{"title":"Medieval History","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"femina-by-janina-ramirez","title":"Femina by Janina Ramirez","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAn instant bestseller and one of the most celebrated history books of the year, \u003cem\u003eFemina\u003c\/em\u003e reveals the power and influence of medieval women who have been written out of our history. From royalty and religion to fame and fury, see the medieval world - and the women erased from it - with fresh eyes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePaperback\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublication: 30 Mar 2023, Penguin\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eISBN: 9780753558263\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eExtent: 464 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45405185048873,"sku":"","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780753558263.jpg?v=1688375110"},{"product_id":"the-eagle-and-the-hart-the-tragedy-of-richard-ii-and-henry-iv-by-helen-castor-pre-order","title":"The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'A dazzling tour de force of epic royal history: a compulsive, unputdownable real-life thriller, a gripping portrait of ruthless power politics, and a study of British tyranny ... written with the delicacy and elegance of one of Britain’s most brilliant historians at the top of her game' Simon Sebag-MontefiorePhenomenal historian Helen Castor's masterful plume plunges us into the depths of machination and the abyss of tragedy. This is a masterpiece that leaves the reader both satiated and breathless - Olivette Otele, author of African EuropeansIf ever a book of history was blessed with contemporary relevance, this one is.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe dumbfounding, delusional, narcissistic King Richard; the white-knuckle ride of Henry IV, dogged all the way by notions of illegitimacy. I feel these men could have been ripped from today’s headlines. The book’s great achievement is in the storytelling — the unfolding drama, the secrets of power and ambition so beautifully controlled in the telling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Eagle and the Hart will be a non-fiction book of the year and will deserve the ovations it is certain to receive. When history is this gripping there’s nothing like it - Andrew O'HaganThe author of She-Wolves chronicles the lives and reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, two cousins whose rivalry brought their nation to the brink of disintegration - and back againRichard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. Their lives were from the beginning entwined.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king. Yet, as the animals on their heraldic badges showed, they grew up to be opposites: Richard was the white hart, a thin-skinned narcissist, and Henry the eagle, a chivalric hero, a leader who inspired loyalty where Richard inspired only fear. Henry had all the qualities Richard lacked, all the qualities a sovereign needed, bar one: birth right.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIncreasingly threatened by his charismatic cousin, Richard became consumed by the need for total power, in a time of constant conflict, rebellions and reprisals. When he banished Henry into exile, the stage was set for a final confrontation, as the hart became the tyrant and the eagle his usurper. Helen Castor tells this story of one of the strangest and most fateful relationships in English history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is a story about power, and masculinity in crisis, and a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe. At its heart, it is the story of two men whose lives were played out in extraordinary parallel, to devastating effect.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 2 Oct 2025, Penguin\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780141991641\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 688 pages \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55084725404030,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780241419328_1.jpg?v=1739351691"},{"product_id":"queens-at-war-by-alison-weir-pre-order","title":"Queens at War by Alison Weir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTriumph and tragedy, love and loss, murder and malice in the lives of five fifteenth-century queens. The fifteenth century was a turbulent age: the Hundred Years War between England and France, and the Wars of the Roses dominated the lives of people both inside and out of the royal courts. Joan of Navarre, Katherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Wydeville and Anne Neville were the queens who stood by England's sovereigns, caught up in wars that changed the course of their lives, and the course of history. They were also formidable women who defied the limitations of their times, often living out the brutal consequences of their determination.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlison Weir uncovers their stories in this final volume of her ground-breaking series on the queens of medieval England. Queens at War is a stunning culmination of research by a historian at the full extent of her powers and gripping account of five women on the throne.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | Publication: 18 Sept 2025, Vintage\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eISBN: 9781910702130 | \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 480 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55287474192766,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781910702130.jpg?v=1741367813"},{"product_id":"the-two-hundred-years-war-the-bloody-crowns-of-england-and-france-1292-1492-by-dr-michael-livingston-pre-order","title":"The Two Hundred Years War: The Bloody Crowns of England and France, 1292–1492 by Dr Michael Livingston","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"productInfo\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContentWrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContent\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productDescription\"\u003eA new and radically original account of the longest military conflict in European history, which challenges the conventional periodisation of the ‘Hundred Years War’ to consider a much longer period of Anglo-French conflict. Michael Livingston argues that the English lens through which the war has been viewed has led historians to define it in terms of English interests (most famously, the claim of the English Plantagenet king Edward III to be the rightful king of France), and that the events collectively labelled the ‘Hundred Years War’ are best seen as a sequence of steps in France’s struggle to define itself as a nation. For much of the period, France’s primary rival was indeed England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut it was by no means the only combatant. Burgundy stood in its way, too, as did Brittany, Flanders, Navarre and other rival powers. Viewing France as the primary engine driving the war leads Livingston to consider a much longer timespan, starting with the Anglo-French ‘Pirate War’ of 1292 (which swiftly escalated into a fight over England’s feudal possessions in Gascony) and ending with the marriage of Charles VIII of France to Anne of Brittany by which Brittany was subsumed into the French realm.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-role=\"popover\" class=\"purchaseBlock\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-ean=\"9781035906369\" class=\"singleTitleContainer\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"pricing\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback \u003cbr\u003ePublication: 9 Oct 2025, Bloomsbury\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781035906369\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 496 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56025466143102,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781035906369.jpg?v=1753978114"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-kells-unlocking-the-enigma-by-victoria-whitworth-pre-order","title":"The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma by Victoria Whitworth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"productInfo\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContentWrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContent\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productDescription\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eA new and definitive account of one of the most famous and mysterious manuscripts in the world. The Book of Kells is a mystery. It is distinct from all copies of the gospels from the early Middle Ages, not only in the quality and amount of its decoration but also in the peculiarities of the ordering of its contents, the oddness of its apparatus, the appearance of the script, the interplay of text and ornament, and the erratic forms of its Latin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eScholars cannot agree on the number of scribes and artists involved; or establish the purpose of the Book; or decide whether its oddities are the result of incompetence or carelessness, and how those oddities relate to the minutely careful and deeply meaningful art. The Book of Kells is probably the most famous manuscript in the world – and Victoria Whitworth's masterly treatment offers something new.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-role=\"popover\" class=\"purchaseBlock\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"wrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-ean=\"9781035906369\" class=\"singleTitleContainer\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"pricing\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback \u003cbr\u003ePublication: 9 Oct 2025, Bloomsbury \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781788541800\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 336 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56027279753598,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781788541800.jpg?v=1754036878"},{"product_id":"dark-renaissance-the-dangerous-times-and-fatal-genius-of-shakespeare-s-greatest-rival-christopher-marlowe-by-stephen-greenblatt-pre-order","title":"Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival, Christopher Marlowe by Stephen Greenblatt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePoor boy. Dark star. Spy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTransgressor. Genius. This is the thrilling and subversive life story of Christopher Marlowe – Shakespeare’s inspiration and rival, who helped to bring England out of the cultural darkness and into the light.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’Sparkling, addictive reading' MAGGIE O'FARRELL\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'Brilliant' JAMES SHAPIRO\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'As evocative as any novel' PHILIPPA GREGORY\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn brutally repressive Elizabethan England, artists are frightened; foreigners are suspect; popular entertainment largely consists of coarse spectacles, animal fights, and hangings. Into this crude world comes an ambitious cobbler’s son from Canterbury with an uncanny ear for Latin poetry – which to him is a secret portal to beauty, visionary imagination, transgressive desire, and dangerous scepticism. What Christopher Marlowe finds on the other side of that door, and what he does with it, brings about a spectacular explosion of English literature, language, and culture, enabling the success of many others, including his contemporary and collaborator William Shakespeare.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy the time of his murder in a Deptford tavern in 1593, the 29-year-old Marlowe will be the most celebrated dramatist of his time. Stephen Greenblatt grippingly reconstructs the involvement with the queen’s spy service that shaped Marlowe’s brief, troubling life and helped fashion his masterpieces. Along the way we discover how the people Marlowe knew, and the transformations they wrought, gave birth to the economic, scientific, and cultural power of the modern world – involving Faustian bargains with which we reckon still.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDark Renaissance is a scintillating life of a writer whose blazing talent catapulted England from cultural backwater to crucible of creativity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Extent: 352 pages\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 11 Sept 2025, Vintage | ISBN: 9781847927132\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56027849589118,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781847927132.jpg?v=1754045317"},{"product_id":"the-shortest-history-of-scandinavia-19-by-mart-kuldkepp","title":"The Shortest History of Scandinavia: 19 by Mart Kuldkepp","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the Stone Age to ‘Scandimania’ – an illuminating journey through 14,000 years of Nordic history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOutsiders have long viewed Scandinavia as special, from the ancient Greek myth of a place ‘where the Sun goes to rest’ to the admiration held today for the region’s universal welfare, equality and peacefulness. But the story of Scandinavia is also one of expansion and religious strife, of war and occupation, of famine and plague.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the first peoples who followed the ice sheet north at the end of the last Ice Age to Viking expeditions, from Cold War bridge-building to ranking as the happiest nations in the world, Mart Kuldkepp masterfully charts the story of the wider Nordic region – from Finland in the East across to Iceland and Greenland in the West.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFAs formerly neutral Finland and Sweden join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this timely history explores the region’s geopolitics, the origins of the welfare state and asks whether life in Scandinavia is quite as hygge as it might seem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback | \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublication: 3 Mar 2026, Old Street Publishing \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eISBN: 9781913083991 | \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56794132087166,"sku":null,"price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781913083991.jpg?v=1767957994"},{"product_id":"the-black-death-a-global-history-by-thomas-asbridge","title":"The Black Death: A Global History by Thomas Asbridge","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThomas Asbridge’s remarkable new book reveals the global impact of humanity’s greatest natural disaster, and the terrible human cost of this calamity. 'This ambitious book tracks the pandemic’s global spread... With a focus on the human element, the author not only illustrates the terror and upheaval of this terrible time but also looks at the lives of those who lived through the Black Death, from royalty to the working class...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAsbridge’s exceptional research ultimately reveals humanity’s capacity for empathy and survival' - Blackwell's, The Most Anticipated Books of 2026 In the mid-fourteenth century, a lethal plague struck the medieval world, causing unimaginable suffering and destruction. This terrifying pandemic – the Black Death – was unquestionably one of history’s defining episodes, yet a critical feature of its progress has often been ignored: the disease was not confined to Europe, but rather affected almost all of the known world, including the Near and Middle East, Byzantium, north Africa and Asia. Tracing the pandemic’s course across the medieval globe, The Black Death contrasts the experiences of different peoples, including Christians, Muslims and Jews, charting this catastrophe’s transformative effects on diverse aspects of medieval life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd crucially, Asbridge demonstrates that the plague was often at its most destructive in the Islamic world, where it ultimately played a role in the collapse of the mighty Mamluk Empire. The Black Death also brings the human drama of this calamitous era to life, evoking the terror and the turmoil that beset cities such as London, Cairo and Florence. Asbridge reconstructs the lives of the men, women and children who faced the Black Death – from ruling monarchs to peasant farmers – laying bare both the abject horror they endured and the courageous resolve they often demonstrated while striving to survive.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUncovering a story that speaks to our own age, The Black Death highlights humankind’s capacity for compassion and resilience amidst a global crisis to explain how the medieval world confronted, and ultimately overcame, this shattering pandemic.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback \u003cbr\u003ePublication: 30 Apr 2026, Allen Lane \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780241399408\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 560 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56824021680510,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780241399408.jpg?v=1768580352"},{"product_id":"30-days-in-the-viking-age-will-you-survive-by-kirsten-wolf","title":"30 Days in the Viking Age: Will You Survive? by Kirsten Wolf","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 19 NOV 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThrown back in time to the Viking Age, you have 30 days to adapt – or face the consequences. Part history, part practical guide, 30 Days in the Viking Age, is a lively and fascinating journey through the gritty reality of ancient Nordic life. Over 30 days, you will learn how to survive as an outsider dropped into the Viking world – finding food, shelter, work and allies in a world of warriors, traders and chieftains.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBlending expert historical insights with an immersive narrative, Professor Kirsten Wolf guides you through the everyday life, dangers and customs of Viking society. This is history with a twist – engaging, informative and full of action.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback, Publication: 19 Nov 2026, Michael O'Mara\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781789298727\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 272 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56937439428990,"sku":null,"price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781789298727.jpg?v=1771329744"},{"product_id":"the-wordspotters-guide-etymological-adventures-through-the-english-language-by-olivia-swarthout","title":"The Wordspotter's Guide: Etymological Adventures Through the English Language by Olivia Swarthout","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 5 NOV 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlivia Swarthout, creator of the viral sensation Weird Medieval Guys, turns her idiosyncratic and humorous eye to the fascinating roots of the English language. Here, she introduces readers to wordspotting, a hobby for those who love words and their peculiarities, origins and histories. From the seemingly modern 'unfriend' - which dates back to the seventeenth century - to the revelation that the leotard was named after the inventor of the trapeze, The Wordspotter's Guide brims with fascinating linguistic tidbits alongside advice and techniques for detecting the bizarre and unlikely commonalities between words and their meanings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn invitation to pay better attention to words and their stories, this etymological romp will bring out the wordspotter in everyone\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Publication: 5 Nov 2026, Profile \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781805226208\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 288 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56937508897150,"sku":null,"price":17.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781805226208.jpg?v=1771330328"},{"product_id":"the-two-hundred-years-war-the-bloody-crowns-of-england-and-france-1292-1492-by-dr-michael-livingston","title":"The Two Hundred Years War: The Bloody Crowns of England and France, 1292–1492 by Dr Michael Livingston","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 8 OCT 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA new and radically original account of the longest military conflict in European history, which challenges the conventional periodisation of the ‘Hundred Years War’ to consider a much longer period of Anglo-French conflict. Michael Livingston argues that the English lens through which the war has been viewed has led historians to define it in terms of English interests (most famously, the claim of the English Plantagenet king Edward III to be the rightful king of France), and that the events collectively labelled the ‘Hundred Years War’ are best seen as a sequence of steps in France’s struggle to define itself as a nation. For much of the period, France’s primary rival was indeed England.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut it was by no means the only combatant. Burgundy stood in its way, too, as did Brittany, Flanders, Navarre and other rival powers. Viewing France as the primary engine driving the war leads Livingston to consider a much longer timespan, starting with the Anglo-French ‘Pirate War’ of 1292 (which swiftly escalated into a fight over England’s feudal possessions in Gascony) and ending with the marriage of Charles VIII of France to Anne of Brittany by which Brittany was subsumed into the French realm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback, Publication: 8 Oct 2026, Bloomsbury\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781035906352\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 528 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56937698001278,"sku":null,"price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781035906352.jpg?v=1771332260"},{"product_id":"the-sea-king-and-the-sorceress-life-and-death-in-the-viking-age-by-neil-price","title":"The Sea-King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age by Neil Price","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 3 SEPT 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productInfo\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContentWrap\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productContent\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productDescription\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eAlmost everyone has heard of the Vikings: scouring the coasts of Europe in their longships, with plunder and pillage. Those raiders were real and deserved their reputation, but in fact they were only ever a small minority of the Scandinavians. ‘Viking’ comes from the Old Norse word for pirate, and while we may use that label for every Northerner of the eighth to eleventh centuries, in reality they followed many different callings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn his revelatory new book, archaeologist Neil Price takes us on a journey of individual encounters across the whole of the Norse world. From the beginning of the Viking Age to its end, the true diversity of their lives is brought out in vivid clarity from excavated evidence: we meet sea-kings and sorceresses; arctic hunters and shapeshifters; Sámi nomads and bears given burials; mercenaries and traders; the free and the enslaved; immigrants and diplomats; followers of many gods, and the worshippers of one; townsfolk and farmers; and yes, the real Vikings too. The time that bears their name will never seem so simple again.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productDescription\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productDescription\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Publication: 3 Sept 2026, Allen Lane \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780241611333\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 304 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56938829054334,"sku":null,"price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780241611333.jpg?v=1771348076"},{"product_id":"the-family-lives-of-medieval-women-by-catherine-hanley","title":"The Family Lives of Medieval Women by Catherine Hanley","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWomen in the Middle Ages led fascinating and often wildly differing everyday lives, depending on their social class and family situation. However, to date this rich variety of experience has not been fully brought to light, because books on the general subject of ‘life in the Middle Ages’ tend to have multiple chapters devoted to men of different classes (kings, lords, knights, merchants, tradesmen, monks, and so on) and then one chapter at the end entitled ‘women’, as though the female half of the population was some kind of homogenous mass! But women’s experiences varied just as much as men’s did, and in this book we will turn the spotlight on them, in lively and interesting detail, as we meet women of all social classes and learn about their lives. A number of medieval women have been the subject of previous studies and biographies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHowever, they tend to be the exceptional figures who broke the mould, which leads us to ask: What about the women who were not exceptional, who did not blaze a new trail? What was life like for the vast majority who were obliged to live within the constraints imposed on the female half of the population? This book will provide answers to these questions, shedding light on the full breadth of their experiences for the first time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 9 Apr 2026, Harper Collins \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781803999104\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 320 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56943616491902,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781803999104.jpg?v=1771424756"},{"product_id":"willie-willie-harry-stee-an-epically-short-history-of-our-kings-and-queens-by-charlie-higson","title":"Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History of Our Kings and Queens by Charlie Higson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA Waterstones Best History Book 2025 A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2025 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn unmissable collaboration between two comedy legends – an irresistible, family-friendly deep dive into the murky lives of the British monarchy. Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, Harry, Dick, John, Harry three. One, two, three Neds, Richard Two, Henries, four, five, six, then who? Charlie Higson has always been fascinated by the story of the monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent, the brilliant to the brutal.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this wonderful new book, using the famous rhyme he learned at school as his trusty guide, Charlie takes us through the history of this bizarre and long-lasting institution, introducing readers to every single ruler since poor Harold got it in the eye at the Battle of Hastings (or did he?). Who were all these people, and what did they do? It’s all here. Bloody treachery? Check. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUnruly incest? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check. The War of Jenkins Ear? Sadly, for Robert Jenkins, check.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA rip-roaring journey that takes in the Normans, Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians and Windsors, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee is an utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining guide to who ruled when and whether they were any good at it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 21 May 2026, Penguin\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780008741099\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 432 pages  \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57141496873342,"sku":null,"price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780008741099.jpg?v=1773925195"},{"product_id":"monasterium-the-making-of-medieval-europe-by-james-clark","title":"Monasterium: The Making of Medieval Europe by James Clark","description":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 1 OCT 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | Publication: 1 Oct 2026, Allen Lane\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780241744222\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 288 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57164594577790,"sku":null,"price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"old-songs-stories-of-love-and-death-from-traditional-ballads-by-amy-jeffs-gwen-burns","title":"Old Songs: Stories of Love and Death from Traditional Ballads by Amy Jeffs \u0026 Gwen Burns","description":"\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"slot product-about 9781646091201 isbn-related seemoreenable show opened\" id=\"seemore-0\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"seemore-0\" class=\"slot product-about 9781646091348 isbn-related seemoreenable show opened\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"slot product-about 9781646091355 isbn-related seemoreenable show opened\" id=\"seemore-0\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-listen-to-a-clip\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-in-series\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-by-author\"\u003e\u003ca name=\"#alsobyauthor\" id=\"alsobyauthor\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-listen-to-a-clip\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-in-series\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-by-author\"\u003e\n\u003ca name=\"#alsobyauthor\" id=\"alsobyauthor\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-listen-to-a-clip\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-in-series\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-by-author\"\u003e\n\u003ca id=\"alsobyauthor\" name=\"#alsobyauthor\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-listen-to-a-clip\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-in-series\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-also-by-author\"\u003e\n\u003ca name=\"#alsobyauthor\" id=\"alsobyauthor\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 25 SEPT 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOld Songs fuses short stories, histories, lyrics and illustrations in an enthralling reimagining of traditional folk ballads. Sunday Times Bestselling historian Amy Jeffs and Illustrator Gwen Burns combine forces to create a rich compendium, singing of travel, mystery, magic and the essential urges of humanity. Featuring iterations of fairy tales and sinister descendants of Greek myths and bible stories, as well as a cast of lesser-known characters with names like Tam Lim, Child Wynd and Maisery, Old Songs threads a tapestry of Britain's landscape, history and cultures.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAt the base of hills we can visit to this day, elf queens kidnap hapless poets and carry them through rivers of blood; and at the foot of a tree whose offspring still stand in the forests of Northumberland, a girl mimes combing the hairless head of a dragon who was once her brother. In spellbinding tales of brown-skinned girls who danced on their lovers' graves, of golden-masted ships captained by the Devil, of fiddles that cried \"Murder!\", of men kidnapped by fairies and boys married at fourteen, we find narrative motifs as ancient as humanity itself. In the histories interconnecting the stories, we find the fantastical rooted in the everyday, bringing to light the real experiences of great swathes of people to whom such story-songs were not only familiar, but a way of escaping into the extraordinary and returning gratefully home.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBringing enchantment to familiar landscapes, ballads were created anew by each singer and passed down from fireside to fireside, at the knees of childhood nurses, in manuscripts and in early printed pamphlets. Now, ten stories are gathered here, beautifully recreated for modern readers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 25 Sept 2026, Quercus \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781529438758\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 288 pages \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57172458176894,"sku":null,"price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781529438758.jpg?v=1774530528"},{"product_id":"the-making-of-the-middle-ages-an-atlas-of-europe-by-john-haywood","title":"The Making of the Middle Ages: An Atlas of Europe by John Haywood","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e'This book is Haywood’s crowning achievement. It is a delight just to leaf through the pages, feasting on the eye candy … a beauty to behold … a useful explanation of how, over the space of 500 years, Europe went from order to chaos and then back to a semblance of order. At a time when Europe is again in flux, this is an interesting and edifying tale about interlopers and the inevitability of change' Sunday Times \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTrace the tumultuous history of Europe during the Early Middle Ages through 90 specially commissioned maps and a authoritative narrative.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMedieval Europe remains a mystery to many, yet the relative dearth of information about the period cannot mask its crucial importance in history. Often mischaracterized as a time of darkness and decline, the period from AD 476 to 1000 was marked by turmoil, rebirth and transformation. From the towering legacy of Constantine to the iron rule of Charlemagne, and the Huns, Goths and Saxons to the Slavs, Franks, Vikings, Rus, Bulgars and Magyars, John Haywood brings to life the dynamic story of how a new Europe emerged from the ashes of the crumbling Roman Empire.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe witness the spread of Christianity, the emergence of Islam, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the birth of the leading nations of modern Europe. This is not a tale of decline, but a saga of endurance, reinvention and remarkable strength. Packed with vividly detailed maps and powerful storytelling, Haywood brings to life one of the most misunderstood and pivotal eras in human history.\u003cbr\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback \u003cbr\u003ePublication: 19 Mar 2026, Thames \u0026amp; Hudson \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780500029800\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 352 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57172477673854,"sku":null,"price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780500029800.webp?v=1774530777"},{"product_id":"legenda-the-real-women-behind-the-myths-that-shaped-europe-by-janina-ramirez","title":"Legenda: The Real Women Behind the Myths that Shaped Europe by Janina Ramirez","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"[ lg:columns-2 lg:gap-gutter-lg ]\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 2 JUL 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eFrom the bestselling author of FEMINA, a brilliant reappraisal of the medieval women whose lives have been exploited over centuries for political, nation-building ends. In LEGENDA, bestselling historian Professor Janina Ramirez peels back the layers of time to reveal how the identities of women have been co-opted by those intent on crafting national identities. Their names are well-known, and summaries of their achievements have been recited in classrooms for decades, but medieval women like Joan of Arc, Lady Godiva and Isabella of Castile have been misrepresented, their stories twisted and weaponised.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMeanwhile, ground-breaking 18th and 19th-century women who blazed a trail through revolutionary Europe have been forgotten, their legacies too easily dismissed or ignored. Questioning established narratives and searching for the real women behind the legends, Ramirez interrogates what defines a nation and who gets to build it, shining a light on how history is so often hijacked to serve the ideological and political interests of the present. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-wysiwyg lg:c-wysiwyg--tight-spacing\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback | Extent: 480 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublication: 2 Jul 2026, Ebury \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780753560433\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57172537475454,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780753560433.jpg?v=1774531635"},{"product_id":"the-time-travellers-guide-to-medieval-england-a-handbook-for-visitors-to-the-fourteenth-century-by-ian-mortimer","title":"The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTravel back through time this Christmas on a tour of a completely different world: England in the Middle Ages. Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague?In The Time Traveller's Guide Ian Mortimer's radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHistory is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether that's the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling. 'Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our time' The Times'After The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the middle ages' Guardian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback | Extent: 352 pages\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 1 Oct 2009, Vintage | ISBN: 9781845950996\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57173379055998,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781845950996.jpg?v=1774540977"},{"product_id":"the-migrants-a-memoir-with-manuscripts-by-christopher-de-hamel","title":"The Migrants: A Memoir with Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA brilliant memoir from the bestselling author of Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts. Christopher de Hamel is one of the world’s best-known scholars and writers on illuminated manuscripts. He was mostly brought up in the south of New Zealand, where his family moved when he was four. This book magically evokes a childhood at vast distance from Europe, recalling his thrill and wonder in first encountering medieval manuscripts in libraries there and the realization that they too are migrants far from home.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Migrants explores the immense journeys of books and people. It is a tale of colonization and the migration of culture – of motives and idealism, triumphs and disasters – bringing us face-to-face with history. We meet the colonial governor on his paradise island, the shipwrecked accountant, the nonagenarian who cut up manuscripts, the magnate who unknowingly bought Becket’s Boethius and the early settler who inscribed his Book of Hours in the Maori language in 1842.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe travel with the author today back to where these manuscripts began their own lives, through France and Poland and medieval England, discovering their first owners and following the longest journeys on earth. This is a coming-of-age saga with extraordinary twists, crossing many hundreds of years and tens of thousands of miles, recounted with passion, humour and a lifetime’s reflection.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHardback | \u003cspan\u003eExtent: 320 pages | ISBN: 9780241670125\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublication: 9 Apr 2026, Bloomsbury \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57179774255486,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9780241670125.jpg?v=1774627520"},{"product_id":"margaret-beaufort-survivor-rebel-kingmaker-by-lauren-johnson","title":"Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker by Lauren Johnson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATE OF RELEASE: 12 NOV 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSurvivor. Rebel. Conspirator.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMother and grandmother of kings. Margaret Beaufort was one of the most remarkable and influential women of the Middle Ages. Margaret was born into a century of conflict.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe daughter of the Duke of Somerset and a descendant of Edward III, she was married at twelve; a mother, orphan and widow at thirteen. She rode the vicissitudes of the Wars of the Roses, and two further marriages, to see her only son Henry ascend the throne of England as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Margaret helped to bring about the marriage of Henry VII to Elizabeth of York, a union that helped heal the wounds of a bitterly divided nation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring Henry’s reign, she exerted considerable influence at court and played a part in the upbringing of her grandson, the future Henry VIII. She was a lifelong artistic patron and supporter of academia. By the time of her death in June 1509, Margaret had outlived by two months the son whose birth had so nearly killed her.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLauren Johnson’s life of Margaret Beaufort brings its subject vividly and memorably to life. She delineates the decades of political upheaval that were the backdrop to Margaret’s long and resilient career, but also tells her story with a profound and touching humanity. This was a woman who endured the trauma of childbirth when she was little more than a child herself; who saw her baby on only a handful of occasions before he reached manhood; who braved decades of danger and uncertainty, and who succeeded in guiding her son – through courage, political astuteness and sheer persistence – to the greatest prize of all: the crown of England.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback | Extent: 480 pages\u003cbr\u003ePublication: 12 Nov 2026, Bloomsbury | ISBN: 9781789541656\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57391069135230,"sku":null,"price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781789541656.jpg?v=1778493740"},{"product_id":"bede-the-man-who-invented-england-by-edoardo-albert","title":"Bede: The Man Who Invented England by Edoardo Albert","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat is England, and who are the English? The man who first posed and answered these questions lived 1,200 years ago in Northumberland. The Venerable Bede spent almost his whole life in two monasteries looking over the North Sea, far from the centres of civilisation. Yet he became the foremost scholar of the first millennium, writing a history that continues to illuminate the Dark Ages, while also popularising our modern dating scheme.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFaced with a Britain of competing kingdoms and peoples, it was Bede who first wrote of the English as a single people. It was his vision that created the story that has united and divided Britain ever since: an island divided into three countries. Based on the most up-to-date research and historical and archaeological evidence, this book pieces together Bede’s life and those of the monks and nuns, warriors and kings, farmers and merchants who made up the kingdoms in the contested realm of Britain. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003ePaperback \u003cbr\u003ePublication: 4 Jun 2026, Birlinn\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781780278391\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eExtent: 320 pages\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David's Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57398061367678,"sku":null,"price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/0892\/5225\/files\/9781780278391.jpg?v=1778590754"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.davids-bookshops.co.uk\/collections\/medieval-history.oembed","provider":"David's Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}