AD658. The sons of Penda of Mercia have come of age. Ethelred, the youngest, recalls little of past wars while Wulf is determined to emulate their father, whose quest to avenge his betrayed kinswomen drew him to battle three successive Northumbrian kings. Ecgfrith of Northumbria is more hostile towards the Mercians than his father was. […]
A Time for Swords by Matthew Harffy
There had been portents – famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came to Lindisfarne, no-one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom’s most sacred site. It is 8th June, AD […]
Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England by Annie Whitehead
Many Anglo-Saxon kings are familiar. Æthelred the Unready is one; yet less is written of his wife, who was consort of two kings and championed one of her sons over the others, or of his mother, who was an anointed queen and powerful regent, but was also accused of witchcraft and regicide. A royal abbess […]
For Lord and Land by Matthew Harffy
War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation […]
War Lord by Bernard Cornwell
After a lifetime of fighting, the great warrior Lord Uhtred is ready to hang up his sword. But as long as the kingdom remains divided, peace is fragile – and Uhtred will never be safe in his Northumbrian fortress. As kings in the north and south grow more bloodthirsty for power, history marches inexorably towards […]
Bloodlines by Chris Bishop
Wessex, AD893. As the threat of yet another Viking invasion looms over his troubled realm, Alfred, King of Wessex, reviews and strengthens his defences. Among his many concerns is the fate of Edward, his stable boy, who he believes to be the bastard son of revered warrior Matthew, who died serving the Saxon cause. If […]
Battling with history: how to write fight scenes and battles in historical fiction
How do you write a battle scene which engages your readers and drives the story on? It’s a question many authors of historical fiction fight with. Matthew Harffy, well known for his action-filled Bernicia Chronicles series, gives Historia his advice. All good stories need conflict, and what better way to convey conflict than to have […]
Review: Warrior by Edoardo Albert with Paul Gething
Matthew Harffy, author of the Bernicia Chronicles, is no stranger to the history of Bamburgh (once Bebbanburg) during the Anglo-Saxon period of English history. He reviews Edoardo Albert and Paul Gething’s latest book, Warrior, for Historia. The title of Warrior: A Life of War in Anglo-Saxon Britain by Edoardo Albert with Paul Gething might lead […]