The Restless Kings is an old book that I re-read for the course I’m teaching about the Plantagenet kings of England.
I’d forgotten what a brilliant book this is: it has all the facts but reads like a thriller novel set in the twelfth century. I so enjoyed re-acquainting myself with such exciting personalities like the feisty Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart: a real man of action.
'A vivid and humane study of the Plantagenets' diabolical and devious first family - a real joy to read.' Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets
In The Restless Kings Nick Barratt presents the tumultuous struggle for supremacy between the first Plantagenet king, Henry II, and his four sons. This conflict tore apart the most powerful family in Western Europe and shaped the future of both Britain and France, with a significance which still resonates today.
Exploring the personalities and crises facing this extraordinary family, The Restless Kings brings to life some of the…
Julia Chapman’s Date with Death is one of a great series of not-so-cosy crime novels set in the Yorkshire Dales’ fictional village of Bruncliffe with numerous nefarious deeds occurring in the midst of stunning scenery.
With lead characters named Samson and Delilah, I knew this was going to be an intriguing read and I wasn’t disappointed. There was rip-roaring action, melodrama, and plot twists to enthrall the reader – what’s not to like?
Meet two sleuths from a sleepy Yorkshire village as they investigate murders and discover the secrets behind the twitching curtains. Date with Death is the first cosy crime novel in Julia Chapman's Dales Detective series, perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and M. C. Beaton.
Samson O'Brien has been dismissed from the police force, and returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales to set up the Dales Detective Agency. However, the villagers aren't that welcoming to a man they see as trouble.
Delilah Metcalfe is struggling to keep her business, the Dales Dating…
Cat Jarman’s River Kings – a tale of forensic archaeology that reveals how the Vikings explored Europe and beyond.
It’s an epic tale of adventure, trading, and mayhem: an incredible read. Cat knows her stuff with impeccable research presented in reader-friendly style. I want to feel involved when I read a history book and in River Kings I was there, going ‘a-viking’ with the Scandinavian heroes who lived the legend.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF 2021
'Astonishing and compelling' Bernard Cornwell
'Replete with witches, human sacrifice, Greek fire and funeral orgies... one of the most thrilling works of archaeological detective work I have ever read' William Dalrymple, FT
Follow bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman - and the cutting-edge forensic techniques central to her research - as she uncovers epic stories of the Viking age and follows a small 'Carnelian' bead found in a Viking grave in Derbyshire to its origins thousands of miles to the east in Gujarat.
'This superb book is like a classical symphony, perfectly…
It’s May 1480 in the City of London. Evil is once more abroad in the crowded, grimy streets of medieval London and even in the grandest of royal mansions, where a member of the Duke of Gloucester’s household meets an untimely end.
After workmen discover a nun’s body in a newly-opened tomb, talented artist and bookseller Seb Foxley is persuaded to assist in solving the mystery of her death. Will Seb and his loved ones come to grief when a man returns from the dead and Seb has to appear before the Lord Mayor?
Join our hero as he feasts with royalty, struggles to save his business, and attempts to unravel this latest medieval murder mystery.
