Historia Magazine

The magazine of the Historical Writers Association

  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • New Books
    • TV, Film and Theatre
    • One From The Vaults
  • Latest Releases
  • Columns
    • Doctor Darwin’s Writing Tips
    • Watching History
    • Desert Island Books
  • Awards
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Historia in your inbox

Mercia by Annie Whitehead

17 September 2018 By Editor

Many people know about Wessex, the ‘Last Kingdom’ of the Anglo-Saxons to fall to the Northmen, but another kingdom, Mercia, once enjoyed supremacy over not only Wessex, but all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. At its zenith Mercia controlled what is now Birmingham and London ‒ and the political, commercial paramountcy of the two today finds echoes in the past.

Cover of Mercia by Annie WhiteheadThose interested in the period will surely have heard of Penda, Offa, and Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians ‒ but remarkably there is no single book that tells their story in its entirety, the story of the great kingdom of the midlands.

Historically, the records are in two halves, pre- and post-Viking, in the way they have been preserved. Pre-Viking, virtually all the source material was written by the victims, or perceived victims, of Mercian aggression and expansion. Post-Viking, the surviving documents tend to hail from places which were not sacked or burned by the Northmen, particularly from Wessex, the traditional enemy of Mercia. The inclusion of those records here allows for the exploration of Mercia post-924.

Mercia ceased to be a kingdom when Alfred the Great came to power, but its history did not end there. Examining the roles of the great ealdormen in the anti-monastic reaction of the tenth century, through the treachery of Eadric Streona in the eleventh, and the last, brave young earls who made a stand against William the Conqueror, this book shows the important role the Mercians played in the forging of the English nation.

Read Annie Whitehead’s blog

See Annie’s feature article, In Search of Mercia, for Historia magazine

Share this article:Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: Features

Search

Latest Releases

Widows of the Ice by Anne Fletcher

15 May 2022

Privilege by Guinevere Glasfurd

12 May 2022

The Fallen Sword by AJ Mackenzie

12 May 2022

See more new releases

Let’s stay in touch

Sign up for our monthly email newsletter:

Or follow us on social media:

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

Editor’s Picks

Building better humans? Eugenics and history

1 September 2021

Historia Q&A: Rachel Hore

3 April 2018

Historia Interviews: Tom Williams and Paul Fraser Collard

13 December 2016

Popular Topics

16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 2020 Ancient Rome Andrew Taylor Anglo-Saxons author interview biography book review Catherine Hokin ebook Emma Darwin Giveaway historical crime historical fiction history HWA HWA Crown Awards HWA Debut Crown Award HWA Non-Fiction Crown interview Katherine Clements London Matthew Harffy medieval new release paperback research review Second World War Shortlist short stories the writing life Tudors TV drama TV review Vikings writer's life writing writing advice writing tips WWII

The Historical Writers’ Association

Historia Magazine is published by the Historical Writers’ Association. We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction. For information about membership and profiles of our member authors, please visit our website.

Read more about Historia or find out about advertising and promotional opportunities.

ISSN 2515-2254

Recent Additions

  • Widows of the Ice by Anne Fletcher
  • Privilege by Guinevere Glasfurd
  • The Fallen Sword by AJ Mackenzie

Search Historia

Contact us

If you would like to contact the editor of Historia, please email editor@historiamag.com.

Copyright © 2014–2022 The Historical Writers Association