num_pages: 429
description: 634AD. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical thriller and second instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.Warlords battle across Britain to become the first king of the English.After a stunning victory against the native Waelisc, Beobrand returns a hero. His valour is rewarded with wealth and land by the king of Northumbria. He retires to his new estate with his bride only to find himself surrounded by enemies old and new.With treachery and death on all sides, Beobrand fears he will lose all he holds dear.On a quest for revenge and redemption, he accepts the mantle of lord, leading his men into the darkest of nights and the bloodiest of battles.PRAISE FOR THE CROSS AND THE CURSE "A tale that rings like sword song in the reader's mind. Harffy knows his genre inside out and The Cross and the Curse proves it." GILES KRISTIAN (Author of God of Vengeance and the Raven series) "The Cross and the Curse is a terrific novel that strikes just the right balance between fact and fiction, the plausible and the romantic, and it illuminates the Dark Ages like the bolt of lightning in its first few pages: in rare and unexpected ways. Top stuff." TOBY CLEMENTS (Author of the Kingmaker trilogy) "The best historical fiction enables the reader to simultaneously live in the here and now and the then and there. Matthew Harffy has this skill in abundance. He is one of the most accomplished and exciting voices in the field today. I love his novels." MARTIN LAKE (Author of A Love Most Dangerous and The Lost King series) "Harffy allows the reader to peel back the layers of Dark Age society beyond the implicit violence. His wordage is skilful and beautifully wrought, rather like a perfect damascened sword." PRUE BATTEN (Author of The Gisborne Saga and The Triptych Chronicle) "Matthew Harffy has created a gritty, authentic world, home to a hero who shows us the complexity of what it means to be human – the darkness and the delight. The Cross and the Curse is historical fiction at its finest." STEPHANIE CHURCHILL (Author of The Scribe's Daughter)
language: English
title: The Cross and the Curse
publisher: Aria