Showing results by author "Griff Hosker" in All Categories

James of Ecclestone is one such youth and when he runs away to become a billman fighting the Yorkist pretender, Lambert Simnel, he begins a journey that will shape him from a youth to a man, a wild child to a Tudor warrior. Set against the backdrop of the early years of King Henry VII’s reign, this fast-moving novel takes us from the Battle of Bramham Moor to the siege of Boulogne. Beginning with the battle of Bosworth field and ending with the Skirmish of Glastonbury Tor, we see an England changing from Yorkist to Lancastrian and James of Ecclestone becoming a warrior of renown.

Now that he has made a name for himself and shown his courage in battle Sven Saxon Sword becomes not only a leader in battle but also a target for others when he fights. Beginning with the Battle of Svolder when hundreds of ships clashed in the sea, the novel takes us through the maelstrom of war. Sweyn Forkbeard has ambitions in the west, where there is a weak Saxon king, Aethelred. Sven Saxon Sword and his foster father are part of the force that battles in Wessex, Cornwall and Kent.

It's 1940, and the British Expeditionary Force is caught ill prepared for the onslaught of the German Blitzkrieg and its deadly panzers. Caught in the desperate retreat to Dunkirk, Tom Harsker, son of a World War One ace, discovers that he is a natural soldier. Escaping to England and with complete disaster narrowly averted, Tom is selected to join the newly formed Commandos.

When the Earl of Gloucester suddenly dies and the Empress Matilda is forced to return to Normandy it seems that the civil war is about to end and Stephen of Blois will have succeeded in winning his crown. The Warlord of the North takes the fledgling Prince Henry under his wing and begins to train him to become king. When others try to take advantage of the Warlord's position he and his warriors have to dig deep to defeat their enemies. Gradually Henry becomes a man and shows that he has the potential to become a king.

Sir Michael of Weedon might think that his service to the crown ended when the Queen died and he was no longer required as her knight. He is wrong, for his qualities as a true and loyal warrior mean that he can be trusted. King Henry and the Earl of Suffolk send him to France to recover a pyx. Before he can complete his task, he is conscripted back into the army and finds himself, once more, fighting alongside Sir John Talbot.

Sven Saxon Sword was now a lord. He ruled a small village on the river. He thought that his service toking Cnut, now that he had helped him to gain the crown, was over. He was wrong. Not only does he have to deal with Norse raiders but he is also summoned to serve in a war against the Swedes. The Oathsword is called upon again to save, not only King Cnut and his ambitions, but also his home

King Stephen is captured and the Civil War seems over until disaster strikes while the Earl of Cleveland is in Normandy. The Empress' forces are routed and the Earl of Gloucester is captured. Forced to return to rescue the Empress the Earl of Cleveland has to fight King Stephen's army and the English winter to rescue his Empress. With the future King Henry II as his squire the Earl has to wage a war against an increasing number of enemies and a diminishing number of allies.

King William has the crown of the Confessor but he has many enemies both at home and abroad. He has to subdue a land that does not want a Norman yoke upon its shoulders. When Richard fitz Malet is given the manor north of York he finds that it is a poisoned chalice and when the north rises against the Conqueror's rule, he finds himself alone and isolated. He has to mould his manor into a fighting force or face death.

When Prince Arthur is murdered and the French begin to take Normandy, Sir Thomas finds himself isolated and alone. The Norman barons conspire against King John and the English knight has a dilemma. Does he join the rebels or stay true to his beliefs? Undefeated he and one of his knights leave Anjou and sail to a new life in England but it is not a life without trouble and death. He finds himself, in the midst of conspiracies and plots, forced to defend his land against bandits, brigands and the Scots.

With the Empress Matilda about to marry the Count of Anjou, Alfraed is thrown into a world of intrigue and treachery as he tries to hold on to the north with depleted numbers of warriors. When he succeeds he finds that he is punished and sent to the east by King Henry and his family held hostage in the Tower of London. He finds himself embroiled in plots and campaigns there where he finally serves with his father's old comrades: the Varangian Guards. After a journey home which is fraught with danger he finally rescues his family and returns to his beloved castle.

Sven Saxon Sword is content with his life but King Sweyn Forkbeard wants to use the Dragon Sword to help him claim a kingdom across the seas from Denmark. With Prince Cnut at his side, Sven has to fight not only the English but also Danes who change sides, Scots keen to grab land themselves and even the oathsworn of the new Danish king.

Betrayal by friend and foe alike beset Sir John Hawkwood as he enters the murky world of Italian politics. He will emerge from the experience as a true leader of men but first he has to outwit his enemies of which there are many. With Montferrat secured from the Savoyards and with the White Company now firmly in his hands, Sir John Hawkwood leads his men to Pisa where they have been hired to fight the Florentines. The hero of Poitiers is about to enter a world of treachery, intrigue and double dealing for which he is quite unprepared.

Set in the years before the Battle of Hastings, the story follows the trials and tribulations of Aelfraed, a young boy who aspires to be a warrior. When his uncle, Aethelward, takes him to join the warriors of Harold Godwinson, his life is irrevocably changed. Fighting the Welsh brings him great honour and when he saves the life of Edward the Confessor, he becomes a man of great reputation. The novel culminates in the battle of Stamford Bridge when the Housecarls defeated the last of the Vikings, Harald Hadrada.

Sir Thomas and his new bride, Lady Margaret, have been forced to leave the Baltic. They cannot go to England and so he heads for Anjou where he hopes to take over the old manor of Sir Leofric. Upon his arrival, he finds himself thrown into a world of intrigue. Prince Arthur had been the chosen heir of King Richard but King John had taken not only the throne but also claimed the lands of Normandy, Maine and Anjou. Even before he has taken charge of his new manor, he finds threats from the French as well as King John.

The battle for France is almost over but the Plantagenets do not know it. They cling to the hope that by throwing more and more men at a lost cause, they will regain the land lost. Sir Michael of Weedon knows that is not true and is tired of the waste. He has fulfilled his promise to a dead king, as well as his mentor, but it is a savage attack on his new family's home that makes him return to England. It is there that Fate catches up with him. He is summoned by Queen Catherine, King Henry's widow, and she entrusts him with her most valuable treasure and makes him, the Queen's Knight.

When his father is killed at Arsuf protecting King Richard, Thomas is knighted. His hopes of inheriting his family's manor are dashed when Prince John takes power in his brother's absence. With a handful of men, Sir Thomas is forced to travel to Sweden where he joins the Jarl Birger Brosa fighting the Estonians, Karelians and Slavs. Fighting in the harsh environment of a Baltic winter makes Sir Thomas and his men stronger. There he learns of further treachery and dishonour among Bishops, Kings and Princes who value thrones more than men.

Jarl Dragon Heart leaves the Isle of Man to go raiding. Beset by enemies both Viking and Saxon, he has to rely on the Ulfheonar and his own skills to see him through the crisis. A harsh winter in the land of Rheged brings him face-to-face with his old enemy, the Wolf. All the while, he is learning about his own ancestor, the Warlord of Rheged. The treachery of other Vikings who try to carve out kingdoms has Dragon Heart caught in the middle of their machinations.

The Dragon Heart has come of age and sets off with his Ulfheonar to fight the Saxons. A chance visit to a cave brings him face to face with his past and changes his life forever. Fighting both Saxons and Hibernians on land and on sea, he and his warriors conquer the land of Anglesey. Before they can enjoy the fruits of victory, they face an enemy from the past who returns to haunt them.

The Emperor Henry of the Holy Roman Empire is dying, and his wife, the Empress Matilda, is in danger from those who would use her to gain the title and the power. King Henry of England sends Alfraed of Norton to rescue her and avoid a war. With enemies from France, Flanders and the empire, as well as Norman traitors, the handful of Northern Knights have to fight across Europe and back. A fast-moving novel that moves from Germany to the Scottish borders in the turbulent times of the early 12th century, when friends could become foes overnight.

The Vikings on the Island of Man are set on revenge. Their families have been kidnapped and taken to Ireland. They have to find them and rescue them. They find themselves fighting not only Hibernian warriors but renegade Vikings, too. The perpetrator of the act, Tadgh, escapes and a chase ensues.