Very early on in working on The War Wolf I realised that only a warrior could link all three books together. Originally, I had thought of writing more of an historical account of 1066, but, in my opinion, there was too much separation between the main historical figures to make that work. I needed to create a character who could logically appear in all three battles.
1066
The War Wolf – Let’s Read and Discuss 01
Having looked at the Prologue in my previous post we now move to the opening chapter. It might surprise those who have not read the book that I began with the actual tale not in Saxon England but on the continent: enter Duke Guillaume of Normandy!
Coenred and Mildryth
Where do characters come from? I wrote quite extensively about how Artemisia Montessori developed from a very simple idea into the protagonist of my most recent novel, The Devil Within Us. Not all of my characters appeared that way, however. When I was researching The War Wolf I had no idea that there were three … Continue reading Coenred and Mildryth
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen – Revisited
The final part of my series on Saxon society. As you would expect with any society that was characterised by a hierarchical class system there would be the top class who were defined by their wealth and by the power that they wielded. In the Anglo-Saxon world the upper class were known as the aethelings, … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Aethelings and the Eoldermen – Revisited
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns – Revisited
Following on from my post, The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: the Peasants - Revisited, I decided to continue with the Theigns. Above the ceorls, the peasants of the Anglo-Saxon world, sat the ‘theigns’. They were to all intents and purposes the middle class. To qualify as a theign a man needed to own a … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Theigns – Revisited
The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants – Revisited
I originally wrote this post back in 2013 and it proved to be very popular. It was part of a series that resulted from the research that I did for the book, The War Wolf. As well as peasants the series covered the Theigns and the Eorldermen, the middle and upper class of Saxon society … Continue reading The Social World of the Anglo-Saxons: The Peasants – Revisited
Mixing Fact with Historical Fiction 3 – My version of the Battle of Hastings
At school my history teacher glossed over the Battle of Hastings. His lesson suggested that the Normans were a superior people who conquered the barbaric Saxons and brought civilisation back to England. I have always inferred that what he meant was that the Romans had civilised Britain originally but that the Saxons had created a … Continue reading Mixing Fact with Historical Fiction 3 – My version of the Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings
On 14th October 1066 a Saxon army under the command of King Harold of England stood at Sentlache Ridge, some 7 miles north of Hastings. Duke Guillaume of Normandy led his army from the port to fight the decisive battle of the year. The Normans had invaded England on 28 September, but King Harold was … Continue reading The Battle of Hastings
Mixing Fact with Historical Fiction – My version of the Battle of Fulford Gate
The fact is that most historical records are not complete. The veracity of what does remain can often be questioned. Although I did a lot of research for The War wolf it was with relatively few different sources. 1066 belongs to the period that used to be called the Dark Ages, a reference to the … Continue reading Mixing Fact with Historical Fiction – My version of the Battle of Fulford Gate
The Battle of Fulford Gate
Writing about an actual historical event in a piece of fiction is challenging, especially if, as the writer, you are keen on being authentic and accurate. I most certainly was. I undertook a lot of research into both the actual battle, how it was fought, the weapons and armour, why it happened, and what the … Continue reading The Battle of Fulford Gate
Peter C Whitaker 