English Dawn Series

A nithing – an outcast – is set upon by robbers and nearly killed, but he fights back, joins their band, and eventually finds a new bench-place with King Hoc of the Half-Danes. That nithing's name is Hengest, the hero of the Battle of Sonderburh, and he rises to become king's thegn, but things start to go badly for him when he is drawn into King Hoc's bitter feud with the Frisians. This is the first part of the English Dawn Pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the Dark Ages: the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of Attila the Hun, the raids by the Picts and the Scots, and the usurpation of the kingship of Britannia by the tyrant, Vortigern. These events are a prequel to the age of Arthur, and the final chapter of the pentalogy sees Merlin setting up the sword in the stone for the king who is to come.

A tomboyish girl, fond of stories of shieldmaidens and waelcyries, gets involved a viking raid led by her older brother. The raid goes wrong, and her stepmother tries to teach her that her 'womanly weapons' have more power. She goes on to seduce one king of Britannia and kill another, thus playing as large a part in the conquest of that country as her father, Hengest – but can she ever find true love? This is the third part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the Dark Ages: the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of Attila the Hun, the raids by the Picts and the Scots, and the usurpation of the kingship of Britannia by the tyrant, Vortigern. These events are a prequel to the age of Arthur, and the final chapter of the pentalogy sees Merlin setting up the sword in the stone for the king who is to come.

Attila explodes on the world, threatening to bring down the Roman Empire, and few can stand against him. Waldere is one, who, after escaping from Attila, and fighting single-handed, dispatches eleven of his attackers. Another is Aurelius, Britannia's rightful king, but in exile in Armorica. These heroes, and many others, join forces with Aetius, who has put together a shambolic army of allies, auxiliaries and and foederati, the last that Rome will ever field – but is it enough to protect the Empire from the fury of Attila? This is the second part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the Dark Ages: the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of Attila the Hun, the raids by the Picts and the Scots, and the usurpation of the kingship of Britannia by the tyrant, Vortigern. These events are a prequel to the age of Arthur, and the final chapter of the pentalogy sees Merlin setting up the sword in the stone for the king who is to come.

Britannia is overrun by migrants who speak a strange language and worship heathen gods, and Bishop Brice is given the job of trying to persuade the Romans to send a legion to drive them out. But the Romans have their own problems and are reluctant to spare any of their dwindling forces. However, a bishop called Germanus, eager to suppress the Pelagian heresy, manages to put together a small force to help the Britons. His religious zeal leads to a great victory at Maes Garmon - but can it protect him from the wiles of the Angle angel, Rowena?   This is the fourth part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the Dark Ages: the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of Attila the Hun, the raids by the Picts and the Scots, and the usurpation of the kingship of Britannia by the tyrant, Vortigern. These events are a prequel to the age of Arthur, and the final chapter of the pentalogy sees Merlin setting up the sword in the stone for the king who is to come.

Aurelius' legion is ready to make the attempt to reconquer Britannia, but powerful forces are ranged against him; the tyrant Vortigern and his Pictish mercenaries, and the vast forces of Angles, Saxons and Geats who are beginning to take over the country. To succeed he needs a symbol to rally every Briton to his banner – The Sword of Albion. But it has been well hidden, and all he has to help him to find it is a cryptic clue. This is the final part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the Dark Ages: the decline of the Roman Empire, the rise of Attila the Hun, the raids by the Picts and the Scots, and the usurpation of the kingship of Britannia by the tyrant, Vortigern. These events are a prequel to the age of Arthur, and the final chapter of the pentalogy sees Merlin setting up the sword in the stone for the king who is to come.

English Morn tells the same story as English Dawn, but in verse, and is a kind of Aeneid for England. The Aeneid tells how Rome was founded by two brothers, Romulus and Remus. English Morn tells a similar story - how England was founded by the brothers Hengest and Horsa. At a time when the very idea of 'Englishness' is being called into question, this book gives a vivid account of the origins of the English nation, and is therefore truly an epic for England.    

Dreng (Anglo-Saxon): "Young warrior". Nithing, the first book of the English Dawn Pentalogy, begins in medias res, with Hengest exiled from Angeln for a revenge raid on Frisia which he led when only 17 years of age. This is the story of that raid and the events leading up to it.