Oswiu: King of Kings

Edoardo Albert

Description

'Edoardo Alberts book is brilliant: hugely enjoyable, a galloping plot with characters I care about exactly the sort of thing I love to read. . . . This was a joy to read from start to finish.' Conn Iggulden, author of the Conqueror and Emperor series.Oswalds head is on a spike. Can Oswiu avoid the same fate?The great pagan king Penda set a trap, and when the brothers Oswiu and Oswald walked in, only one came back alive.Rumours abound that the place where Oswalds body is strung up has become sacred ground a site of healing for those who seek it. Oswalds mother believes he will protect those he loves, even beyond the grave. So she asks the impossible of Oswiu: to journey to the heart of Pendas kingdom and rescue the body that was stolen from them.Oswiu: King of Kings is the masterful conclusion to The Northumbrian Thrones trilogy.

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 19 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781782641193
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for The Northumbrian Thrones:
“Brilliant: hugely enjoyable, a galloping plot with characters you care about – exactly the sort of thing I love to read. A joy from start to finish.”
Conn Iggulden, author of The War of the Roses series
“A crowning achievement: meticulously researched, a long-overdue insight into our Anglo-Saxon past.”
Justin Hill, author of Shieldwall
“Edoardo Albert conjures up an extraordinarily vivid and authentic picture of life in seventh-century Britain that is hugely enjoyable. This is fabulous storytelling, with the themes of greed, ambition, nobility, and the power of religion woven together with consummate skill. It is the real Game of Thrones – a fabulous story, beautifully told, that turns out to be based on fact!”
Andrew Norriss, author of Aquila and creator of The Brittas Empire
“In Oswiu , the concluding installment in his Northumbrian Thrones trilogy, Edoardo Albert takes readers back to seventh-century England: a shadowy and turbulent era when Britons and Anglo-Saxons, heathens and Christians, contested for political and spiritual supremacy. Albert writes with great passion; his love for this period of history shines through at every stage. His research is worn lightly, and yet his depiction of early medieval life has a strong ring of truth. Dynastic rivalries, shifting allegiances, and pagan mysticism combine in this atmospheric novel, evoking a volatile world in which life is uncertain, authority and respect are hard-won, honour is all-important, and divine forces hold sway.”
James Aitcheson, author of The Sworn Sword
“Edoardo Albert tells an epic tale of kings and queens, omens and shieldwalls, where the future of a people was decided as much through the guile of its priests as the strength of its warlords. Albert deftly weaves the threads of a memorable cast of characters into the weft and warp of a vibrant tapestry of war, mystery, and intrigue. Yet the true strength of Oswiu is in the depiction of the effects of conflict on the men and women of the Dark Ages, as Albert reminds us there is much more to conquest than the ringing clash of swords.”
Matthew Harffy, author of The Serpent Sword
“The bare bones of Oswiu’s story was told by Bede in book III of his Ecclesiastical History ; Albert puts flesh on the bones, bringing these characters to life in an historical novel which fairly fizzes with humanity, all amid the struggle between Christian and pagan, Northumbria and Mercia, for the soul of Britain.”
Nick Higham, Emeritus professor, History, University of Manchester
“‘Full of incident and adventure, this third book in Edoardo Albert’s masterly Northumbrian Thrones trilogy highlights the edgy family dynamics of rival dynasties in the turbulent seventh-century world of gold and glory. Albert’s writing sweeps us along through nervous raiding parties, sweaty rides over parched hills peopled by wraiths, the muscle-straining tension of the warriors’ shieldwall, and the comfort of the smoky mead hall with fire sprites dancing in the logs. A satisfying climax to the trilogy.”
Jill Dalladay, author of The Abbess of Whitby
“Brings to life the heroic age of our distant past, a splendid novel that leaves the reader wanting more.”
Bernard Cornwell

 
 
Text copyright © 2016 Edoardo Albert
This edition copyright © 2016 Lion Hudson
 
The right of Edoardo Albert to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
 
Published by Lion Fiction
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com/fiction
 
ISBN 978 1 78264 118 6
e-ISBN 978 1 78264 119 3
 
First edition 2016
 
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
 
Cover illustration © Beehive Illustration, Eric Smith
 
To David and Margaret, for your support and your daughter.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
 
Acknowledgments
Dramatis Personae
Glossary
Map of the Kingdoms of Britain, c. 635
Pronunciation Guide
Of the Events in Edwin: High King of Britain and Oswald: Return of the King
 
Oswiu: King of Kings
Part I: Raid
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
 
Part II: Family
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
 
Part III: Strife
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
 
Part IV: Reckoning
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
 
Historical Note
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments usually begin with the declaration that no book is written alone – and that is certainly true. However, I’m going to begin my acknowledgments with a different recognition: that no book is written for the writer alone, but for his readers. So I’d like to start by thanking you. Thank you for reading this book and (since it’s the third in a trilogy) presumably two more of my books. Writers are just people making squiggles on paper without people to read what they’ve written, so I am immensely grateful to you all. I’d also like to give my particular thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and social media, and all those who have recommended my books to friends and family; for a little-known writer with no literary cachet, these personal testimonials are more valuable than garnets and gold. Given the solitary nature of writing, I’ve also really appreciated the contact with readers who have taken the time to contact me through my website, or via Facebook and Twitter: your encouragement, criticism, and praise has been extremely valuable. In particular, my thanks go to Jared Detter (for your fascinating emails), Christina Fox (an Englishwoman abroad), Alison Skinner (hope there’s not too much you disagree with here!), Holly Hocks and Val the Poet (Twitter encouragers), Tony O’Sullivan (northern correspondent), Anna Lacey (the medieval girl) and, last but certainly not least, Paul Langley (the epitome of the intelligent reader).
Something else that helps to alleviate the loneliness of the long-book writer is the companionship of fellow writers – mostly virtual, these days – scribbling in the same period and others that come afterwards (or, sometimes, before). I’m fortunate in the generosity and encouragement of my fellow authors, in particular Matthew Harffy, Justin Hill, James Aitcheson, Jill Dalladay, Teresa Tomlinson, LA Smith, and Henry Vyner-Brooks (when you’ve finished this book, take a look at their work). I would like to give my particular thanks to Justin Hill for reading all three of my novels (no, he’s not a masochist) and Matthew Harffy for his generosity to an apparent competitor. That so many of them should read my work is wonderful; that they should enjoy it is even better.
Moving from the Early Medieval, I’m honoured to have had Conn Iggulden read Oswiu and even more pleased to learn that, when he mislaid the book, he spent a frantic day searching for it so that he could find out what happened next: I am forever grateful. Andrew Norriss writes for and of children with the discipline of a Waugh and the wit of a Wodehouse; his Aquila may be the most perfectly structured book I’ve ever read. Andrew and his wife Jane are simply the loveliest of people.
It was the people at Lion who first gave me a chance to write stories people would actually read: I hope I have repaid your trust. In particular, my thanks go to Tony Collins (now enjoying a very well-earned retirement) and Alison Hull, who together opened doors to me, and then a huge thank you to Jessica Tinker, as kind, generous, and smiley an editor as any writer could wish to work with. There seems to be a bit of a thing for names beginning with ‘J’ at Lion, so my thanks also to Jessica Scott for all her hard work chasing down rights and permissions (it’s no easy task quoting actual Anglo-Saxon poems in a book about the Anglo-Saxons), and to Rachel Ashley-Pain who had the “painful” (sorry!) task of copyediting all 500 plus pages of this book (I didn’t mean it to be this long, honest). A big thank you as well to all the sales team at Lion, and in particular Rhoda Hardie, for working so hard to overcome the reluctance of bookshops to stock books from publishers that aren’t small parts of global corporations.
Professor Nick Higham of Manchester University (not to be confused with the other Professor Nick Higham, also of Manchester University) has forgotten more about Northumbria than I will ever know. I warmly recommend all his books on the subject – The Anglo-Saxon World , which he co-wrote with Martin Ryan, is probably the best introduction to the subject around – but I would like to make special mention of his latest work, Ecgfrith: King of the Northumbrians , which has almost made me think of writing volume four of The Northumbrian Thrones . That so eminent a scholar as Professor Higham should read my books (and like them, wonder of wonders!) is more than I could have hoped for.
Dr Alex Woolf complements Professor Higham, specializing in matters north of a border that had not yet been firmed up when the events of Oswiu were taking place. His book, From Pictland to Alba , sheds welcome light on the darkest period in Scottish history, when the Picts, and their l