Book picks similar to
The Bastard's Crown by H.A. Culley


historical-fiction
normans
ancient-war
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Man at Arms: The Battle of Poitiers (Sir John Hawkwood Book 2)


Griff Hosker - 2020
    

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.

Land of Blood and Water


Martin Lake - 2015
    A family at the mercy of men of power and violence. Brand and his family live simple lives in their quiet corner of Somerset. The war that Wessex wages against the heathen Danes takes place far away and is of no concern to them. But when a desperate war-band descends upon them one winter night their lives are changed forever. They are thrown into a dark world of savage warfare, lust, revenge and murder. Brand believes he can decide the path that he and his family must tread. But others have very different ideas. At stake is the survival of the kingdom. And now their lives are bound up with the fugitive King Alfred of Wessex. A gripping story from an accomplished author. Elaine Jeremiah. Author. The emotional content of the book is one of the highlights of the narrative. The characters are well written, the action flows seamlessly and the reader is left with a feeling as if they had been there. Paul Bennett. Fast paced from the start, the story blossoms as you read. A new novel from the author of The Lost King series.

War God from the Sea (erilaR, #3)


Hector Miller - 2021
    Guided by the hand of fate, they become embroiled in a struggle for tribal dominance which soon escalates to a quest fueled by greed, revenge and desire.Meanwhile, in the lands of the Empire, the Romans continue their designing and incite the tribes to take up the sword against their fellow barbarians, drawing the Heruli into a conflict that could spell their demise.But for the tribes to prosper, Rome has to endure. Ragnar and his companions have to outwit and outfight the Heruli’s ancient enemies to keep the Empire from falling into the hands of the conniving Goths.Ragnar faces overwhelming odds, but the gods have ordained it long before. In the fires of destruction, a new power is being forged – one which is destined to conquer all.

The King's Mother


M.J. Porter
     The widowed Lady Elfrida has achieved the impossible. She’s ensured her twelve-year-old son has become king, despite the gruesome murder of his predecessor and half-brother. While many blame the king’s mother, she looks to two rival noblemen as the real perpetrators. Even with the reappearance of an unwelcome enemy on England’s shores, Viking warriors, who attack and threaten the safety and security of England, and specifically, the young king, the two noblemen are far from resigned to Lady Elfrida’s power. As her son takes the final steps to become king in actions as well as name, she’s increasingly isolated by the deaths of allies and the scheming ways of others, including the king. Resentful of her continuing influence, Lady Elfrida faces banishment from Court with both fierce determination and acquiescence. The King's Mother is the first part in a new trilogy. Suggested reading order: The Mercian Brexit (short story and prequel) The First Queen of England The First Queen of England Part 2 The First Queen of England Part 3 The King's Mother

Templar Steel


K.M. Ashman - 2018
    Reports of Saracen patrols devastating towns and villages cause panic throughout the Outremer, and Baldwin, the teenage king beset with leprosy, tries desperately to counter the threat. But nobody knows where the enemy forces are and the Christian forces are stretched thinly.With the king’s army campaigning in the north and the feared Templar knights defending the border far to the south, only one man has even the slightest chance of finding out Saladin’s true intentions, a Templar Sergeant named Thomas Cronin. With time running out and the odds stacked heavily against him, Cronin needs to find the Saracen army and relay the information back to the leper king in time to prevent the fall of Jerusalem, and indeed, the Holy Land itself!

Blood Feud


S.J.A. Turney - 2021
    Christianity has swept unstoppably across Scandinavia, leaving few enclaves of the old ways clinging on to their fading world as King Olof of Sweden works to convert his people.A young warrior, Halfdan, has witnessed the ‘mercy’ of the Christian lords, watched his people attacked, his village burned and the Odin stone toppled as heretical. Watched his father cut down by an ambitious Christian jarl and his zealous priest. Among the ashes of his world he vowed an oath of vengeance before all the gods.That oath will bring together an unlikely band of allies and carry them to the very edge of the world, fighting giants, dragons and wraiths, in pursuit of his father’s killer: Yngvar. The jarl is powerful, and the weaving of Fate difficult, but the blood price must be paid.

1066: The Year of the Conquest


David Howarth - 1977
    But how many of us can place that event in the context of the entire dramatic year in which it took place? From the death of Edward the Confessor in early January to the Christmas coronation of Duke William of Normandy, there is an almost uncanny symmetry, as well as a relentlessly exciting surge, of events leading to and from Hastings.

Descendants of the Wolf


Jerry Autieri - 2017
    He dreamed of the Viking ideal, sailing to distant shores and battling honorable foes. Laden with gold, he would return home in glory. The same life of adventure that his grandfather, Ulfrik Ormsson, experienced awaited him. It proved a false dream. Along with his cousin and best friend, Yngvar discovers a world unlike the sagas of the great heroes. He encounters murder and treachery. Raiding is nothing more than merciless theft. True riches remain elusive and sea kings dominate the waves. Yngvar trusts to his honor and courage to carry him. Yet powerful enemies swarm all around him. Fate guides him into the teeth of a clash between two of history's mightiest jarls. He will require all his cunning and daring to survive. So begins a new saga of Viking adventure and war. Join the shield wall once more and witness the fierce history of the Norsemen.

Longsword


David Pilling - 2017
    The kingdom lies in ruins after years of bitter civil war. Simon de Montfort is dead, slaughtered in battle, and his surviving followers fight on with the fury of despair. Known as the Disinherited, these landless men infest the forests and highways and prey on the common folk. Hugh Longsword, a common soldier, fights for the King against the rebels who threaten to destroy England. He is taken into the service of the Lord Edward, King Henry’s eldest son, and made to work as a spy. Edward sends him into the wild north country, home to the most dangerous rebel captains: men such as Sir John d’Eyvill and his savage cousin Nicholas, known as the Beast for his cruelty. While Hugh spies on these cut-throats, the King gathers all his forces to attack Kenilworth Castle, greatest of the rebel strongholds. Though hopelessly outnumbered, the defenders hurl defiance from the walls and refuse to surrender. One assault after another is repulsed, even as the north country slides into chaos and another band of Disinherited seize the Isle of Ely in the fens of Cambridgeshire. From their watery fastness they ride out to attack the Jews of Lincoln, burning deeds, slaughtering innocents and kidnapping the wealthiest for ransom. One of those taken captive by the rebels is Esther, a widowed Jewess. She is carried away to Ely, where the Jews are treated with inhuman cruelty. Esther is rescued by Hugh, and they are hunted through the marshes by teams of soldiers and wolfhounds. Together they must survive all the dangers of a war-torn land, where law and justice are fallen away and only the strongest can hope to prosper. Longsword is the latest historical adventure novel by David Pilling, author of Reiver, Soldier of Fortune, The Half-Hanged Man, Caesar’s Sword and many more novels and short stories.

Winter King: Murder in Henry's Court


Anne Stevens - 2015
    He is without a male heir, and the future of the English throne hangs in the balance. Powerful men, such as Cromwell, Lord Percy and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk vie for power. Into this world rides Captain Will Draper, a soldier fresh from the wars, and with an important message. Cardinal Wolsey is dead. Intrigue follows intrigue, and Will finds himself in a race to uncover a murderer. The politics and chicanery of court life threaten to ruin his investigation, and leave the way clear for the most heinous crime of all. This is the debut novel of Anne Stevens, and captures Tudor England in all its moods: Palaces, fine houses, Bawds, rich nobles and the poorest, all mingle to create an atmospheric book that entwines historical fact with fast paced fiction. Winter King is a whodunnit not to be missed.

The Sign of The Blood


Laurence O'Bryan - 2018
    Constantine, the son of an emperor, the Roman officer leading this raid, tells his men to halt - something is wrong. Have they been seen in the pre-dawn light? Before long, the battle rages. Eventually he frees a slave named Juliana. She is half Persian and half Roman. As they are pursued to Britannia over land and sea, he learns that she can see the future - his future.It is 306A.D., long before Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and became the first Christian emperor.To ensure he survives, he must now eliminate his enemies. But who must die first? The priestess, Sybellina, who joined them in Rome and practices dark and seductive magic? Or the brutal legion commanders who surround his father? Or, as Juliana suspects, are those who want him dead even closer?An electrifying historical novel about Constantine’s bloody rise to power, the woman who helped him, and the real reason he supported a persecuted Christian minority, a decision which changed the world into the one we know.Reviews of previous books by the author:“A delight,” Yorkshire Evening Post.'… superbly executed…' Irish Examiner.'Well written, beautifully descriptive, and with smart dialogue and a compelling air of menace throughout,' The Lancashire Evening Post.'A brisk plot…which draws the reader into a conspiratorial rapport,' Telegraph.

The Forest, Part 1 of 2


Edward Rutherfurd - 2000
    . . A sprawling tome that combines fact with fiction and covers 900 years in the history of New Forest, a 100,000-acre woodland in southern England . . . Rutherfurd sketches the histories of six fictional families, ranging from aristocrats to peasants, who have lived in the forest for generations. . . . But the real success is in how Rutherfurd paints his picture of the wooded enclave with images of treachery and violence, as well as magic and beauty.”–The New York Post

Caledonia


William Kelso - 2013
    At the battle of Mons Graupius the Roman army led by Governor Agricola destroys the Caledonian confederation that has formed to oppose the Roman invasion.In the aftermath of the battle a Caledonian boy reveals a secret that has the potential to change Roman strategy in the north forever.Marcus, an auxiliary Roman cavalry soldier is ordered to investigate andpromptly disappears into the remote trackless wastes of the north.In Rome his estranged father and retired Legionary, Corbulo sets out to find his only son and bring him home. So starts an adventure that will take Corbulo to the remotest parts of Caledonia and plunge him into the low intensity conflict that is raging between the scattered Caledonian war bands and the Roman forts and garrisons of Agricola's occupying army. Corbulo will need all his wits, courage and experience to fend off hostile and proud Barbarian warriors, a gang of murderous mercenaries and the lure of a dazzling prize."

Legion


Geraint Jones - 2019
     AD6: The greatest army assembled in a generation. Battle, plunder, and glory await. But not for Legionary Corvus. He and half of his legion have been left behind to garrison the province of Pannonia; a wild place where the mountains are as deadly as any foe. Corvus despairs as he watches his closest friend Marcus march to war, not knowing that his own eager thirst for battle is about to be quenched; a huge rebel army has revolted against The Empire, and Corvus and his few comrades are all that stand against them. ‘Blood and guts, but also a clever exploration of the moral ambiguity of war and loyalty to a flag.’ Mail on Sunday. ‘Historical fiction written by a real war veteran who knows all there is to know about blood and bonding in battle.’ Weekend Sport. Legion is the eagerly anticipated prequel to Blood Forest (Ambush) and Siege.