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Aelfraed #2
Outlaw
It is 1066 and the Saxon leadership lie dead at Senlac Hill. Only Aelfraed and his northern rebels hold out against the Norman war machine. Fighting treachery as well as Normans Aelfraed and his warriors bravely take the fight to the Normans. Forced to become outlaws they fight a rearguard action from the northern forests until William relentlessly hunts them down.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2012
156 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Griff Hosker
305 books419 followersI was born in 1950 in Lancashire and attended a boy’s grammar school. After qualifying as an English and Drama teacher in 1972, I worked in the North East of England for the next 35 years. During that time I did write, mainly plays, pantos and musicals for the students at the three schools in which I worked.
When I stopped teaching I set up my own consultancy firm and worked as an adviser in schools and colleges in the North East of England. The new Conservative Government ended that avenue of work and in 2010 I found that I had time on my hands; having started work at the age of 15 I found the lack of work not to my liking and used the time to research the Roman invasion of Britain and begin to create a novel. The result was The Sword of Cartimandua.
My decision to begin writing was one of the best I have ever taken.
griff-signature-360x57
When I stopped teaching I set up my own consultancy firm and worked as an adviser in schools and colleges in the North East of England. The new Conservative Government ended that avenue of work and in 2010 I found that I had time on my hands; having started work at the age of 15 I found the lack of work not to my liking and used the time to research the Roman invasion of Britain and begin to create a novel. The result was The Sword of Cartimandua.
My decision to begin writing was one of the best I have ever taken.
griff-signature-360x57
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 14, 2025
A highly enjoyable take on GB’s most impactful historical event. 4.5⭐️
June 7, 2015
Once again only 4 stars for a good tale well told. Lost the fifth star on poor editing and proofreading, if anything this one was a little worse than Housecarl. No reason to avoid the book, but be prepared to add missing words here and there and sort out a couple of contradictory statements. That said, I've already started the next book in the series!
March 30, 2021
Ah, I hear you say; “You have only Four Stars on this book, yet you have always given Griff Hosker books Five Stars! How come?” Well it is Five Stars for the excellent and gripping story, but only Three Stars for the historical aspects – more on that later.
In this, the second of the Ælfræd books, our hero is an outlaw, a wolf’s head as a result of not bending his knee to the new Norman king and his bloody handed henchmen. “Outlaw” deals with the northern revolt against the Norman Conquest and the subsequent “Harrowing of the North”, which contemporary writers said left the land a wilderness as the Normans had killed all that moved, human and animal, and burnt down what didn’t move, buildings and crops. Those not killed starved to death. Against this background the fictional Ælfræd leads an ever diminishing band of resistance fighters, frequently betrayed by those who would compromise in order to survive.
Blood skirmishes and even set piece battles and siege are part of the tale, though the descriptions of battle are not over done. As before, I was taken by the author’s ability to set a difficult task for the hero, and then come up with plausible solutions. I am also taken by Hosker’s characters, who are full rounded and described in such a way that you feel you know them and the fact that he totally portrays the warrior ethos of the time.
What I am not taken with, this time, are the changes with recorded history. Now, in my review of the first book in the series “Housecarl”, I mentioned Hosker doing a William Shakespeare with the matter of William of Jumieges, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was deposed during the reign of Edward the Confessor after he fled to Normandy, taking with him Harold Godwinson’s brother, Wulfnoth, and Harold’s nephew, Hakon: Hosker had him still at Edward’s Court, scheming. Well, William the ex is scheming in this book too, despite being dead and buried in Normandy by this time. Now, that, because it gave a focus on Norman perfidy, I could cope with. In this book I can also cope with the Norman appointed Earl of Northumberland, Copsi, being murdered by Ælfræd rather than the real killer, Osulf Eadulfson. Ælfræd being King Harold Godwinson’s bastard and then having an affair with King Harold’s widow, Ealdgyth, passable fiction. But, and here comes the crunch: Edgar Ætheling was not the son of King Harold and his handfast wife, Edith Swanneck: he was the son of Edgar the Exile, and the last male of the royal Wessex bloodline. Harold’s wife, Ealdgyth gave birth to a son, Harold, after the Battle of Hastings (the fictional twin Ulf could be inspired by Edith’s youngest son of that name) and she and the boy were besieged at Chester before escaping to Dublin. Ultimately young Harold journeyed to Norway. Here, so the chronicler William of Malmesbury tells us, he was received well by King Magnus. The reception we are told, was the result of King Harold's mercy to Magnus after the defeat of the Viking army at Stamford Bridge. Harold next appears amongst the followers of King Magnus off the Isle of Anglesey. Here a battle was fought against the Norman earls of Shrewsbury and Chester. A great historical irony was Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury being killed by an arrow!
Of young Harold no more is known. However, there were many tales that told that King Harold had survived the Battle of Hastings. One of these, the Norse saga Jatvarþar, has King Harold as a hermit living near Chester. It says that it was there that King Harold spoke to King Henry I, a fact attested to by two Latin chronicles. It may well be the hermit King Harold that Henry I spoke to was in fact Harold Haroldson.
Sigh: normally a Griff Hosker book is a one day read, but this one took me a week as the Shakespeare inspired changes to actual history grated. I has so looked forward to this book as it deals with the Northern Uprisings, whereas my own novel on the English Resistance to the Norman Conquest https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
deals with the revolts in the West and East of England.
Oh well, now onto the third book in the series “Varangian” for, despite my niggles, I find the story of Ælfræd compelling reading.
If you are interested in the period may I recommend you visit my Web Page on the topic:
https://www.members.tripod.com/~Geoff...
In this, the second of the Ælfræd books, our hero is an outlaw, a wolf’s head as a result of not bending his knee to the new Norman king and his bloody handed henchmen. “Outlaw” deals with the northern revolt against the Norman Conquest and the subsequent “Harrowing of the North”, which contemporary writers said left the land a wilderness as the Normans had killed all that moved, human and animal, and burnt down what didn’t move, buildings and crops. Those not killed starved to death. Against this background the fictional Ælfræd leads an ever diminishing band of resistance fighters, frequently betrayed by those who would compromise in order to survive.
Blood skirmishes and even set piece battles and siege are part of the tale, though the descriptions of battle are not over done. As before, I was taken by the author’s ability to set a difficult task for the hero, and then come up with plausible solutions. I am also taken by Hosker’s characters, who are full rounded and described in such a way that you feel you know them and the fact that he totally portrays the warrior ethos of the time.
What I am not taken with, this time, are the changes with recorded history. Now, in my review of the first book in the series “Housecarl”, I mentioned Hosker doing a William Shakespeare with the matter of William of Jumieges, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was deposed during the reign of Edward the Confessor after he fled to Normandy, taking with him Harold Godwinson’s brother, Wulfnoth, and Harold’s nephew, Hakon: Hosker had him still at Edward’s Court, scheming. Well, William the ex is scheming in this book too, despite being dead and buried in Normandy by this time. Now, that, because it gave a focus on Norman perfidy, I could cope with. In this book I can also cope with the Norman appointed Earl of Northumberland, Copsi, being murdered by Ælfræd rather than the real killer, Osulf Eadulfson. Ælfræd being King Harold Godwinson’s bastard and then having an affair with King Harold’s widow, Ealdgyth, passable fiction. But, and here comes the crunch: Edgar Ætheling was not the son of King Harold and his handfast wife, Edith Swanneck: he was the son of Edgar the Exile, and the last male of the royal Wessex bloodline. Harold’s wife, Ealdgyth gave birth to a son, Harold, after the Battle of Hastings (the fictional twin Ulf could be inspired by Edith’s youngest son of that name) and she and the boy were besieged at Chester before escaping to Dublin. Ultimately young Harold journeyed to Norway. Here, so the chronicler William of Malmesbury tells us, he was received well by King Magnus. The reception we are told, was the result of King Harold's mercy to Magnus after the defeat of the Viking army at Stamford Bridge. Harold next appears amongst the followers of King Magnus off the Isle of Anglesey. Here a battle was fought against the Norman earls of Shrewsbury and Chester. A great historical irony was Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury being killed by an arrow!
Of young Harold no more is known. However, there were many tales that told that King Harold had survived the Battle of Hastings. One of these, the Norse saga Jatvarþar, has King Harold as a hermit living near Chester. It says that it was there that King Harold spoke to King Henry I, a fact attested to by two Latin chronicles. It may well be the hermit King Harold that Henry I spoke to was in fact Harold Haroldson.
Sigh: normally a Griff Hosker book is a one day read, but this one took me a week as the Shakespeare inspired changes to actual history grated. I has so looked forward to this book as it deals with the Northern Uprisings, whereas my own novel on the English Resistance to the Norman Conquest https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
deals with the revolts in the West and East of England.
Oh well, now onto the third book in the series “Varangian” for, despite my niggles, I find the story of Ælfræd compelling reading.
If you are interested in the period may I recommend you visit my Web Page on the topic:
https://www.members.tripod.com/~Geoff...
July 1, 2019
WOW!!! AWESOME BOOK MUST READ!!!
I enjoyed the action-packed storyline. It kept me turning page after page until I finished it. Now ready for the last book I'm sure it will break my heart as this book did in part. But it was the way it was. I truly appreciated the historic aspects of the storyline. A very incredible well told story! I loved it and the characters! The best!
I enjoyed the action-packed storyline. It kept me turning page after page until I finished it. Now ready for the last book I'm sure it will break my heart as this book did in part. But it was the way it was. I truly appreciated the historic aspects of the storyline. A very incredible well told story! I loved it and the characters! The best!
January 19, 2020
Typical Hosker book
When I write typical I mean a narrative that keeps moving with lots of characters and action. I believe I am getting the historical feel for the land, people, and the feeling for this time. Enjoyable.
When I write typical I mean a narrative that keeps moving with lots of characters and action. I believe I am getting the historical feel for the land, people, and the feeling for this time. Enjoyable.
June 21, 2020
Good story
The story is good, with plenty of space, and it's interesting to read something placed after 1066. On the downside, the text is packed with literals, missed words, wrong words ... Spellcheck or whatever is used now looks a likely candidate.
The story is good, with plenty of space, and it's interesting to read something placed after 1066. On the downside, the text is packed with literals, missed words, wrong words ... Spellcheck or whatever is used now looks a likely candidate.
October 15, 2019
Enjoyable read
I have enjoyed reading this book. Following the characters has been interesting. Worth a read if you like this era
I have enjoyed reading this book. Following the characters has been interesting. Worth a read if you like this era
January 31, 2021
Housecarl turned Outlaw. Aelfraed losing battle against a formidable William the Conqueror. Great battle sequences as always.
May 13, 2024
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews