August 25, 1689 The English Army is besieging Carrickfergus in Ireland. Brilliant but unusual gunner Holcroft Blood of the Royal Train of Artillery is ready to unleash his cannons on the rebellious forces of deposed Catholic monarch James II. But this is more than war for Captain Blood, a lust for private vengeance burns within […]
Entertaining Mr Pepys by Deborah Swift
London, 1666. Elizabeth ‘Bird’ Carpenter has a wonderful singing voice, and music is her chief passion. When her father persuades her to marry horse-dealer Christopher Knepp, she suspects she is marrying beneath her station, but nothing prepares her for the reality of life with Knepp. Her father has betrayed her trust, for Knepp cares only for […]
House Histories: The Secrets Behind Your Front Door by Melanie Backe-Hansen
As a nation we are obsessed with property: prices, interior design and restoration, and the creation of a home. Now there is another avenue to explore: the history of your house. In this updated second edition, Britain’s leading house historian uncovers the hidden stories and secrets of ordinary and extraordinary homes across the country. Gain […]
Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy
AD 838. Deep in the forests of Wessex, Dunston’s solitary existence is shattered when he stumbles on a mutilated corpse. Accused of the murder, Dunston must clear his name and keep the dead man’s daughter alive in the face of savage pursuers desperate to prevent a terrible secret from being revealed. Rushing headlong through Wessex, […]
Blood’s Revolution by Angus Donald
It’s 1685 and after the victory of Sedgemoor by King James II’s men and the Bloody Assizes that followed, the British Isles face an uneasy time. Many powerful men have grown tired of Catholic James’s autocratic rule and seek to invite William, the Protestant Prince of Orange, to seize the thrones of the Three Kingdoms. […]
Storm of Steel by Matthew Harffy
AD 643. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical thriller and the sixth instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles. Heading south to lands he once considered his home, Beobrand is plunged into a dark world of piracy and slavery when an old friend enlists his help to recover a kidnapped girl. Embarking onto the wind-tossed seas, Beobrand […]
The power of alliance in the Viking Age
Matthew Harffy is well known for his Bernicia Chronicles, set in Northumbria in the turbulent mid-7th century. For his new book he moves place and era, and his research has led him to ask an intriguing question: were there two kings of Wessex who could claim to be called ‘the Great’? My latest novel, Wolf […]
The Almanack by Martine Bailey
Tabitha Hart earns a scandalous living in London, with whichever gentleman has enough coin for her company. But in the summer of 1752, her mother urgently summons her home to the village of Netherlea and, with reluctance, she returns. However, she is greeted by the news that her mother has died in disturbing circumstances. Finding […]