that he would intercede on his behalf with Eadgifu, for the return of his [land] books. And the king did so. And she gave back to him all except the [land] book for Osterland. And he willingly allowed her that [land] book and humbly thanked her for the others. And, on top of that as one of twelve he swore to her an oath, on behalf of those born and [yet] unborn, that this suit was for ever settled. And this was done in the presence of King Æthelstan and his Witan at Hamsey near Lewes [Sussex]. And Eadgifu held the land with the landbooks for the days of the two kings, her sons [i.e., Edmund and Eadred]. When Eadred died and Eadgifu was deprived of all her property, then two of Goda’s sons, Leofstan and Leofric, took from Eadgifu the two afore-mentioned estates at Cooling and Osterland, and said to the young prince Eadwig who was then chosen [king] that they had more right to them than she. That then remained so until Edgar came of age and he [and] his Witan judged that they had done criminal robbery, and they adjudged and restored the property to her. Then Eadgifu, with the permission and witness of the king and all his bishops, took the [land] books and entrusted the estates to Christ Church [and] with her own hands laid them upon the altar, as the property of the community for ever, and for the repose of her soul. And she declared that Christ himself with all the heavenly host would curse for ever anyone who should ever divert or diminish this gift. In this way this property came to the Christ Church community.’ S1211^[i]

To explain:

Dating to around 959, the document provides the ownership history of an estate at Cooling in Kent. Eadgifu had inherited this land from her father, who had mortgaged it for a loan of £30, which he repaid before going on the campaign on which he died. However, Goda, the man who had made the loan, claimed not to have received payment and proceeded to take practical ownership of the estate. While Eadgifu retained the landbook, or freehold record, and tried various means of asserting her ownership, it was not until Edward the Elder intervened, presumably after their marriage, that the matter was resolved to some degree. Edward seized not only the estate in question but all Goda’s lands, handing their ownership and administration over to Eadgifu. The charter indicates that Eadgifu acted magnanimously, giving almost all of these back to Goda, though her primary consideration was likely to avoid creating a powerful political enemy. Sensibly, however, she retained possessions of the landbooks to ensure Goda’s loyalty, as well as a small estate at Osterland, in addition to her hereditary holdings at Cooling. The matter was fully resolved in Æthelstan’s [Athelstan] reign when the king interceded with Eadgifu on Goda’s behalf. Eadgifu returned the landbooks, but retained the estates at Osterland and Cooling, while Goda swore an oath in Æthelstan’s presence declaring that he considered the matter to be closed … Eadwig seized his grandmother’s landholdings and, in the case of the Cooling and Osterland estates, turned them over to Goda’s sons … After Eadwig’s death in 959, Edgar restored his aging grandmother’s possessions.^[ii]

It’s unusual to have so much detail about a landed estate, and so, when I took Coelwulf and his allies to Kent in The Last Deceit, I couldn’t resist embroidering this character into the tale. I imagine you can see why. To read more about Lady Eadgifu, check out The Royal Women Who Made England.

^[i] Sawyer, P.H. (ed.), Anglo-Saxon charters: An annotated list and bibliography, rev. Kelly, S.E., Rushforth, R., (2022). http://www.esawyer.org.uk/ S1211

^[ii] Firth, M. and Schilling, C. ‘The Lonely Afterlives of Early English Queens’, in Nephilologus September 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-022-09739-4, pp.8–9

Map of Early England taken from The Mercian Ninth Century Series.

It’s happy release day to The Last Deceit, book 10 in The Last King series, so I’m sharing a blog post about the Gaini

Here’s the blurb

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Deceit-England-action-packed-historical-ebook/dp/B0DK3J8JVK

Available in ebook, paperback, hardback and the Clean(er) Editions, with much of the swearing removed.

The Last Deceit also includes a new short story.

If you’ve not discovered The Last King/The Mercian Ninth Century Series, then please check out the Series page on the blog.

The who now? Who were the Gaini?

In The Last Deceit, reference is explicity made to a Mercian tribe known as the Gaini. It is from this obscure royal line that it’s said King Alfred’s wife, Lady Ealhswith, claimed descent. So, who were the Gaini?

The simple answer is that we don’t know. We don’t know where they were based. We don’t know any other known members of this tribe, but it’s certainly a name that survives from a period-specific resource, The Life of Alfred written by Asser in about 893, and so, some years after the events in The Last Deceit, in which he claims King Alfred’s wife was a descendant of this ruling family. Here are the details from The Royal Women Who Made England.

‘We are told by Asser, that Alfred ‘married a wife from Mercia, of noble family, namely the daughter of Æthelred “who was known as Mucil [Mucel]”, ealdorman of the Gaini. The woman’s mother was called Eadburh, from the royal stock of the king of the Mercians.’ It is possible, but cannot be confirmed that Ealhswith’s father was ealdorman in Mercia from the 820s onward when a man named Mucel is listed as attesting the surviving charters. The location of the tribal region of the Gaini has yet to be ascertained. Mercia was composed of many tribal regions; the most familiar being the Hwicce and the Mægonsate, both on the western borders with the Welsh kingdoms.

Whether Eahlswith’s mother was actually a member of the Mercian ruling family is difficult to conclude. Barbara Yorke determines she was related to King Coenwulf (796–821) and Coelwulf (821–823), two brother kings who ruled in the first quarter of the ninth century. It is impossible to confirm this either way due to a lack of available information. Mercia endured a string of kings throughout the ninth century, some more successful than others, and none of them able to offer the consistency and longevity that had been prevalent in the earlier eighth century during the long reigns of Æthelbald (716–757) and Offa (757–796).

Her possible father, Æthelred Mucel, witnesses two charters in the year of the marriage, S340, surviving in one manuscript, and S1201, surviving in two manuscripts, as well as S337, surviving in four manuscripts, in 867 and S349, surviving in two manuscripts, but deemed spurious, in 895.
What is known is that the union between Lady Eahlswith and Alfred was part of an arrangement with Mercia whereby Alfred’s sister, Æthelswith, married the then king, Burgred, and Ealhswith married Alfred. Little is known of Mercia’s King Burgred (852–74), other than that he fled from Mercia in the wake of sustained Viking raider aggression in the year 874.’

Why then might this royal connection to the Gaini onle be mentioned here? I’m not sure I need to labour the point, but Asser, writing our earliest life of a pre-conquest king, had a remit to follow, and no doubt that was to make much of King Alfred, and his wife. It would have looked a little odd if King Alfred had been married to a lesser woman of Mercia, when he was desperately trying to grow his repuation by having a ‘life’ written about him.

And Mercia is certainly a rich tapestry to either foist a previously unknown tribe upon, or to ‘borrow’ one for the intention of making more of someone. Mercia, ‘the kingdom on the border’ (although we don’t for sure which border this applies to), consisted of many smaller tribal areas, the names of which, if not often the location, have survived in the Tribal Hidage, an eighth-century source (which doesn’t mention the Gaini). More familiar names to travellers to the era are the Hwicce (around Gloucester), the Magonsæte (close to the Welsh border), the Tomsæte (close to Tamworth), to name but a few, have survived in charter documentation which names these distinctive areas and we often have ealdormen of these places, most famously my first historical recreation, Ealdorman Leofwine of the Hwicce of the Earls of Mercia Series.

And so, in The Last Deceit, it is Ealhswith brother, Lord Æthelwulf, who makes mention of the Gaini, as no doubt, he too would have made much of this alleged royal connection.

It’s happy release day to The Last Deceit, book 10 in The Last King series, so I’m sharing some photos of Old Sarum and Stonehenge

Here’s the blurb

Purchase Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Deceit-England-action-packed-historical-ebook/dp/B0DK3J8JVK

Available in ebook, paperback, hardback and the Clean(er) Editions, with much of the swearing removed.

The Last Deceit also includes a new short story.

If you’ve not yet started The Mercian Ninth Century Series, then check out the series page on the blog.

A trip to Old Sarum

Earlier this year, I attended a virtual talk about Old Sarum which really inspired me. As such, I immediately decided I needed to take Coelwulf and his warriors there. I was really pleased to be able to visit the location on my way home from Devon earlier in the year, and it was even better than I’d imagined it. I hope the photos below will reveal it’s fabulous location and the height and width of the encircling embankments, as well as just how close it is to Salisbury, which was built to replace it.

The English Heritage information board from Old Sarum.

Old Sarum is an old Iron age hillfort, but it was repeatedly used until it was abandoned, and most people know of it because under the early Norman rulers a castle and a church were built there. But my interest is in the earlier period. Under the Romans it was called Sorviodonum, and was in use at points during the Saxon era. It did have one fatal flaw however, it relied on a single water source inside the two embankments.

As I can’t fly, and therefore couldn’t take a photo of the extent of Old Sarum, do check out the English Heritage website to see it in all its glory. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum

You can also find the talk I attended on YouTube here.

A trip to Stonehenge

I’ve also taken Coelwulf to Stonehenge in The Last Alliance and The Last Deceit, and so I went to visit as well. I’ve had some fun deciding what my warriors think of the strange arrangement of stones. Personally, I much prefer the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness on Mainland Orkney but that might be because you can get much closer to the stones there.

2024 – A Writing Year in Review

Check out my 2022 and 2023 posts.

So, what have I been writing/editing in 2024? As ever, it’s time to turn to my trusty diary to find out, but I’ve also been keeping a spreadsheet this year so it’s much easier to work out exactly what I’ve been writing, and when I was writing it. So here goes:

In January, I instigated my ‘new approach’ to writing, following a disappointing writing year in 2023. Was I harsh on myself with my assessment of 2023 ? I don’t think so, and certainly my new approach has ensured I wrote a lot more in 2024 than in 2023. So, my new approach is simple, I write at least 2000 words a day, every day. Did I manage every day? I certainly did not, but when I wasn’t working at my very seasonal job in the local school (or I must admit, on holiday), I managed to write at least 2000 words a day almost every day. This might sound a little crazy, but writing for me is a bit of a necessity. If I don’t exercise my creative mind, I am plagued (yes, plagued) by rather weird dreams. If I wasn’t writing, I would be really stuck.

In January, I began my new writing routine by finishing off the first draft for The Last Viking, and then swiftly moved onto the next Icel story. Somewhat bizarelly, it’s this book, Betrayal of Mercia, which is being released on 5th January 2025. I was very ahead of the game. I also spent a bit of time working on edits for Enemies of Mercia and Conflict of Kings. It was my sixth most productive month. Not a bad start. It was also the month that Clash of Kings was released, the third book in the Brunanburh series, as well as my first non fiction title, The Royal Women Who Made England.

At this point, I’m also going to wax a little lyrical about another lifestyle change I made which was to start exercising every morning. This, I’ve found, wakes me up much better than caffeine and sets me up really well for the rest of the day. It can be anything from 10 minutes up to about half an hour, and I use an online app to decide what I’m going to do each day. I don’t complicate matters by trying to get to the gym, and my equipment is steadily growing at him. It’s made me much stronger, and now, like writing, I struggle if I don’t take the time to do a little bit each day.

In February, my fifth most productive writing month, I was working on six different projects – which is kind of crazy. I finished my first draft of Betrayal of Mercia, scooted back to the next Coelwulf book, The Last Alliance, and also started work on my Dark Ages series, the first book of which, Men of Iron, will be releasing in April 2025. Aside from that, I also had some work to do on The Last Viking, Protector of Mercia and Kings of Conflict. So, by now I was in the swing of things. I write in the morning and then in the afternoon I work on edits, either structural, copy or proofreads. It means my creative side gets all excited in the morning, and then I can buckle down in the afternoons and get on with the other very important processes for a self-confessed pantser (I plan very little about my writing).

March was my third most productive writing month. I wrote the vast majority of the first draft of what would become The Last Alliance, and also did some editing for Betrayal of Mercia and Kings of Conflict. March also saw the welcome release of The Last Viking, the first Coelwulf book for a few years. It was so much fun to be back with Coelwulf and his friends. He is my most favourite character to write because it’s just like releasing all the tension and stress through his language and general attitude to life. I wish I could be ‘more’ Coelwulf all the time.

April was my seventh most productive writing month, with much of it taken up with work on Men of Iron, although I did start the month with the first 10,000 words of what became The Last Deceit. I didn’t realise I’d been playing with that book for quite so long. At this point, I was largely adhering to my 2000 words a day endeavour, although with a holiday and my time in school on the horizon, it was all about to come to a bit of a halt. It also saw the release of Enemies of Mercia, book 6 in the stories of young Icel.

Cover image for Enemies of Mercia by MJ Porter

May was my eighth most productive month of 2024, coming in at 29,000 words for the month, so very much below my intended target of 2,000 words a day. But, I was on holiday and busy with exams at the local school, and I was ahead of my schedule that I’d written at the start of the year, so I didn’t mind too much. I was finishing the first draft of Men of Iron, and I also started work on the sequel to Men of Iron, which should be called Warriors of Iron when it’s released in August 2025.

June was a write-off (literally). I managed a massive 1000 words all month. Not only was I just back from holiday and busy in school, but I ended up with my first official bout of ‘Covid’ which was a most odd experience. However, I was able to release The Last Alliance at the end of June, which I was very pleased about.

Cover image for The Last Alliance by MJ Porter

July was a muddled month with a holiday to Norfolk (yes, I made it to Suffolk and Sutton Hoo), but it was my tenth most productive month, so not very productive at all, as I reworked some of Men of Iron.

For August, I was back to it. It was my most productive month, coming in at just under 85,000 words written on a variety of projects, I had to make up for lost time. I was writing Warriors of Iron and The Last Deceit, and editing Betrayal of Mercia as well as Men of Iron. I don’t want you feeling sorry for me because September, I knew, was going to be a difficult writing month with my long-awaited trip to Devon and slow journey there and back to take in A LOT of historical sites I needed to visit for Men of Iron and other projects. 6th August saw the release of Kings of Conflict, the final book in the Brunanburh series.

Cover image for Kings of Conflict by MJ Porter

September was my eleventh most productive month, or second from last:) I worked on structural edits for Men of Iron, endeavouring to weave into the narrative some of the places I’d visited on my travels to and from Devon.

October was my fourth most productive month. My main tasks for the month were working on initial drafts for Warriors of Iron and The Last Deceit. I also worked on copyedits for Men of Iron and Betrayal of Mercia. This was the first time I managed to keep track of how many words I removed from the edited copy during the proofread. It was not that many words, but I faithfully recorded all of them, which gave me a net minus 3.

November is the month every year when I allow myself to write absolutely anything I want. This year saw me returning to a project from 2018 and starting to ‘fix’ many of the problems with it – the biggest one being there was simply too much story to fit into one book. I now intend to make it a trilogy, and using about 20,000 words from the first draft, I added a further 59,000 to it as well as working on some editing and structural edits of other projects. It was a busy month, but November is always really important to me. Deadlines and editing can really drain me of my creativity. November allows me to be excited about something entirely new and without deadlines (although, not so new this time as it was an older project). Watch this space to find out what I’m going to do with it.

For December, I was once more busy in the local school, and travelling to meet fellow Viking authors, and other authors more local to me. All the same, I’ve been busy writing, finally getting back to Icel, who I’ve neglected of late. That said, I’ve known where this new story would go ever since I finished working on the first draft Betrayal back in January. At the moment, my working title is Icel of Mercia, but I’m sure that won’t be the published title. December has been my ninth most productive writing month, but even as I write this, I know I have a few more writing days to go, so it will increase. December will also see the release of The Last Deceit. I’ve just managed to get the 3 Coelwulf books in, as promised.

All in all, I’ve enjoyed my writing in 2024. There are always moments when it’s an effort, and moments when it feels easy, but my new writing routine, or what I now call ‘minimising the stress around first drafts’ has really helped me. Ensuring I’m working on something while editing another project ensures I have time for my stories to settle before I edit them, and also allows me to plant all those lovely Easter Eggs I love to scatter through the many different series. I pity the person who tries to work out which book I was writing when in the future.

I have two newish projects under way, my November project, and also the beginnings of another nonfiction title. I also have two of my three Boldwood titles complete bar some of the editing, and Icel 8 is shaping up nicely as well. For next year, I want to continue my current practice of writing at least 2000 words each morning, and editing in the afternoon. It works really well with my writing style. Everyone has different styles. It’s important to determine what works, and when it stops working, to find something else. 2024 was the year I revamped what had been working for me for many years. It’s also allowed me to methodically plan, even if I didn’t always keep to the plan.

In terms of words written this year, it comes in at about 570k. It’s not my best year, which was 2019, but it’s so much better than in 2023, I’m really pleased.

Forthcoming releases for 2025 will be Betrayal of Mercia, Men of Iron, Warriors of Iron in August, Icel 8 in October and hopefully, a new Erdington Mystery (I have a title, which is a good sign for that series) and my November 2024 project which I need to finish but which will probably be released under a different author name. I also hope to return to Coelwulf, but I’m not promising 3 titles in the series as I did in 2024. That was almost too much for me. In terms of writing, I need to finish the Dark Age Chronicles (I’ve stated it will be a trilogy – I have too many characters as it is,) and continue with the lovely Icel.

A huge thank you to all my wonderful readers who allow me to spend my time with my characters. It is a privilege.

If you want to follow my writing journey, join my newsletter. I update readers each month.

I will be sharing my reading year in review soon.

To fellow writers, remember, to be a writer you first must write, but you also have to write the way that works for you. Good luck.

I visited the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey in a torrential downpour but it was still beautiful

Shaftebury Abbey is a ruin, in private hands and run by a charity, and I was desperate to visit because it’s where King Alfred’s daughter, Æthelgifu, was an abbess, and where King Edmund’s first wife, Ælfgifu, was buried, (the mother of Eadwig and Eadgar/Edgar) and where the body of King Edward the Martyr was moved to after his murder (the oldest son of Eadgar/Edgar). You can read about these women in my The Royal Women Who Made England non-fiction title. And I’ve fictionalised many of them as well, especially Lady Elfrida, accused of murdering her stepston.

However, I was there on a day so biblically wet a few weeks ago, that sadly, they had to close (i.e. this is the first time I’ve been kicked out of a historical monument), but the volunteers were absolutely lovely and I’m grateful they let me look for as long as possible before making sure they got home safely on roads that were very, very wet. And, it made the whole experience very atmospheric. If you pop over to their website, there are fab images of it being sunny. https://www.shaftesburyabbey.org.uk I hope to be able to return on day when it’s not raining.

Taking photos of all the plants in the herbal garden

The lettering by the monument to Edward the Martyr

From memory, this is where it’s believed Edward the Martyr was originally buried when the abbey was in use

I finally visited Deerhurst, my fictional home for Ealdorman Leofwine in the Earls of Mercia series.

Back in the summer of 2011 (I think), I spent every evening when my children were in bed, trying to plot the possessions of the Earls of Mercia as revealed by the entries in Domesday Book (which I think is a totally normal thing to do).

It was a tedious process, which could be achieved much more quickly these days with Google Maps, but it was what I had available to me. Somewhat frustrated with the process because by that period many of the possessions of the Earls of Mercia and their family were not located in the original area of the Hwicce (roughly Gloucestershire), and aware that Deerhurst (which is in Gloucestershire) has a long history back to the Saxon period, I eventually plonked by ealdorman, Leofwine, (of the Hwicce) close to that location, and indeed, readers of the books will know that I have his family burials there. But, I’d never actually visisted Deerhurst before. Until now.

It is a beautiful location, and I’m sharing some photos from my visit, including The Angel, a surviving piece of Saxon sculpture, outside on the walls (my photos aren’t the best but it’s at a very awkward angle and quite high up the side of the building. You can find a much clearer image here https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulodykes/41119170111).

The font – not original to the church – but found in the 19th century and placed there. It is stunning.

Deerhurst hosts an annual lecture each year (indeed, it’s on 21st September 2024 this year), and is also open for visitors, for anyone else who fancies visiting. If you can’t make it, you can visit their website, and also order printed copies of the lectures, which I’ve done before now. https://deerhurstfriends.co.uk

And, just around the corner is Odda’s Chapel, another Saxon survivor. I will also share photos from Odda’s Chapel in a few days.

Check out the Earls of Mercia series page.

Posts

The historical setting for The Custard Corpses #mystery #histfic #history

Setting for The Custard Corpses, my first foray into historical mysteries

The Custard Corpses is set during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. I wanted to make the book as authentic as possible, even though I’m not a historian of that time period. When I was first studying history at school, I always found it strange to think of it as history as I had grandparents who had lived through the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s (my old granny was born in 1901, my mother’s parents in 1920 and my father’s parents in 1926 and 1928). That’s probably why I’ve never written about the period before.

Getting the names right

I wanted to ensure I was using names and places that existed at the time, and I didn’t want to inadvertently make any silly mistakes – a few beta readers pointed out I was using metric measurements, when they should have been imperial in the 1940s. They thought it was sweet that I’d never known the world of imperial numbers (and money).

Maps and train routes

So, I spent quite a bit of time hunting down random facts; maps of the time period, tram and train routes (which you can find online, but I had some old maps), pictures of cars, police uniforms at the time, advertisements of the time and also editions of the Picture Post magazine. At one point, I wanted a celebrity scandal, and there it was, on the cover of a magazine.

Newspaper Archives

I was amazed by the information that I could find by accessing archives ( and also that which I couldn’t find), and I was especially impressed by the ‘history’ section on the Birmingham.gov website, and by those local newspapers that have archives available online – such as the Inverness newspaper and the Birmingham Mail. There’s also a whole aerial photo website that I could have used, but I couldn’t quite work it out.

Family memories

I was also lucky in that I set the book somewhere I have childhood memories of, and also that a family member spent their early years in Erdington. It was funny to realise the parts that they especially remembered – such as the fact that some of the buses were still open-topped at the time, and the liveries that buses were decorated with. The Birmingham that I remember is very different to the one that exists now, and the one that existed in the 1940s. My memories of Birmingham consist of the dodgy car park we used, the train journey we used to take in the old carriages with individual doors (they were old in my day) and shopping for jeans.

I also made some use of the 1911 census records, and the Office for National Statistics spreadsheet which lists all the most popular names in decades. It made it easy to devise names for the characters. It also helped that while the 1940s is ‘history’ it’s much more relatable to me than the period before 1066, when I usually set my stories, so provided I didn’t use the internet in the story itself (and only as a research tool), or refer to cms, it was just about authentic, I hope. And did allow for the use of cars and telephones.

Check out The Erdington Mysteries page for more information.

(This is a blog post I wrote in 2021 and which I can’t find on my blog, so I’m sharing it.)

Posts

The inspiration behind The Custard Corpses #histfic #mystery

The inspiration behind The Custard Corpses is a bit weird, even I admit that

My father had, for many years, bought and sold antique paraphernalia, mostly maps, but also other items as well – books, stamps, old vellum deeds, postcards – you get the idea. With the restrictions during Lockdown, he wasn’t able to sell as normal at his antique fairs, and having put off having an online presence, he finally decided to open an eBay shop – but needed tech support. And so, as ‘tech support’, he started sending me all sorts of fascinating items to list, but the one that really got my attention were the advertisements that ran in the Picture Post magazines for Bird’s Custard.

Images from 2 Birds's Custard adveerts from the 1940s and 1950s

They’re bright, they’re inviting, they are, to put it bluntly, before their time. They have lovely catchphrases, such as ‘every little helps’ which Tesco use now. The black and white images on the coloured background ensure the readers eye is drawn to the happy child, and they do make you want to eat custard.

More images from the Bird's Custard adverts from the 1940s and 1950s

I wanted to share them with as many people as possible so that they could catch a glimpse of these old campaigns. There were other advertisements as well in the magazines, ones for Pepsi and for Shell, to name a few, but it was the Bird’s Custard ones that really captured my imagination. But how could I share them with people?

Well, my mind works in strange ways, and I began to consider a mystery that would somehow be relevant to the advertisements, so it needed to be set during the period the Picture Post magazine was produced from 1938 to the 1950s. And so, The Custard Corpses.

I set The Custard Corpses during the Second World War, but that was really because it fit with the adverts I’d seen, the added bonus that I could then use the well-known events of the war was a secondary consideration.

Where I set the book was entirely based on the fact that I had family members who’d lived in Erdington at the time. I was able to pick the brains of my Dad for the little details that I didn’t know or couldn’t remember, not that he was born in 1943, but not long after.

It was all quite random, in the end, and there was a swell of little details that I uncovered that just, through pure happenstance, fitted together. It helped that I wanted to try my hand at something more modern than the eleventh century, but still historical. But I’m not an expert on any other time period, so I suppose it was an easy choice to decide on a setting that was just within living memory of some. I couldn’t visit anywhere due to Lockdown, so familiar was best.

Is this the weirdest reason to have written a book?

Check out The Erdington Mysteries page to discover more about the books.

Buy The Custard Corpses here, available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audio. Or, check out the signed editions page to get a copy directly from me. Book 3, The Secret Sauce, is available now, (as is book 2, The Automobile Assassination), and the Barrage Body is coming very soon.

Posts

Jorvik/York at the time of the Brunanburh Series, (and before)

Eboracum/Eoforwic/Jorvik

When I first wrote Kings of Conflict, I had very little idea what Jorvik at the time (the 930s/940s) might have looked like. I wrote an entire battle scene and then realised some of my assumptions were very, very wrong (I do this all the time. Don’t feel sorry for me. I should just do the research first instead of giving free rein to my imagination.) I got the fact the settlement was split in two by the River Ouse wrong (and who knew about the Foss). But, most tellingly, what I failed to understand was the true nature of York, from its Roman origins as Eboracum to the age of Jorvik, and most importantly by that I mean its Roman walls and what might, or might not have still been standing at this period.

We don’t (yet) have time machines. We can’t visit York in the 940s, but if there is one thing York is famous for it’s the archaeology, and the Jorvik Viking Centre, which offers a recreation of what those streets on Coppergate might once have looked like, and also much else. And because Jorvik/York has benefitted from so much archaeological work, there are also a series of maps showing York at various times in its lifetime, alas out of print at this time, but which can be accessed via a good library (my thanks to the Great Northern Library at the Hancock museum in Newcastle – if you want to see it then let them know so they can have it ready for you, and make note of their opening hours) or the amalgamation of this work available in An Historical Map of York, available from all good book sellers. And if not, then my favourite ‘go-to’ for recreating this time period, the antiquarian maps by John Speed (which are also much prettier) can also offer some information.

York from the John Speed map opf the West Riding of Yorkshire — York, from John Speed’s West Riding of Yorkshire map (own photo)

This is readily available and amalgamates the information from the actual Atlas.

Roman York

The British Historic Towns Atlas Volume V, York ed. Peter Addyman provides the following information about Eboracum-Roman York.

York’s surviving walls, not far from Micklegate

It might have been occupied under Vettius Bolanus (69-71) but was truly founded under Emperor Vespasian (69-79). However, the ridge of the River Ouse was a routeway from the Neolithic onwards. This was in the territory of the Brigantes although the East Riding of Yorkshire was that of the Parisi. It is possible that Eboracum means ‘the place of the yew trees.’

The stone used in constructing the fortress was Magnesian Limestone from Tadcaster and Millstone Grit from Bramham Park (I love that they know this). To begin with the fortress had a ditch, rampart and timber structures and four gates, with the original towers up to 15 metres high. And here, there is the suggestion that to begin with, crossing the River Ouse (to get to the civilian settlement) was via ferry. The bridge can only be confirmed from the second century onwards. The Foss River was also tidal at this time and the banks sloped sharply. The rampart was widened from 20feet to about 42 feet during a second phase of occupation.

Some ‘old’ bits of Roman York (I think), from the museum in York Minster

The end of Roman York is impossible to pinpoint. Did it cease to exist? Certainly, the last documentary reference was in 314 when York’s bishop, Eborus, attended the Council of Arles, but as with so many of these Roman settlements in Britannia, what happened afterwards is more difficult to determine and we must turn to archaeology and not written records.

I think this is from the exhibition at Micklegate Bar but I could be wrong. It very clearly shows the two ‘halves’ of the walls.

I must admit, all of this information about Roman York makes me somewhat desperate to write a book about it:) (Don’t all groan).

Anglian York – Eoforwic

The creators of this series of maps make the point that this is the most speculative of the series. Put simply, they really don’t know what was happening.

What can be said is that the walls were renovated on the north west side of the fortress with a dry stone wall and cobbled sentry walk while the eastern ramparts were topped with a timble palisade wider than the Roman wall (if I’ve understood that correctly).

Eoforwic first enters the historical record as the place of baptism for Edwin in 627, the king of Northumbria (Deira and Bernicia combined).

‘…the king was baptised at Easter with all his chief men; that Easter was on 12 April. This was done in York, where earlier he had ordered a church to be built of wood.’ ASC E 626 p.25

The archbishopric began from 735, but Eoforwic was not densely settled at this period, although it does seem to have had many, many churches. This includes the Minster, St Michael-Le-Belfrey, Holy Trinity, St Peter the Little, St Martin, St Michael, and many more, all probably founded by 850.

Map of Britain in the tenth century, showing York (map design by Flintlock Covers).

Viking York – Jorvik

It’s record that the first attack Viking attack on York occured on 1st November 866. The Northumbrians counter-attacked in 867 but this left York under Viking control.

‘Here the raiding-army went from East Anglia over the mouth of the Humber to York city in Northumbria;’ ASC A 867 corrected to 866 p.68 (from my preferred edition edited by Michael Swanton).

And here is where my notes become a little muddled between time periods. The British Historic Towns Atlas Volume V informs that the River Ouse at the time would have been tidal, and much wider than it is now and also with much steeper banks .

The late-eighth-century scholar Alcuin describes York as having high walls and lofty towers (he spent time in York). Asser (Alfred’s late-tenth-century biographer – although I’m curious as to how he’d know as I’m sure he was from one of the Welsh kingdoms and York was not under Alfred’s control) suggests that York’s walls were insecure and there is a suggestion that the Vikings restored the walls. Considering what we know about Asser and his ability to be less than honest, we might suspect this statement. Certainly, the remains of the walls were visible but whether they were defensible is unknown.

The walls survive to this day. To paraphrase from the Atlas, from the western corner of the Roman fortress to fifty metres along its south-west front, parallel to the river, the Roman wall is still visible above ground. Beyond this point, its six projecting interval towers and the Roman south/west gateway leading to the bridge over the Ouse have either been demolished to foundation level or been covered by organic-rich debris of post-Conquest date. The fortress’s south corner tower at Freasgate survives to fifteen foot. It is suggested that the south-west section of the civilian settlement might not have been included in the walled defences.

On the northern banks of the River Ouse, there were plots about 5.5m wide occupied by one or more structures (Coppergate/Ousegate/Pavement) with backyards running downslope towards the River Foss. Hungate also had similar plots. There might have been crossings over the rivers below St Mary Castlegate and Hungate. These rectangular structures of post and wattle had entrances front and back, with centrally arranged hearths and roofs made of turf, reeds or straw. Most settlement was below Coppergate, Ousegate, Pavement, Hungate and Walmgate areas.

Recreating Jorvik?

But what does all this mean when trying to recreate the time period? (Some will know that I’ve already ‘visited’ York earlier in the Brunanburh series, and without all this angst). It is frustrating that some aspects are so clearly defined and others aren’t. Where were the people living – especially the high status people? Where were the kings living? In King’s Square/Kuningesgard? And what’s this about the civilian defences never being completed to the south?

My overwhelming impression is that the remains of the actual Roman encampment (to the north of the Ouse) were in better condition than those to the south of the Ouse surrounding the civilian settlement (there are ‘proper’ terms for this – I’m not using them). But, these remains of the Roman wall at the fort seem to have largely been surrounding the religious centre under the control of the Archbishop of York, Wulfstan I. Were they any use to those in control of Jorvik? And what about the rivers? How navigable were they? Could they be easily blocked? How tidal is tidal? Did it raise and lower the water level by metres or centimetres?

Was there even a bridge over the River Ouse or did they need to use a boat to get across? Perhaps there was only one bridge over the Ouse, and only one over the River Foss.

Having this information to hand and making sense of it are two very different things. How would someone have gone about attacking York? Would they have taken ships, come on foot or tried to steal their way inside through the never completed walls? Who would have protected it? What would our erstwhile holy man, Archbishop Wulfstan have done? If the walls were standing, how many warriors would have needed to protect it?

You’ll have to read Conflict of Kings to see just what I did, and you can from 6th August 2024:)

books2read.com/KingsOfConflict10th

Check out the Brunanburh series page for more information.

Posts

On the 1100th anniversary of the death of King Ælfweard of Wessex

The death of King Ælfweard of Wessex, 2nd August 924

Today sees the 1100th anniversary of the death of King Ælfweard of Wessex, a king most people have never heard of as his reign was just sixteen days in summer 924, and we know almost nothing about him. (According to one source, the Textus Roffensis he is credited with a reign of 4 weeks, which would have made him king before his father’s death. You can see a digital copy of this source here). There are surely many ‘might have beens’ about his reign, and as much as I admire Athelstan, his older halfbrother, I felt it only right to shed what light there is on Ælfweard.

Quote from ASC from 17th July 924 recounting Edward the Elder's death

Who was Ælfweard?

He was the son of Edward the Elder (who had died 16 days earlier) and his second wife, Ælfflæd. He was, presumably, the oldest born son with Edward’s second wife, and from a very young age, he can be seen attesting to his father’s charters. We don’t know his exact date of birth because we don’t know when Edward remarried, and whether it was before or after his father’s death in 899.

A family tree showing the family of Alfred the Great

What do we know about Ælfweard?

Ælfweard begins to attest charters in 901 as filius regis, alongside his famous older halfbrother, Athelstan, although Ælfweard is given precedence and named before him. This precedence for the oldest son from a second marriage would also be mirrored in later years by King Edgar, who presented his oldest son with his third wife, Elfrida, as the legitimate ætheling while acknowledging his oldest son with his first wife.

Ælfweard attests eight of his father’s charters (S365, S375, S376, S377, S378, S381, S382 and S383). The number is small and may not be representative. There’s a lack of surviving charter evidence from the reign of Edward the Elder and none from Ælfweard’s short reign. Indeed, his full brother, Edwin, doesn’t attest any of his father’s charters, although he is named in one of Athelstan’s charters (S1417). This is something that needs explaining and examining in more depth.

Ælfweard’s death ‘allowed’ Athelstan to become king of Wessex

Despite the survival of his full brother, Edwin, Athelstan was, eventually, proclaimed king of Wessex as well as Mercia on the death of Ælfweard, although his coronation was delayed until September 925 (Read about Athelstan here). We must consider what led to Ælfweard’s death at Oxford. Had he been with his father at Farndon in Mercia putting down a revolt or fighting the Norse enemy? Was there some sort of illness? Was he murdered by those loyal to Athelstan to allow him to become king of Wessex as well as Mercia? We do not know. The situation is presented as a fait accompli in the sources.

Edwin, Ælfweard’s younger full brother, would die far from England’s shores, if the information we do have about his death, is correct. It is possible he did rise in rebellion against Athelstan, but alas, we do not know any details.

Slide showing a quotation about Edwin's death.

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, Edward the Elder’s third wife), and King of Kings (which begins with the coronation of King Athelstan in September 925). I’ve also written a post about Athelstan becoming king of Mercia which can be accessed here.

And for more information about the tenth century as a whole, do check out my nonfiction title about the Royal Women of the Tenth Century, which also includes information about the royal men.

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