Book picks similar to
Crowned Ermine by Eleanor Fairburn


historical-fiction
eleanor-fairburn
europe-russia
medieval

Perseverance: A Novel of Anne Boleyn


Charlie Fenton - 2014
    What she does not know is that, in a few years, she will become Queen of England. However, she has to go through many obstacles to get there, and, even then, is it worth it?

Uhtred the Bold: Earls of Northumbria Book 1


H.A. Culley - 2019
    Culley does an artful job of piecing together a story line that parallels what is known. Strong writing of the characters and a good dose of action and intrigue make a worthy read. H A Culley has long been a favourite of mine and this book does not disappoint. Really enjoyed this series. The books skip along at a good pace. The characters both real and fictional are brought to life in medieval Britain. ABOUT THE BOOK This novel follows on from H A Culley's successful series about the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Northumbria Many will have heard of Bernard Cornwall’s hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, but what of the real Uhtred? He was an Anglo-Saxon noble of the tenth and eleventh century who became Earl of Northumbria. This novel is based on Uhtred’s life. In the late tenth century Northumbria was surrounded by potential enemies: the Scots to the North, the Danes in the South of the region and Viking raiders from across the North Sea. Uhtred, the elder son of the Earl of Bernicia, fights and wins his first battle against a horde of Norsemen when he is fourteen and continues to face external enemies throughout his life. However, he has to contend with enemies within his own family as well. His father is jealous of his success and disowns him and his younger brother wants him dead so that he can succeed to the earldom. He survives several attempts on his life but then the Scots invade and besiege Durham, where Uhtred has left his wife and child believing it to be a place of safety. He must unite the disparate parts of Northumbria under his leadership if he is to stand any chance of defeating the Scots invaders and so save his family. Meanwhile, across the sea Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and Norway, and his son Cnut make plans to invade Northumbria as a prelude to seizing the English throne.

ARMOR #1, The Battle of North Africa: a Novel of Tank Warfare


Craig DiLouie - 2020
    Instead, they land in French North Africa to fight the German Army for the first time. In the midst of the invasion, an M4 Sherman tank rolls into combat. It is manned by five men: John Austin, the commander; Anthony Russo, the driver; Charles Wade, the gunner; Amos Swanson, the loader; and Eugene Clay, the bow gunner. Cocky and confident in Allied victory, they expect the battle for North Africa to be a cakewalk. Soon, the Germans will teach them the harsh realities of armored warfare. To survive, they’ll have to show grit—and learn to work together.

The Nymph from Heaven


Bonny G. Smith - 2018
    This intriguing story is juxtaposed with the captivating tale of Henry’s younger sister, Mary Tudor. Almost everyone knows that King Henry VIII of England had six wives and two daughters, but many do not realize that he also had two sisters. Both of King Henry’s sisters became queens through dynastic marriages, but their fates were very different. Margaret, King Henry’s elder sister, became Queen of Scotland, while Mary, his younger sister, became Queen of France. The Nymph from Heaven is a historical novel based on the life of Henry’s younger sister, Mary Tudor. Mary, not to be confused with her niece, “Bloody” Mary, graced the stage of European politics for only a few short years, but her story is a fascinating one. Born a beautiful princess into Tudor England in the late Middle Ages, Mary’s hand was sought in marriage from the age of three. But bound to duty by her high position, Mary knew that any match arranged for her would almost certainly take her out of England for marriage with a stranger in a foreign land. But Mary falls in love with a poor English knight, and is determined to marry him. Through many trials and tribulations, and against all odds, Mary marries her one true love. But the price may prove too high.

Jake McClure


R.O. Lane - 2019
    He serves his time and when he gets out, he meets a widow who has a ranch, but she doesn't have the wherewithal to run the ranch, sell her cattle or keep up things. Jake McClure takes on the tasks before the worst winter in the history of Wyoming Territory. This is a story of the Great Die-up on the American plains when hundreds of thousands of cattle died in blizzard after blizzard. It's also a love story of two people to find love amid all the hardships of pioneer life. Another exciting novel from R. O. Lane

WARWICK - The Man Behind The Wars of the Roses


Tony Riches - 2014
    He becomes a warrior knight, bravely protecting the north against invasion by the Scots. A key figure in what have become known as ‘the Wars of the Roses,’ he fought in most of the important battles. As Captain of Calais, he turns privateer, daring to take on the might of the Spanish fleet and becoming Admiral of England. The friend of kings, he is the sworn enemy of Queen Margaret of Anjou. Then, in an amazing change of heart, why does he risk everything to fight for her cause? Writers from William Shakespeare to best-selling modern authors have tried to show what sort of man Richard Neville must have been, with quite different results. Sometimes Warwick is portrayed as the skilled political manipulator behind the throne, shaping events for his own advantage. Others describe him as the ‘last of the barons’, ruling his fiefdom like an uncrowned king. Whatever the truth, his story is one of adventure, power and influence at the heart of one of the most dangerous times in the history of England.

To Be A Queen


Annie Whitehead - 2013
    This is the true story of Aethelflaed, the ‘Lady of the Mercians’, daughter of Alfred the Great. She was the only female leader of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Born into the royal house of Wessex at the height of the Viking wars, she is sent to her aunt in Mercia as a foster-child, only to return home when the Vikings overrun Mercia. In Wessex, she witnesses another Viking attack and this compounds her fear of the enemy. She falls in love with a Mercian lord but is heartbroken to be given as bride to the ruler of Mercia to seal the alliance between the two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. She must learn to subjugate her feelings for her first love, overcome her indifference to her husband and win the hearts of the Mercians who despise her as a foreigner and twice make an attempt on her life. When her husband falls ill and is incapacitated, she has to learn to rule and lead an army in his stead. Eventually she must fight to save her adopted Mercia from the Vikings and, ultimately, her own brother.

The Last Lancastrian: A Story of Margaret Beaufort


Samantha Wilcoxson - 2017
    What ambitions motivated her long before anyone dreamed of a Tudor dynasty?The Last Lancastrian is a prequel novella to the Plantagenet Embers Trilogy.

Death's Head: A Soldier With Richard the Lionheart


Robert Broomall - 2016
    When he is unjustly accused of murder, Roger flees for his life and joins the crusade of Richard the Lionheart. In the Holy Land, Roger is introduced to the grim realities of war. He thrives, though, and rises through the ranks to become commander of a company known as the Death’s heads. He loses one love and finds another, and he suffers a crisis of faith as he watches the huge crusading army being destroyed by disease and famine while the dream of freeing Jerusalem seems as far away as ever. And his other dream, the one about finding his father, seems as far away as ever, too -- or is it? "Death’s Head" illuminates a little-known but significant moment in history, one whose outcome resonates through the years to the present day. It is a story of war and love and the faith that enables ordinary men to perform extraordinary deeds.

The Ravens' Augury


L.J. Shea - 2017
    Six ravens are feasting on the corpses. It is springtime in 1413 and Henry V is now on the throne of feudal England. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 had begun the great shift towards democracy and the country is recovering from the ravages of the Black Death. Wat Baudin is a man on the up in this brave new world and is returning from his duties as an alderman at the assizes in Maidstone. He can sit in judgement on the lower classes but the noble families of the land remain a law unto themselves. When Wat and his colleagues happen upon the unfortunate murder victims, he is only too aware of the superstition that still surrounds the macabre presence of that posse of birds. They are a sign of more death to follow. Wat is glad to get back home where his wife Rosalind in expecting their second child. But his joy is short-lived as he is suddenly summoned by the Earl of Rochester, Lord John Ridley. It appears that the earl’s nephew, young Sir Hugh Montmorency, has mysteriously disappeared and Wat is tasked to get to the bottom of the matter. It is not long before Wat finds himself heading a murder investigation. Not one murder, but two… then three. The ravens’ augury seems to be true as a knight and a member of castle staff are added to the body count. Even Wat himself comes under attack as he works his way through the suspects within the walls of Rochester Castle. What part can the earl’s doe-eyed daughter, Lady Susanna, possibly have in these evil crimes? And where might the unflappable earl’s wife, the Lady Joan Ridley, fit into the equation? Can Wat trust the earl’s steward Ralph or his chaplain Father Anthony? The Ravens’ Augury is a classic tale of intrigue and plotting at a time in England’s history when the stakes were sky-high and skulduggery the default position in their ruthless pursuit. LJ Shea resides in her native rural Australia with her two sons, where she teaches English and history. She spends her spare time studying history, reading historical fiction, and spoiling her dogs, cats and horses, whom she counts amongst her dearest friends.

UNHOLY INNOCENCE


Stephen Wheeler - 2010
    Richard the Lionheart is dead and his brother John has just been crowned King of England. John travels to St Edmund’s abbey in Suffolk to give thanks for his accession. His visit coincides with the murder of a twelve-year-old boy whose mutilated body bears the marks of ritual sacrifice and martyrdom. This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. Eighteen years earlier another child was murdered in the town in similar circumstances. Abbot Samson needs to find out if this is indeed another martyrdom or just an ordinary murder and appoints the abbey’s physician, Master Walter, to investigate. Walter discovers a web of intrigue and corruption involving some of the highest in the land but unbeknown to him his own past holds a secret which will put his life in danger before the final terrible solution is revealed.

Hrolf the Viking


Griff Hosker - 2016
    When they find a home off the Frankish coast they begin to accumulate a vast fortune which earns them the enmity of other Vikings. The novel culminates in a bloody battle where Viking fights Viking but Hrolf begins to fulfill his destiny as Hrolf the Horseman!

Of the Ring of Earls


Juliet Dymoke - 2016
     For Waltheof of Huntington and his fellow survivors of the Battle of Hastings, there is a simple choice: submit to this new foreign king, or die at the gallows. Follow the heart; or follow the head. As the country bows under the Norman yoke and Waltheof struggles to come to terms with his decision, a new Saxon hope emerges. A last challenge to the Norman might, a final chance for glory, a decisive test of old allegiances and new loyalties. Of the Ring of Earls, the first in Juliet Dymoke’s epic Conqueror Trilogy, charts the fate of Waltheof of Huntington: a knight whose true story embodies the turmoil that followed the last successful invasion of Britain.

The Heretic Wind: The Life of Mary Tudor, Queen of England


Judith Arnopp - 2020
     Mary stands firm against her father’s determination to destroy both her mother’s reputation, and the Catholic church. It is a battle that will last throughout both her father’s and her brother’s reign, until, she is almost broken by persecution. When King Edward falls ill and dies Mary expects to be crowned queen. But she has reckoned without John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, who before Mary can act, usurps her crown and places it on the head of her Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey. Furious and determined not to be beaten, Mary musters a vast army at Framlingham Castle; a force so strong that Jane Grey’s supporters crumble in the face of it, and Mary is at last crowned Queen of England. But her troubles are only just beginning. Rebellion and heresy take their toll both on Mary’s health, and on the English people. Suspecting she is fatally ill, and desperate to save her people from heresy, Mary steps up her campaign to compel her subjects to turn back to the Catholic faith. All who resist will face punishment for heresy in the flames of the Smithfield fires.

The Knights of Dark Renown


Graham Shelby - 1969
    His face tells a tale of epic battles hard-won, stitched together by the jagged scars of combat.England is divided and Christendom struggles to retain its grip on the Holy Land... The code of chivalry chimes in hideous dissonance with massacre and cruelty as Reynauld is determined to raise the stakes of war to their limits. Based on real historical figures and events, Churchmen, barons, knights, courtiers, their wives and mistresses, are seen in sharp outline against a hard, dry, dangerous landscape commanded by huge castles and roamed by mounted soldiers. The Knights of Dark Renown is first in an epic historical series, The Crusader Knights Cycle, perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, Anthony Riches and Bernard Cornwell. ‘An impressively confident first novel, most readable and refreshingly free from any pseudo-medieval mysticism’ Sunday Telegraph‘The chivalry and the cruelty are finely balanced’ Daily Mirror‘Highly enjoyable. Here we have a wide canvas of characters, almost all based on historical figures... The story is exciting as well as psychologically convincing and thought-provoking’ Financial Times