Showing titles in Medieval

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Caprice and Rondo by Dorothy Dunnett, read by John Banks. January 1474, in the deep cold of an ice-bound Danzig: a man is spending a frivolous winter not facing up to his responsibilities ... It is the merchant Niccolo, diviner, soldier, banker to Kings...

An only child of Anglo-French descent, young James Bretherton has known a life of privilege; well-educated and mild mannered, his path is filled with promise. But when James suddenly finds himself orphaned and penniless, his future looks decidedly bleak. It is only when Fate intervenes in the guise of two English mercenaries, that James is given hope. Embarking on a new life as a soldier, he soon becomes embroiled in the religious war between Catholics and Protestants, The Empire and the German States; the war that was known as The Thirty Years war.

Winter, 1364. Sir Thomas Blackstone, Edward III's Master of War, has travelled to France to secure Brittany for England. In the throes of battle, he rescues a Castilian boy, Lazaro, who just witnessed the murder of the young queen. It is suspected that the king - along with Velasquita Alcon de Lugo, the beautiful witch who serves him - assassinated his queen. But Lazaro knows that is not the case. With the king in hiding and the French army advancing Castile is on its knees. So Blackstone is ordered to Castile, to defend England's ally from the French.

For the Dogs, the war has only just begun. Caught up in the siege of Calais, in the midst of a brutal eleven-month blockade of a small port on the French coast, they are no longer blindly walking into the unknown. But the men still have more questions than answers about what faces them–and why. What are they really fighting for? And why does the king care so much about taking such a small French town? The Dogs aren't paid to ask questions but in their work, they have the means to make people talk.

Beobrand is besieged in the action-packed instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles set in AD 647 Anglo-Saxon Britain. War hangs heavy in the hot summer air as Penda of Mercia and his allies march into the north. Caught unawares, the Bernician forces are besieged within the great fortress of Bebbanburg. It falls to Beobrand to mount the defence of the stronghold, but even while the battle rages, old and powerful enemies have mobilised against him, seeking vengeance for past events.

In Jim the Great, Jimmy Edwards stars as the titular medieval chieftain who has more on his plate than whatever the huntsman's brought in. From using the Venerable Bede to research the King's (perhaps questionable) ancestry and attempting to build himself an empire as cheaply as possible, to settling a debt with a Viking by way of a duel and accidentally losing his Kingdom before becoming a grumpy galley slave rowing to Rome, King Jim's adventures are history as you've never heard it before.

First in a fast-paced historical adventure series from New York Times bestselling author Boyd Morrison and expert medievalist Beth Morrison. England, 1351. The Pestilence has ravaged the land. Villages lie abandoned but for crows and corpses. Highways are patrolled by marauders and murderers. In...

Bloomsbury presents Gate of the Dead by David Gilman, read by Colin Mace. 'A gripping chronicle of pitched battle, treachery and cruelty' ROBERT FABBRI. Tuscany, 1358: Thomas Blackstone has built a formidable reputation in exile, fighting as a mercenary amid the ceaseless internecine warring of...

The Welsh Marches, 1301. Strong-willed heiress Johane de Geneville is married to Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, at just fifteen years old. Soon Johane finds herself swept up in a world of treacherous court politics and dangerous secrets as her husband deposes Edward II and rules England alongside Queen Isabella. Yet when Roger is accused of treason, she is robbed of her freedom and must survive catastrophic events in her fight for justice - with her life, and her children's, hanging in the balance.

Based on the extraordinary true story of the female stonemason who carved a queen's tomb, The Stone Rose traces the life of fierce, self-destructive Isabella of France. Wife to a weak king, Isabella finds herself facing enemies from the wild North, in a war with Scotland, and from within her own family: her uncle Lancaster, whose attempts to rein in royal power cause a rift between them. But Isabella soon comes to realise that this is a love story. And the threat to the kingdom is a threat to her marriage—and to her own life....

In the depths of winter at an ancient German castle, high up in the mountains, a noble is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Back at Rourell, Arnau is taking on the responsibilities of a full Templar Knight. But when he is tasked with returning Brother LUtolf's papers to settle a legal dispute between his family and the Order, Arnau is unexpectedly drawn into the killing at the castle. Here he enters a dark game of knives and double-crosses.

The Earl of Cleveland has managed to put himself in King John's good graces just at the time when other barons decide to rebel. They seek more land and power. The newly appointed Earl is caught in the middle. When the Scots begin to raid once more, Sir Thomas is forced to rally the loyal knights of the north and repel them. Following the actual history which led to the Magna Carta and beyond this fast-moving novel moves from Scotland to Wales and Northampton and Lincoln. It culminates in the battle of Lincoln 1217, when the French army attempted to conquer England.

When Adrianna arrives at the small, run-down cottage, near the sea in rural Norfolk, she can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Here she can forget her life in the city, and the problems she’s left behind there, at least for a while. But – like Adrianna herself – the cottage holds secrets. And when Adrianna finds a mysterious bundle of notes hidden under a floorboard, she can’t shake the idea that they’ve been waiting for her. Especially when – in the rambling, overgrown garden – she then finds a strangely-carved stone, drawing her into a centuries-old mystery…

England's most famous date, 1066: At the monastery of De'Ath's Dingle, during a completely pointless theological debate, there is a mysterious death. Routine business for the average investigative medieval monk. Unfortunately, this isn’t a tale of average monks. Anyone who would put the idiot Brother Simon in charge of a murder investigation is either one chant short of a plainsong or is up to something. When Brother Hermitage, innocent in every way, including bystanding, is lined up for execution, he begins to wonder if something might be going on.

As we've come to expect from much-loved author Candace Robb, her story-telling here is of a top-notch quality - everything comes vividly to life within this magnificent medieval mystery. Perfect for fans of Ellis Peters, S J Parris, Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell. 'Meticulously researched...

Sir John Hawkwood may be getting old but he is still as wily as a fox. Feared and revered in equal measure, one of the greatest military leaders the world has ever known is drawn once again into a territorial dispute, beginning at the Florentine borderlands. Leading a coalition of city-states, he strikes deep into the nest of Milanese vipers and their allies. Using the skills honed over a long and illustrious career, the English mercenary takes the war to the very gates of Milan, cementing his legacy as ‘Giovanni Acuto’—supreme condottiero.

King Henry is dead and Stephen of Blois claims the throne of England and the Dukedom of Normandy. The Earl of Cleveland returns to England to fight for the heirs of Henry. When King David and his Scottish army capture most of northern England it is only Alfraed who holds out against him. Set in the early years of the Anarchy this is a fast moving book filled with battles and intrigue.

Go with God and Fight Like the Devil. A fascinating hero and the pursuit of a sword with mythical power – this is the remarkable new novel by Britain’s master storyteller, which culminates at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. The Hundred Years War rages on and the bloodiest battles are yet to...

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Wars of the Roses: Bloodline, The Thrid instalment in Conn Iggulden's thrilling Wars of the Roses trilogy - Winter 1461 - Richard Duke of York is dead, his ambitions in ruins, his head spiked on the walls of York city. King Henry...