Tag: M J Porter

Happy release day to The Last Viking, but who can remember what happened in the previous books? Enter the HUGE competition to win copies of all eight books.

It’s been a while since we’ve been in the saddle with Coelwulf and his foul-mouthed fellow warriors. I’ve missed them, and I think others have as well. I thought it would be a good idea to offer a brief recap. I know I had to reread The Last Seven to make sure everything was as it should be.

So, readers, let us return to the year 875.

It seems a bit crazy, but somehow, the first seven books in the series take place in a period of no more than a year. but it’s been a pretty hectic year. For those who’ve not read the books, read on at your peril.

Our sweary-mouthed hero, Coelwulf, has been proclaimed king of Mercia, through the connivance of his aunt, Lady Cyneswith (who isn’t a historical individual, but she does appear in both the Coelwulf and the Icel books), and Bishop Wærferth of Worcester (who is historical). Why has he become king? Because King Burgred, long-term ruler of Mercia, has done a deal with the Viking raiders based at Repton. In order to live, he had to give up his right to rule. He’s now hiding away in Rome, with his wife, the sister of King Alfred.

Also, Coelwulf (although we don’t know all the details from the historical record) is descended from Coelwulf, the first of his name, who ruled in the 820s, and his brother, Coenwulf, who ruled from 796 to 821. Burgred either had no children, or his sons didn’t fancy ruling after his father left.

My character, Coelwulf, is no shrinking wall flower. Oh no. He might not want to be king, but he is determined to fight the enemy to keep hold of Mercia. And so we follow him, and his loyal warriors as they combat the enemy, first at Repton, then at Torksey, Gainsborough, on the borders with the Welsh, at Northampton and at Grantabridge. They don’t get much respite.

Alas, the end of book seven, somewhat jokingly called The Last Seven, when I started work on it, and a title which stuck, sees a terrible tragedy, and now, in The Last Viking, King Coelwulf must decide if that tragedy is to define him, or if he still plans to fight. (I think we can all guess what the answer might be.) I promise there will not be such a big gap between book 8 and book 9. Indeed, you can find book 9 available for preorder.

Check out some previous release day posts for earlier titles in the series

The Last Horse

The Last Enemy with Rudolf

The Last Enemy with Lady Cyneswith

The Last Sword

The Last Shield

The Last Seven

Enter the HUGE competition. Win an ebook copy of every book in the series, including the prequel short story collection (worldwide). If I can, I will also send signed bookplates. For those in the UK, I will offer a copy of every single paperback edition. (I know, it’s a bonkers prize). To take part, simply sign up for my newsletter (you will receive a free ebook short story collection).

All current subscribers will be entered automatically. The competition will run throughout March 2024. I will contact the winners on 1st April 2024. Good luck.

Here’s the blurb:

Can one man win Mercia’s freedom from the Viking raiders?

Jarl Guthrum has been captured after the terrible events in Grantabridge. King Coelwulf knows exactly what he’d like to do to him, but those with calmer heads have other ideas.

Baptised and having taken the name of Æthelstan, Guthrum is Mercia’s prisoner, and in the wake of that, Mercia must rebuild.

But Jarl Guthrum is far from the only Viking raider who wishes to subdue Mercia. Coelwulf and his allies, grief-stricken, must still fight for her survival while those around demand their help in defeating the enemy.

Once more, the warriors of Mercia are obliged to do all they can to ensure the kingdom’s survival.

books2read.com/The-Last-Viking

( available in ebook, paperback and hardback)

Click this link to find out the title for book 9 and preorder the kindle version.

Happy release day to The Last Viking, continuing the tale of Coelwulf and his lethal warriors. Enter the HUGE competition to win copies of all eight books.

It’s been a while since we’ve been in the saddle with Coelwulf and his foul-mouthed fellow warriors. I’ve missed them (well, all apart from Icel -who I’ve been writing about in his younger days for The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles) and I hope you have as well.

The good news is that The Last Viking is released today, and I’m already busy at work on the ninth book in the series. And I’ll tell you a secret, Coelwulf finally meets King Alfred of Wessex in this one. So, while The Last Viking is released today, the next book is also on preorder for release in September 2024. (If I can, I will bring this forward but I’m not making the mistake of overcommitting with so many projects on the go.)

If you’ve not yet discovered this series, then those who’ve enjoyed others books I’ve written, should be warned that these books are violent and very foul-mouthed. The first six in the series can be read in Cleaner Versions. Hopefully, book 7 and 8 will also be available in the next few days:).

Throughout March, book 2 in the series will be a Kindle Monthly deal on Amazon UK, and the other books in the series will also be reduced.

I am also holding a HUGE competition. Win an ebook copy of every book in the series, including the prequel short story collection (worldwide). If I can, I will also send signed bookplates. For those in the UK, I will offer a copy of every single paperback edition. (I know, it’s a bonkers prize). To take part, simply sign up for my newsletter.

All current subscribers will be entered automatically. The competition will run throughout March 2024. I will contact the winners on 1st April 2024. Good luck.

Here’s the blurb:

Can one man win Mercia’s freedom from the Viking raiders?

Jarl Guthrum has been captured after the terrible events in Grantabridge. King Coelwulf knows exactly what he’d like to do to him, but those with calmer heads have other ideas.

Baptised and having taken the name of Æthelstan, Guthrum is Mercia’s prisoner, and in the wake of that, Mercia must rebuild.

But Jarl Guthrum is far from the only Viking raider who wishes to subdue Mercia. Coelwulf and his allies, grief-stricken, must still fight for her survival while those around demand their help in defeating the enemy.

Once more, the warriors of Mercia are obliged to do all they can to ensure the kingdom’s survival.

books2read.com/The-Last-Viking

( available in ebook, paperback and hardback)

Click this link to find out the title for book 9 and preorder the kindle version.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CWYL6XPN

It’s International Women’s Day 2024. Here’s to the women of the tenth century in Saxon England.

I’ve made it somewhat of a passion to study the royal women of the tenth century. What drew me to them was a realisation that while much focus has rested on the eleventh century women, most notably Queen Emma and Queen Edith, their position rests very much on growing developments throughout the tenth century. It also helps that there is a surprising concurrence of women in the tenth century, the early years of Queen Elfrida, England’s first acknowledged crowned queen, find the ‘old guard’ from previous reigns, mixing with the ‘new guard’ – a delightful mix – it must be thought – of those experienced women trying to teach the younger, less experienced women, how to make their way at the royal court, perhaps with some unease from all involved.

Lady Elfrida, or Ælfthryth (I find it easier to name her as Elfrida) was the first of these women to catch my eye. Her story, which can be interpreted as a love story if you consult the ‘right’ sources, fascinated me. The wife of a king, mother of another king, and in time, grandmother, posthumously, to two more. But, it was her possible interactions with her husband’s paternal grandmother, the aging but long-lived Lady Eadgifu, and maternal grandmother, Lady Wynflæd, as well as probable unease with her second husband’s cast-off second wife, that really sparked my imagination. I could well imagine the conversations they might share, and the dismay they might feel around one another. Lady Elfrida replaced a wife who was not crowned as queen, and also replaced a grandmother who had never been crowned as queen but had long held a position of influence for over forty years at the Wessex court.

Equally, Elfrida’s husband had been surrounded by women from his earliest days. His mother had died, perhaps birthing him, but he had two grandmothers, a step-mother, a foster-mother and his (slightly) older brother’s wife, who would have been instrumental in his life, not to mention his first two wives. As such, it was the personal interactions of the women that called to me, and the tragedy and triumphs of their lives, and, I confess, an image of Dame Maggie Smith holding sway in Downton Abbey that drew me to the women of this period.

I’ve gone on to write fictionalised accounts of many of these women, and then, frustrated by the lack of a cohesive non-fiction account, I’ve also written a non-fiction guide detailing the scant information available for these women.

https://amzn.to/421prHt

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

You can read more about the royal women on the blog.

The Tenth Century Royal Women

Meet Lady Eadgifu

Lady Æthelflæd

Lady Ælfwynn

The daughters of Edward the Elder

The religious daughters of Edward the Elder

Did England’s first crowned queen murder her stepson?

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Happy 2nd Book Birthday to Son of Mercia. #bookbirthday #TheEagleOfMerciaChronicles

Happy book birthday to the wonderful Son of Mercia, the first book telling the story of young Icel in early ninth-century Mercia (fans of The Last King will have met Icel before, but it’s not necessary to have read the later series to enjoy Son of Mercia).

The series is now a massive six books long, and I’m busy working on book 7, which doesn’t have a title just yet (or does it?)

I thought today would be a great day to shine a light on all six books featuring young Icel. He’s endured a lot. He’s grown into a young man, but it’s good to remember how we first met Icel – scared, hungry and desperate to evade Lady Cynehild. How times have changed for him.

I love writing the stories of young Icel. He’s a fabulous character, and indeed, the more I write him, the better he becomes. And those with ‘eagle’ eyes (did you see what I did there), will have started to notice more and more Icel appearing in the later, The Last King books.

Tamworth, Mercia AD825.

The once-mighty kingdom of Mercia is in perilous danger.

Their King, Beornwulf lies dead and years of bitter in-fighting between the nobles, and cross border wars have left Mercia exposed to her enemies.

King Ecgberht of Wessex senses now is the time for his warriors to strike and exact his long-awaited bloody revenge on Mercia.

King Wiglaf, has claimed his right to rule Mercia, but can he unite a disparate Kingdom against the might of Wessex who are braying for blood and land?

Can King Wiglaf keep the dragons at bay or is Mercia doomed to disappear beneath the wings of the Wessex wyvern?

Can anyone save Mercia from destruction?

books2read.com/u/3R6x7x

Icel is becoming a warrior of Mercia, but King Ecgberht of Wessex still holds the Mercian settlement of Londonia and its valuable mint.

King Wiglaf of Mercia is determined that the last bulwark be reclaimed from his sworn enemy to complete his rehabilitation as Mercia’s rightful ruler.

In the heart of the shield wall, Icel suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the battle and thrust into the retreating enemy stronghold where he must take on the pretence of a Wessex warrior to survive and exact a cunning plan to bring down the Wessex force cowering behind the ancient walls.

His allegiances are tested and the temptation to make new allies is overwhelming but Icel must succeed if he’s ever to see Tamworth again and bring about King Wiglaf’s victory, or will he be forced to join the enemy?

books2read.com/Wolf-of-Mercia

Icel is a lone wolf no more…

Oath sworn to Wiglaf, King of Mercia and acknowledged as a member of Ealdorman Ælfstan’s warrior band, Icel
continues to forge his own destiny on the path to becoming the Warrior of Mercia.

With King Ecgberht of Wessex defeated and Londonium back under Mercian control, the Wessex invasion of Mercia is over. 

But the Wessex king was never Mercia’s only enemy. An unknown danger lurks in the form of merciless Viking raiders, who set their sights on infiltrating the waterways of the traitorous breakaway kingdom of the East Angles, within touching distance of Mercia’s eastern borders.

Icel must journey to the kingdom of the East Angles and unite against a common enemy to ensure Mercia’s hard-won freedom prevails.

books2read.com/WarriorofMercia

A mercy mission in the heart of Wessex is beset with deadly, bloody dangers.

Tamworth AD831

Icel’s profile continues to rise. Lord of Budworth and warrior of Mercia, he’s acknowledged by King Wiglaf and his comrades to keep Mercia safe from the ravages of Wessex, the king-slayer of the East Angles, and the Viking raiders.
But, danger looms.  Alongside Spring’s arrival comes the almost certain threat of the Viking raiders return. 

When Lord Coenwulf of Kingsholm is apprehended by a Viking and held captive on the Isle of Sheppey in Wessex held Kent, Icel is implored by Lady Cynehild to rescue her husband.

To rescue Lord Coenwulf, Icel and his fellow warriors must risk themselves twice over, for not only must they overpower the Viking raiders, they must also counter the threat of Mercia’s ancient enemy, the kingdom of Wessex as they travel through their lands.

Far from home and threatened on all sides, have Icel and his fellow warriors sworn to carry out an impossible duty

books2read.com/EagleofMercia

A deathbed oath leaves the lives of two infants hanging in the balance…
Tamworth AD833

After successfully rescuing her husband Lord Coenwulf from the Isle of Sheppey, Icel hears the deathbed confession of Lady Cynehild which leaves him questioning what he knows about his past, as well as his future.

In the unenviable position of being oath sworn to protect their two atheling sons when Lord Coenwulf is banished for his treason against the Mercian ruler, King Wiglaf, Icel is once more torn between his oaths and the life changing secret he now knows.

When the two children are kidnapped, Icel, good to his word, and fearing for their safety, pursues their abductors into the dangerous Northern lands.

He fears whose powerful and deadly royal gamesmanship is behind the audacious attempt on their young and innocent lives.

Alone in the Northern lands, Icel finds himself facing his worse fears.

Can he rescue the children from their captor, or will he fail and lose his own life in the process?

books2read.com/protectorofmercia

A King’s command. A warrior’s quest for the truth…
Tamworth AD835

Following Icel’s epic rescue of Lord Coenwulf’s children from their almost certain death, King Wiglaf is forced to call upon Icel’s loyal services once more.

Furious that the conspirators behind the audacious move to snatch the children have yet to face justice, he despatches Icel to hunt down the enemy of Mercia and discover who seeks to conspire against the throne.

The dangerous mission will take Icel into the heartland of enemy-held Wessex to Winchester and onto Canterbury. As the web of lies and deceit grows, Icel must battle to discover the truth whilst keeping himself and his allies safe.

But those who conspire against the King have much to lose and will stop at nothing to prevent Icel discovering the truth.
Once more, Icel’s life is endangered as he tries to protect Mercia from her enemies who threaten Mercia’s kingly line.

books2read.com/u/br650z

Set in the troubled years at the end of the Mercian supremacy, with the advent of the true First Viking Age just around the corner, The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles allow me to explore the kingdoms of Saxon England at the time, while ensuring my focus remains on Mercia, the kingdom in the’Midlands’ of England, with which I’m quite obsessed.

And choosing to write about a very strong character from my The Last King series, also allows me to play with my readers expectations. Icel is a fabulous creation, and one I’m incredibly proud of and pleased that my readers love so much.

Yes, these are bloody and brutal tales, but at the heart of them is a ‘coming of age’ story as young Icel learns about himself, as well as the truth of his heritage and birth.

If you’ve not yet tried The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, then now is the perfect opportunity. Enjoy.

The Ælfflæd ‘stole’ from St Cuthbert’s tomb – The Royal Women Who Made England

When I was writing The Royal Women Who Made England, I discovered that there is potentially one surviving item that could be associated with these royal women. While the identification is not certain, it seems highly likely that some religious items, discovered in the tomb of St Cuthbert in Durham, when it was opened in 1827, could have either been stitched by Ælfflæd herself, or commissioned at her request. The item has the following words stitched on it Ælfflæd Fiere Precepit (Ælfflæd had [this] made) – translation from E Coatsworth The Embroideries from the Tomb of St Cuthbert.

Ælfflæd was the second wife of Edward the Elder (899-924). It’s believed they probably married AFTER he became king of Wessex on the death of his father in 899. She was the mother to at least six daughters, and two sons, one of whom became king after his father’s death, for a brief 16 days. Her stepson, Athelstan, then became king of Wessex. Two of her daughters married into the ruling families of East and West Frankia. Another two daughters married into influential families in Europe. Two others spent their adult lives in a nunnery, one as a lay sister, and one as a nun.

The embroideries consist of a stole, a maniple and a possible girdle, and are believed to have been made for Bishop Frithestan – indeed, the other end of the embroidery reads Pio Episcopo Fri∂estano (for the pious bishop Frithestan). So, together it reads Ælfflæd had this made for the pious bishop Frithestan. Frithestan was the bishop of Winchester in the early tenth century. It’s likely he never received them, for why else would they have found their way to Durham and the tomb of St Cuthberht?

There are two possible reasons for this. Firstly, Ælfflæd may have either died, or no longer been married to the king when they were completed. Edward the Elder remarried Eadgifu, his third wife sometime between 917-919. We don’t know if this was because his second wife had died, or merely because he wished to take a new wife. Secondly, Bishop Frithestan fell out with the House of Wessex at about this time. Indeed, he played no part in King Athelstan’s coronation. The expensive commissions, with gold thread, therefore never came into the hands of Bishop Frithestan. Where they might have been for the intervening period, would be interesting to know.

When King Athelstan (924-939) made his famous trip to Chester Le Street in c.934, it’s written that he gifted the community of St Cuthbert with a stole, a maniple and a girdle. It’s believed that it’s these items, made by, or commissioned by his stepmother, that he gave. (The religious house from Chester Le Street moved to Durham in 1104). St Cuthbert was a north-east saint, who lived on Lindisfarne/Holy Island in the 600s, and while it’s believed the religious house fled from Lindisfarne in the wake of the Viking raider invasions and were essentially ‘on the move’ for over a hundred years, this interpretation is now being questioned by Dr David Petts and the excavations taking place on Lindisfarne. Whatever happened to the community in that period, they were extremely influential in the north of England, and did eventually settle at Chester Le Street.

The survival of these items is astounding. There are only, according to E Coatsworth, three such ‘large’ items from the Saxon era, the Bayeaux tapestry, the Durham embroideries and those of St Catherine in Maaseik, Belgium. If these items were truly made by Ælfflæd, then they are unique. I can think of no other item that survives from the era and which the royal women may themselves have touched. When I saw this image, I was astonished by the vibrancy of the gold thread. I imagine I’m not alone in that.

Reproduced by kind permission of the chapter of Durham Cathedral.

You can read The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England now if you’re in the UK, or from March if you’re in the US. It can also be purchased in epub version direct from Pen and Sword.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-The-Tenth-Century-in-Saxon-England-Hardback/p/24395

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

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My first gold-lettered spine:) The Royal Women Who Made England

Here she is, and what a thing of beauty.

https://amzn.to/49iWurx

And the epub version is now saying it’s available direct from Pen and Sword using this link if you don’t want to wait for a hardback to be delivered.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-ePub/p/50369

Reviews are starting to come in, and I’d like to thank all the reviewers for taking the time to have a look at The Royal Women Who Made England. You can check out the reviews over on the Pen and Sword website.

In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the combined competition between my two publishers for signed copies of The Royal Women and King of Kings (UK only. Closing date 6th Feb 2024). You can find the details here.

And, I have another little video to share with you below about one of the later Anglo-Norman sources I made use of while researching the book.

Competition time, and an update on the ebook version of The Royal Women Who Made England

My fabulous publishers are working together and offering a hardback edition of King of Kings and The Royal Women Who Made England (UK only). To enter you will need to access one of the original posts from Boldwood on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. I will add links here. (Closing date 6th Feb 2024. T &Cs apply).

I can’t work out how to do the Facebook one:(

https://www.facebook.com/theboldbookclub You might have to hunt for it. Let me know if it’s a pain, or if you know how to do it!

I can also let you know that the ebook/kindle version is now available to preorder, and the US hardback release date is 30th March 2024.

https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

Or purchase directly from the publisher, Pen and Sword

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-Hardback/p/24395

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

And, because I never tire of making a slight fool of myself, here’s me talking about some more of the research I undertook for the book and trying to explain the family tree of Otto I, King of the East Franks. Who knows how successful I’ve been.

Happy (UK) Release Day to The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book #newrelease #non-fiction

It feels like I’ve been talking about this book forever, but the day is finally upon us. The Royal Women Who Made England is available in hardback in the UK from today. It will be released in the US in March.

If you’ve been hiding from me for the last few months, you might be wondering what this is all about. So here goes.

Throughout the tenth century, England, as it would be recognised today, formed. No longer many Saxon kingdoms, but rather, just England. Yet, this development masks much in the century in which the Viking raiders were seemingly driven from England’s shores by Alfred, his children and grandchildren, only to return during the reign of his great, great-grandson, the much-maligned Æthelred II.

Not one but two kings would be murdered, others would die at a young age, and a child would be named king on four occasions. Two kings would never marry, and a third would be forcefully divorced from his wife. Yet, the development towards ‘England’ did not stop. At no point did it truly fracture back into its constituent parts. Who then ensured this stability? To whom did the witan turn when kings died, and children were raised to the kingship?

The royal woman of the House of Wessex came into prominence during the century, perhaps the most well-known being Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred. Perhaps the most maligned being Ælfthryth (Elfrida), accused of murdering her stepson to clear the path to the kingdom for her son, Æthelred II, but there were many more women, rich and powerful in their own right, where their names and landholdings can be traced in the scant historical record.

Using contemporary source material, The Royal Women Who Made England can be plucked from the obscurity that has seen their names and deeds lost, even within a generation of their own lives.

https://amzn.to/3OlRydn

https://ww…ck/p/24395

So, who were these royal women? While some of us will know Æthelflæd, the Lady of Mercia, either because I think she is one of THE most famous Saxon women, or because of The Last Kingdom TV series and books, but she is merely one of many.

I’ve fictionalised Elfrida and her contemporaries, Eadgifu, the third wife of Edward the Elder and also some of his daughters, as well as Ælfwynn, the daughter of Æthelflæd. My first non-fiction title is me sharing my research that these stories are based upon.

I’ve also ‘found’ many other women of the period who have left some sort of physical reminder, mostly in charters or because their wills have survived.

In total, I discuss over twenty women directly involved with the royal family, either by birth or marriage, and also a further forty, who appear in the sources. I also take a good look at what these sources are and how they perhaps aren’t always as reliable as we might hope. I make an attempt to ‘place’ these women in the known historical events of the period. And draw some conclusions, which surprised even me.

You can find some of my blog posts about these women below.

Æthelflæd

Lady Eadgifu

Ælfwynn

The daughters of Edward the Elder.

The other daughters of Edward the Elder

A collection of research books I used while writing The Royal Women Who Made England

Listen to me talk about the Chronicon of Æthelweard (about 6 minutes).

The Royal Women Who Made England: The Tenth Century in Saxon England. But who were these royal women?

In the online resource, The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE), a database of every known name from the Saxon period, 33,981 male names are listed. There are only 1,460 female names for the 600-year period of Saxon England. Only 4 per cent of entries are women (there are also many anonymous ones which may mask more women). Twenty-one (possibly twenty-two) of these belong to the royal women of the tenth century. So, who were they?

Lady Ealhswith, the wife of King Alfred.

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, presumed to be the oldest of Ealhswith daughters, and her daughter, Ælfwynn.

Æthelgifu, Alfred and Ealhswith’s second daughter, the abbess of Shaftesbury.

Ælfthryth, the Countess of Flanders, their third daughter.

Ecgwynn (if that was her name), mother to King Athelstan, and his unnamed sister, given the name of Ecgwynn/Edith in later sources

Lady Ælfflæd the second wife of Edward the Elder. They had many children. Six of them were daughters, Æthelhild, Eadgifu, Eadflæd, Eadhild, Eadgyth and Ælfgifu.

Edward’s third wife, Lady Eadgifu, certainly had one daughter, Eadburh. (There is the possibility that she had two.)

Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, whose mother Wynflæd is named, was the first wife of Edmund. Æthelflæd of Damerham was Edmund’s second wife.

Edmund’s oldest son, Eadwig, married another Lady Ælfgifu.

Edmund’s youngest son, Edgar, would marry, or have children with no fewer than three women, Æthelflæd, Wulfthryth and Elfrida/Ælfthryth. From these three unions, one daughter was born, Edith/Eadgyth.

Another Ælfgifu was the first wife of Æthelred II. His second wife was Lady Emma of Normandy. At least four daughters were born to Ælfgifu, a daughter (also called Ælfgifu), Eadgyth, Wulfhild and Ælfthryth, while Lady Emma was the mother to Gode.

You can read all about these women in my non-fiction book, and there are also some links to blog posts I’ve written, which may be of interest.

Purchase links (Hardback)

https://amzn.to/3vVNjiw

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-Hardback/p/24395

Below you can hear me try and explain the importance of the marriages of some of these women into the West Frankish dynasty. I also forget the title of my non-fiction title, and generally make a bit of a mess of it. Enjoy:)

The Family of Charles III, the king of the West Franks (in my own words)

What to read after The Brunanburh Series #hisffic #TheTenthCentury

I do appreciate that it’s not exactly a bad problem to have, but I am sometimes concerned that readers are not altogether sure where to go after finishing one of my series and hopefully, enjoying it. Never fear, for I have put together a handy little guide, hopefully picking out the elements that readers might have enjoyed in one particular series, and applying them to other ones.

So, for readers interested in what happened before King of Kings, The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter and its sequel, A Conspiracy of Kings, offer a retelling of the Lady Ælfwynn’s life. The books also feature a younger Athelstan, and there may be a few other figures from the Brunanburh series in there as well.

For those interested in England before it was England, or rather the idea of Five kingdoms, then the Gods and Kings trilogy, starting with Pagan Warrior, is really where you want to be. Step back to the seventh century, a time before Viking raiders, but with just as many ambition and brutal warrior kings.

And if it is the conflict and band of warriors that interests you, then the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles might well be where you could go next. Follow young Icel as he realises he must become a warrior, not a healer if he is to protect Mercia from her enemies beginning with Son of Mercia, set nearly a hundred years before the events of Brunanburh.

If you want books with a very healthy dose of violence, (and swearing), then The Mercian Ninth Century is the series for you, beginning with The Last King. Also set before the events of Brunanburh, (in the 870s) this series is all about warriors, violence, and overcoming (hopefully) all the odds.

(The series is also available without the stronger language. Follow this link as otherwise, it’s quite hard to find).

I hope you find something you like, and don’t forget, to sign up for my mailing list to keep up to date with all things Saxon England and to receive a free ebook download via Bookfunnel.

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