Crusades Historical Fiction

Swedish author Jan Guillou follows up the highly acclaimed The Road to Jerusalem with the second book in his Knights Templar trilogy. The Knight Templar follows Arn's adventures in the Holy Land, where he discovers that the infidel Saracens aren't as brutish and uncivilized as he had been led to believe, and that in fact there is another, darker side to the teaching of the Cistercians.

Born in 1150 to a noble Swedish family and coming of age at a monastery under the tutelage of a Cistercian monk and a former Knight Templar, young Arn Magnusson is sent to fulfill his destiny beyond the cloister walls. But the world awaiting him is a place at odds with his monastic ways. And when the murder of a king engulfs Western Götaland into a whirlwind of intrigue and ruthless power plays, headstrong and naive Arn is forced to leave the woman he loves behind and take up arms to battle infidels in the Holy Land.

Altaïr embarks on a formidable mission - one that takes him throughout the Holy Land and shows him the true meaning of the Assassin's Creed. To demonstrate his commitment, Altaïr must defeat nine deadly enemies, including Templar leader Robert de Sablé. Here, for the first time, Niccolò Polo, father of Marco, shares Altaïr's remarkable story: his ongoing battle with the Templar conspiracy; a family life that is as tragic as it is shocking; the betrayal of an old friend; and a journey that will ultimately change the course of history.

11th century Italy. The domination of the Normans is causing trouble. At their head is the feared Robert de Hauteville, the 'Guiscard', who has colonised much of Italy and commands the triple Dukedom of the extended Norman family. But Robert has made many enemies, including the ever-powerful papacy in Rome. The newly elected Pope Gregory exercises his vendetta against the Normans by encouraging them to sail to Byzantium and fight the Turks. But first he must deal with the Guiscard.

The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge—a renowned historian who writes with “maximum vividness” (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker)—covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious...

A Knight Templar on the hunt for the lost Ark of the Covenant. The Holy Land in the year 1193. Guillaume de Born, an unscrupulous Templar Knight on a secret mission to meet with the Assassins, acquires in Jerusalem what he believes to be the holiest relic of Christianity: the fabled Ark of the Covenant. On his way back to the port city of Acre, he is ambushed by his Templar brothers. They rob him of the treasure and leave him badly wounded in the mountains of Galilee. Deeply humiliated, he swears revenge. With the help of a young Muslim man, an unconventional Jewish woman and two daring ...

In the grand storytelling style that is his signature, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago. Through the predecessors of four modern men and women, we experience the entire colorful history of the Jews, including the life...

An avenging angel who mercilessly pursues apostates of the church. Rome 1209. No enemy of the Pope is safe from Gabriel. No one escapes the enforcer of a thousand faces, until one day he spares a heretical Cathar leader. This evokes the wrath of the Church, and the hunter is given one last chance, failing which he must forfeit his life. Gabriel's new target is a dangerous, renegade Templar, whose carefully concealed trail leads him from Palestine to the Baltic Sea. But the fate of the mysterious Templar is ominously intertwined with Gabriel's own past. What he doesn't know is that two ...

1096. The Pope has called for a crusade to free Jerusalem, and half the warriors of Europe have responded. Among them is the Norman, Count Bohemund, one-time enemy of Byzantium. In company with his warrior nephew, Tancred of Lecce, Bohemund must once more cross the Adriatic to the lands of the Byzantine Empire. His first task, pushing back the infidel Turks, calls for an uneasy alliance with old enemy Emperor Alexius. But can the Crusaders trust the wily Emperor?

From the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Sharon Kay Penman comes the story of the reign of King Baldwin IV and the Kingdom of Jerusalem's defense against Saladin's famous army. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as Outremer, is the land far beyond the sea. Baptized in...

The saga continues and the stakes have never been higher. Following the death of King Richard, medieval England is torn by war, power struggles, and the rise of men who refuse to remain in the mud they were born into. William and his English archers once mere serfs have become a force feared on land and sea. Fresh from escorting the emperor and his courtiers to safety, and tricking them out of their gold, William’s fleet returns to Constantinople now under siege. But this time, the battle is not for land, loyalty, or crowns… it is for treasure so valuable it could buy kingdoms. A three-...

"Not only an engrossing read about the distant past, both informative and entertaining, but also a profoundly thought-provoking view of our not-really-so-‘new’ present . . . All medieval history is here, beautifully narrated."—Wall Street Journal "A lively history . . . [Jones] has managed...

K.M. Grant pens an exciting tale of historical fiction set in the 12th century. Will is permitted to chose his own warhorse now that he has turned 13. Much to everyone's amusement, he selects a rather small chestnut. But Will sees something magical in this horse. As they accompany King Richard on a crusade to the Holy Land, the noble stallion galvanizes young Will with his displays of strength, courage, and loyalty.

The walls of Acre hold the key to Jerusalem. In the sweltering summer of 1191, as Christian armies lay siege to the city, three lives collide in a story that will reshape their understanding of faith, duty, and the true cost of holy war. Sir Alaric of Normandy arrives in the Holy Land, burning with zeal, certain of the Crusader cause’s righteousness. But his convictions begin to waver when he encounters unexpected compassion among those he was taught to hate. As the brutality of siege warfare tests his faith, he must choose between his vows as a knight and the growing truth in his heart. ...

In this groundbreaking epic biography, Douglas Brinkley draws on never-before-published materials to examine the life and achievements of our "naturalist president." By setting aside more than 230 million acres of wild America for posterity between 1901 and 1909, Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a universal endeavor. This crusade for the American wilderness was perhaps the greatest U.S. presidential initiative between the Civil War and World War I.

"Life is like leaping flames. Its circumstances change shape so quickly—one moment dancing, the next dwindling into embers. . . " Andreva de Beringer leaves the abbey in Toulouse to care for her grandmother, but she arrives in Lavelanet to find a village gripped by the terror of the Inquisition. While Andreva strives to hold on to her family, her faith, (and the man she loves,) all around her Good Men must fight for the same—as well as for life itself. In the right place, but at a dreadfully wrong time, and under the wrath of the Inquisition, might this faith-filled but naïve girl be ...

Hugh De Luc, a poor innkeeper, returns home from the First Crusade wearied from battle and disillusioned by carnage. After journeying from the Holy Land back to his own small village, he finds his nightmare is just beginning.In his absence, Hugh's son has been killed and his beloved wife, Sophie...

Bernard and Agnes Montjoy keep an inn in Crusader Jerusalem. Their lives are about to be shattered. Guy, the new King of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, ignores the advice of wiser men and leads his army out of the city to do battle with the great warlord Saladin. Within days the Christian army is annihilated. Triumphant, Saladin leads his warriors towards Jerusalem, determined to win it back for his people. To defend the city there is only one nobleman, Balian of Ibelin, and four knights. In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men to lead the defence. Agnes begs Bernard not to ...

Darkness Engulfs the Knight Vol 1 of The Templar Chronicle. By Tony Marvin Darkness Engulfs the Knight is a historical fiction covering the time period following the arrest of the Knights Templar. This book is the first in a series of three volumes that will present what the author believes may have happened with the Knights and assets that have never been accounted for following the October 13, 1307 arrest of the Templar's by King Phillip of France. We know that many of the Knights who were not in Paris, France on the day of the arrest have been unaccounted for in the surviving records. In...

'Brilliantly evoked' SUNDAY TIMES Discover the first medieval adventure in the action-packed Chivalry series! Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden. September, 1356. Poitiers. The greatest knights of the age were ready to give battle. On the English side, Edward...