The Tenth Century
I've long been fascinated by the events of the tenth century in Saxon England. Not only do we know more about what's happening thanks in part to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but there are also a host of identifiable historical characters that can be written about, who all had their parts to play in not only the formation of what we would today recognise as England but also in what would become Scotland and Wales. It's an extremely exciting period, and not just because the century begins, and ends, with the pestilent Viking raiders.
I am beyond delighted that King of Kings, which began life as Brunanburh back in 2014, is being republished by Boldwood Books. It has also been extensively rewritten - more than 50% of King of Kings is entirely new, and that means my readers can encounter the creations of Athelstan of the English, and his young brother, Edmund, Constantin of the Scots, and his son Ildulb, Hywel of the West Welsh, Ealdred of Bamburgh and Owain of Strathclyde, in much more vivid detail.
I loved Brunanburh, but wow, I think King of Kings is SO MUCH BETTER!
And when I talk about identifiable historical characters, it's not just the men but also the women throughout the tenth century. Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia, the lady of Mercia, is perhaps the best-known Saxon woman after the later queens Emma and Edith of the eleventh century. She ruled Mercia from the end of the ninth century until 918. But, I wanted to tell the story, not of Æthelflæd, which is fascinating, but that of her daughter, Lady Ælfwynn, a woman who, and she's not alone in this, 'disappears' from our historical record.
While the events of Lady Ælfwynn's story mostly take place before those of King of Kings, the relationship she shared with her cousin, who would become Athelstan, king of the English, is one that I explored thoroughly in The Lady of Mercia's Daughter. I think readers will enjoy encountering Athelstan when he's not quite the sure and steadfast character of King of Kings.
With fabulous new covers and a thorough new edit as well, Lady Ælfwynn's story adds to the richness of my attempts to tell so much of the events of the tenth-century in a fictional way so I can explore all the little naunces that non-fiction would stop.
That said, I have written my first non-fiction title, and it is about the women of the tenth-century, and will be available late 2023/early 2024, from Pen and Sword books, so I am very keen to share what is known as well as what can be fictionalised.
I do hope you will enjoy King of Kings, the first part in the Brunanburh series, as well as the possible story of just what happened to Lady Ælfwynn.
Map design by Shaun at Flintlock Covers