Back in April, my latest book was published by Birlinn of Edinburgh under their ‘John Donald’ imprint. It looks at the history of the Isle of Man in the early medieval period and beyond, covering a span of more than 800 years from the fifth century to the thirteenth. A substantial part of the book deals with the Viking Age and with the strong Norse influence that can still be felt in the present-day Manx landscape.

As with most of my previous books, the main focus is on political history – king...