Viking Britain

A new narrative history of the Viking Age, interwoven with exploration of the physical remains and landscapes that the Vikings fashioned and walked: their rune-stones and ship burials, settlements and battlefields. To many, the word ‘Viking’ brings to mind red scenes of rape and pillage, of...

Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.

The story of the Highland clans of Scotland is famous, the names celebrated, and the deeds heroic. Having clung to ancient traditions of family, loyalty, and valor for centuries, the clans met the beginning of their end at the fateful Battle of Culloden in 1746. Alistair Moffat traces the history of the clans from their Celtic origins to the coming of the Romans; from Somerled the Viking to Robert the Bruce; from the great battles of Bannockburn and Flodden to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Risings; and from the Clearances to the present day.

During the first millennium AD the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals, or rulers of small kingdoms. Later, after the Romans departed, the initiative was seized by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond their own borders. Armies of Picts, Scots, Vikings, Britons, and Anglo-Saxons fought each other for supremacy.

WASPs finally get their due in this stimulating history by one of the world's leading geneticists. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts is the most illuminating book yet to be written about the genetic history of Britain and Ireland. Through a systematic, ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, Bryan Sykes has traced the true genetic makeup of British Islanders and their descendants.

A history of Britain in the violent and unruly era between the first Scandinavian raids in 789 and the final expulsion of the Vikings from York in 954. In 865, a great Viking army landed in East Anglia, precipitating a series of wars that would last until the middle of the following century. It...

In a saga reminiscent of Game of Thrones and The Last Kingdom, Battle for the Island Kingdom reveals the life-and-death struggle for power which changed the course of history. The six decades leading up to 1066 were defined by bloody wars and intrigues, in which three peoples vied for supremacy over the island kingdom. In this epic retelling, Don Hollway (The Last Viking) recounts the clashes of Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans, their warlords and their conniving queens.

If you want to discover the captivating history of England, then pay attention...There are few places that entice the imagination quite like England. Just a little island off the western coast of continental Europe, it boasts a rich history that stretches all the way back to the first modern humans. From the fearsome Celtic warriors of prehistory to the clever inventors and statesmen of the modern era, England’s story is one bursting with magnificent castles, complex kings and queens, rebellious peasants, and horrifying plagues.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Jeremy Paxman's Great Britain's Great War. Read by the actor Roy McMillan, this magnificent history of the First World War tells the story of the war in one gripping narrative from the point of view of the British people. NOW A...

In 871, three of England’s four kingdoms were overrun by Vikings, the ruthless, all-conquering Scandinavian raiders who terrorized early medieval Europe. With the Norsemen murdering one king with arrows and torturing another to death by ripping out his lungs, the prospects that faced the kingdom of Wessex were bleak. Worse still, the Saxons were now led by a young man barely out of his teens who was more interested in God than fighting.

Embark on a gripping journey back in time with Vikings in England, a riveting narrative that brings the saga of Norse warriors on English soil to life. This meticulously researched guide delves into the heart of the Middle Ages, revealing the profound impact of Viking raiders and settlers on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. You’re invited to explore the fascinating dynamics of conquest, resilience, and coexistence that defined this epoch.

Until Scandinavia converted to Christianity and came under the rule of powerful kings, the Vikings were a dominant force in the medieval world. Outfitted with wind-powered sailing ships, they left their mark, spreading terror across Europe, sacking cities, deposing kings, and ransacking economies. But as much as we know about this culture, there is a large missing piece: its women. In this revisionist portrait, science journalist Heather Pringle turns those assumptions on their head, using the latest archaeological research and historical findings to reveal this group as they actually were.

Viking London is a short book of the hidden history, archaeology and folklore of London in the Viking Age and its echoes through history. The narrative history that can be told is limited, and this book is, therefore, unorthodox and digressive in its structure and its layering of voices, impressions and characters, stories, objects and buildings.

A magical journey through the world’s oldest tales, retold with clarity and wonder and brought to life with striking original linocut art. Travel across centuries and continents with Storyland, a captivating collection of myths, legends, and folklore that have shaped human imagination for...

CONQUEROR They were reunited in passion….and peril. In Wessex—Britain—Beautiful dark haired Gwyneth stands before the altar, thinking not of her betrothed, but of a handsome young man, half Anglo-Saxon half Viking that her father enslaved when she was a child. The dragon pendant she wears faithfully around her neck was a gift from him the night she helped him escape. Little does she know that they will meet again, but not as she has dreamed. Led by an obsession for revenge, tawny-haired Selig leads a Viking raid that puts a halt to the wedding ceremony of his enemy’s daughter. ...

From the bestselling author Ken Follett, The Evening and the Morning is a historical epic that ends where The Pillars of the Earth begins. 'Another historical thriller of mighty proportions' – The Times A Time of Conflict It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. The king’s grip on the country...

Gangs. Gladiators. Dark magic. 122 AD. A rebellious teen makes his mark in the streets of Roman Londinium. Icarus, the son of a Roman merchant, has risen to co-leader of The Clubs, an underground street gang. Vigilantes or vandals? Are they fighting the oppression of the Roman aristocracy, or are they just street hoods? The prefect and governor of Londinium want their heads on spits! Icarus and his four gang toughies suffer from rivalries that propel the youngblood into the sinister clutch of dark magic. The malice of a ruthless moneylender brings the full force of Roman justice upon his ...

'A beautiful, beautiful book . . . archaeology is changing so much about the way we view the so-called Dark Ages … [Williams] is just brilliant at bringing them to light' Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics From the bestselling author of Viking Britain, a new epic history of our forgotten...

Romantic with unfettered raunch and a happily ever after. TRADED TO THE STABLE MASTER As the daughter of an earl, I expect to be matched with a fellow peer of the realm—not given to the stable master. My father has a gambling problem, however, and he's behind on the servants' wages. Reuben is a brutal looking fellow, yes, and quiet, but the animals under his care trust him. Perhaps can I learn to, too... TRADED TO THE BLACKSMITH No one knows the full and dark truth about my wastrel husband until the night he dies by the blacksmith's hammer. Now I owe Lionel the Blacksmith more than coin...

Set against the barbaric splendor of the ninth century when the Vikings reigned. Ragnar Haraldsson was handsome, brave, intelligent, and daring. He would emerge out of the mists of a violent age to become a Viking leader of great renown and would unite his people. Touching on the shores of Britain, Scotland and then Ireland, he will not only find love but will march into legend as Ragnar Longsword. Young Ragnar Haraldsson, could hardly wait to grow to manhood so that he could be as brave as his Viking father. One day he would be jarl and exchange his wooden sword for one that was real. ...