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The Earls of Mercia #4
Northman Part 2: England: The Second Viking Age
Northman, eldest son of Ealdorman Leofwine, husband, father and brother almost snatched a moment of peace when King Swein of Denmark helped himself to the English throne, and Aethelred removed himself to the Court of Duke Richard II of Normandy, his brother by marriage.
But when Swein unexpectedly dies weeks after his coronation, England is once more plunged into strife and war, for who will succeed to the throne now?
Leofwine, ex-enemy and sometime friend of Swein of Denmark, is given an unenviable task on the short-lived King’s deathbed, one he will struggle to accomplish without compromising himself, his family, and oaths already given.
Northman, son of Leofwine, and foster son of Eadric, Ealdorman of Mercia must once more tread carefully as he tries to navigate the twists and turns of the conflicted Witan, and the men who believe that they should rule England, Aethelred the usurped King, Cnut the son of Swein and the sons of Aethelred, Athelstan, Edmund and his younger sons, Edward and Alfred from his second wife.
As external enemies try to exploit internal divisions, a disunited England becomes a real possibility and one that Leofwine, Northman and Leofric must combat at all odds.
Covering the year 1013-1017, Northman Part 2 is the fourth part of the Earls of Mercia Series and can best be appreciated after reading Northman Part 1 (although not necessarily Ealdorman and Ealdormen if you’re a little impatient). It continues the story of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, Northman, his eldest son and Leofwine’s second son, Leofric.
But when Swein unexpectedly dies weeks after his coronation, England is once more plunged into strife and war, for who will succeed to the throne now?
Leofwine, ex-enemy and sometime friend of Swein of Denmark, is given an unenviable task on the short-lived King’s deathbed, one he will struggle to accomplish without compromising himself, his family, and oaths already given.
Northman, son of Leofwine, and foster son of Eadric, Ealdorman of Mercia must once more tread carefully as he tries to navigate the twists and turns of the conflicted Witan, and the men who believe that they should rule England, Aethelred the usurped King, Cnut the son of Swein and the sons of Aethelred, Athelstan, Edmund and his younger sons, Edward and Alfred from his second wife.
As external enemies try to exploit internal divisions, a disunited England becomes a real possibility and one that Leofwine, Northman and Leofric must combat at all odds.
Covering the year 1013-1017, Northman Part 2 is the fourth part of the Earls of Mercia Series and can best be appreciated after reading Northman Part 1 (although not necessarily Ealdorman and Ealdormen if you’re a little impatient). It continues the story of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, Northman, his eldest son and Leofwine’s second son, Leofric.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
488 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2014
49 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Porter
114 books261 followersI'm an author of historical fiction (Early English (before 1066)/Viking) and now five 20th-century mysteries..
The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles (featuring a young Icel from The Last King series) is now available from Boldwood Books. As is the complete Brunanburh Series and the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy, my foray to before Saxon England was Saxon England. Enjoy.
The Ninth Century Series (The Last King), are stories of ninth-century England, but not as it's been written before, (featuring an older Icel and some other familiar faces too).
The Erdington Mysteries now has a fourth book in the series—The Secret Sauce. (Did you know Erdington would have been in Mercia back in the Saxon period? I know, you can't get me away from the place.) The Barrage Body is coming soon.
The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book about the royal women of the tenth century, is available now.
I like to write. You've been warned.
Find me at
www.mjporterauthor.com or at www.mjporterauthor.blog where I blog about books and films and sometimes, writing!
https://linktr.ee/MJPorterauthor
https://mjporterauthor.sumupstore.com
You can join my monthly subscriber newsletters and gain access to the restricted page on my blog at the same time.
https://BookHip.com/MGWHLDC (Saxon stories)
https://BookHip.com/THPKCKP (mysteries only)
(I have odd reading tastes - there's no need to notice though!!) I'm also exceedingly anti-social - that you may notice but must accept!
The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles (featuring a young Icel from The Last King series) is now available from Boldwood Books. As is the complete Brunanburh Series and the Dark Age Chronicles Trilogy, my foray to before Saxon England was Saxon England. Enjoy.
The Ninth Century Series (The Last King), are stories of ninth-century England, but not as it's been written before, (featuring an older Icel and some other familiar faces too).
The Erdington Mysteries now has a fourth book in the series—The Secret Sauce. (Did you know Erdington would have been in Mercia back in the Saxon period? I know, you can't get me away from the place.) The Barrage Body is coming soon.
The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book about the royal women of the tenth century, is available now.
I like to write. You've been warned.
Find me at
www.mjporterauthor.com or at www.mjporterauthor.blog where I blog about books and films and sometimes, writing!
https://linktr.ee/MJPorterauthor
https://mjporterauthor.sumupstore.com
You can join my monthly subscriber newsletters and gain access to the restricted page on my blog at the same time.
https://BookHip.com/MGWHLDC (Saxon stories)
https://BookHip.com/THPKCKP (mysteries only)
(I have odd reading tastes - there's no need to notice though!!) I'm also exceedingly anti-social - that you may notice but must accept!
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 24, 2019
This series has TONS of grammatical errors; it is very difficult to read at times. You have to go back and reread over and over sometimes to know which character is speaking. There were actually a couple places I just gave up and moved on. I wish the series could get a decent editor because the book content is very interesting.
This particular book, #4, the end of Northman, was hard. I never really liked this character as he continued to make stupid decisions. I don't think he would have been with his foster family after the audacities committed. As the main character, I probably would have assassinated him myself long before he did what he did for the sake of saving lives. (Kind of a Jon Snow move or Varys motivation).
All in all, the author writes a good story and makes the bits of history speculation a bit fascinating. I would recommend the read just insert commas to places it doesn't make sense.
This particular book, #4, the end of Northman, was hard. I never really liked this character as he continued to make stupid decisions. I don't think he would have been with his foster family after the audacities committed. As the main character, I probably would have assassinated him myself long before he did what he did for the sake of saving lives. (Kind of a Jon Snow move or Varys motivation).
All in all, the author writes a good story and makes the bits of history speculation a bit fascinating. I would recommend the read just insert commas to places it doesn't make sense.
January 23, 2022
editing mistakes
I love MJ’s writing. Her characterisations of these historical figures seem to me to be spot on, and the story is always engaging. However, I had to drop my ratings for Northman I and II due to grammar mistakes and bad editing. It literally made me cringe to see characters ‘wondering’ from the hall, or among their men and that was the least of the errors. Please, please get a better editor. I would be happy to go through and edit the books myself! It’s a testament to her writing and storytelling that I finish her books. Normally, with a kindle unlimited book, I stop reading if the editing is bad. Few other authors are writing in this space, and it would greatly improve the book ratings with a proper editor.
I love MJ’s writing. Her characterisations of these historical figures seem to me to be spot on, and the story is always engaging. However, I had to drop my ratings for Northman I and II due to grammar mistakes and bad editing. It literally made me cringe to see characters ‘wondering’ from the hall, or among their men and that was the least of the errors. Please, please get a better editor. I would be happy to go through and edit the books myself! It’s a testament to her writing and storytelling that I finish her books. Normally, with a kindle unlimited book, I stop reading if the editing is bad. Few other authors are writing in this space, and it would greatly improve the book ratings with a proper editor.
April 2, 2023
less typos than book three, not sure if I buy the plot
I don’t have access to the historical data of the author, but the Northman/Eadric plot just doesn’t ring true. I don’t see how he could have kept it going for so long.
I don’t have access to the historical data of the author, but the Northman/Eadric plot just doesn’t ring true. I don’t see how he could have kept it going for so long.
January 11, 2023
I have bounced back and forth between a 3 and a 4 star rating. Call it 3.5 Stars. This is after much thought after completing tge story, and rereading several sections.
A lot of introspection, action-by-moving troops hither and yon, or by dialogue paragraphs. These methods of storytelling are important to moving things along, but they don’t take the place of actual battle action, or call it clarity in the fog of war. I want to see the flash of a bolt or arrow, the singing of a fast moving blade as it just misses the head…snorting and bugling of war horses and border ponies…smell the churned earth under a thousand feet as the shield walls fight for dominance…feel the weariness of a rider at the end of a 50 league forced ride.
The author does an excellent job of closely mimicking the history of 11th century England. But it’s also one of those things that is a true downer for me - the ending and how it got to that point.
(Spoiler alert).
In a small way it was good to see the Leofwine & Northman plot to keep tabs on the major billiards in this novel (Eadric). It was sneaky and completely wrong for the purported high moral & ethical standards of the father and son. At first it seemed there was some validity in Northman playing a sneak/spy, but when they got back together and publicly resolved their fake differences, there was no logical reason to start up the fake falling-out of father and son…AGAIN! This let to some very confusing passages describing events towards the end of the book. It didn’t logically fit and made Northman appear to be a bumbler who did a poor job of making decisions his life depended on. It just didn’t hang together for me.
A lot of introspection, action-by-moving troops hither and yon, or by dialogue paragraphs. These methods of storytelling are important to moving things along, but they don’t take the place of actual battle action, or call it clarity in the fog of war. I want to see the flash of a bolt or arrow, the singing of a fast moving blade as it just misses the head…snorting and bugling of war horses and border ponies…smell the churned earth under a thousand feet as the shield walls fight for dominance…feel the weariness of a rider at the end of a 50 league forced ride.
The author does an excellent job of closely mimicking the history of 11th century England. But it’s also one of those things that is a true downer for me - the ending and how it got to that point.
(Spoiler alert).
In a small way it was good to see the Leofwine & Northman plot to keep tabs on the major billiards in this novel (Eadric). It was sneaky and completely wrong for the purported high moral & ethical standards of the father and son. At first it seemed there was some validity in Northman playing a sneak/spy, but when they got back together and publicly resolved their fake differences, there was no logical reason to start up the fake falling-out of father and son…AGAIN! This let to some very confusing passages describing events towards the end of the book. It didn’t logically fit and made Northman appear to be a bumbler who did a poor job of making decisions his life depended on. It just didn’t hang together for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2026
English vs Dane: who will rule England?
There is so much tension throughout this story. Will the English hold onto their lands against the Danes? Will Leofwine still be one of the King’s trusted men? Will Northman be reunited with his family?
Leofwine does see how weak Æthelred is asking and he is easily swayed by Èadric, who only looks out for his own interest. So he understands that Cnut could be a better king, but he’s loyal to his English king. Will this loyalty bring down his family?
Leofwine makes oaths to two kings about cessation. How will he navigate these promises? It doesn’t seem like his path will be easy. Now his eldest son, Northman, remains with the dreaded Eadric as a spy to thwart his self-serving desires. Will his sacrifice away from his family be worth it?
Cnut does have a point: “Birth should mean nothing. Surely it’s better to have a strong king who can keep your land safe, than a weak king who’s only king by virtue of his birth?”
I was riveted until the end. Also I must mention all the loyal hounds of Leofwine and his sons. This brings a realness to their personalities.
How will Leofwine react moving forward?
There is so much tension throughout this story. Will the English hold onto their lands against the Danes? Will Leofwine still be one of the King’s trusted men? Will Northman be reunited with his family?
Leofwine does see how weak Æthelred is asking and he is easily swayed by Èadric, who only looks out for his own interest. So he understands that Cnut could be a better king, but he’s loyal to his English king. Will this loyalty bring down his family?
Leofwine makes oaths to two kings about cessation. How will he navigate these promises? It doesn’t seem like his path will be easy. Now his eldest son, Northman, remains with the dreaded Eadric as a spy to thwart his self-serving desires. Will his sacrifice away from his family be worth it?
Cnut does have a point: “Birth should mean nothing. Surely it’s better to have a strong king who can keep your land safe, than a weak king who’s only king by virtue of his birth?”
I was riveted until the end. Also I must mention all the loyal hounds of Leofwine and his sons. This brings a realness to their personalities.
How will Leofwine react moving forward?
Read
December 21, 2020This was a book written in a great hurry and it showed. It was full of one dimensional characters, spelling and grammatical errors which destroyed any pleasure to be gained from reading it. If you add in the author’s insistence that each individual seemed to be “ smirking” 50% of the time it is little wonder that they were all at war with each other. How about using “ grimace” or “ fleeting expression of relief”. Anything but smirk!!... An unredeemably awful book!
September 25, 2025
Thrilling writing, poor editing.
Much like Northman 1, this book accelerates through its story, this time telling of the rise of King Cnut. Great story telling adds a personal touch to the narrative.
The same problems as book 1, of poor editing and proof reading, still plague this book. If somebody could identify the difference between wondering and wandering as well as make sure the correct names are used in each part it would greatly improve the reading experience.
Much like Northman 1, this book accelerates through its story, this time telling of the rise of King Cnut. Great story telling adds a personal touch to the narrative.
The same problems as book 1, of poor editing and proof reading, still plague this book. If somebody could identify the difference between wondering and wandering as well as make sure the correct names are used in each part it would greatly improve the reading experience.
November 11, 2023
a fathers love
I feel the rage and desolation of Leofwine at the loss and waste of Northman’s life and hope he seeks solace in his remaining sons
Clearly Cnut was fooled and Leofwine has himself to blame for the success of their subterfuge
I feel the rage and desolation of Leofwine at the loss and waste of Northman’s life and hope he seeks solace in his remaining sons
Clearly Cnut was fooled and Leofwine has himself to blame for the success of their subterfuge
January 15, 2025
Northman
I couldn't think of a better title for this review than Northman this is the story of the relationship of a father and son. It tells the story of love for family and of country. In a time of great stress on th e English people
I couldn't think of a better title for this review than Northman this is the story of the relationship of a father and son. It tells the story of love for family and of country. In a time of great stress on th e English people
September 23, 2025
- The political landscape is engaging. Although I find it hard to believe the traitorous character lasted as long as he did with the first King, let alone the second.
sff-ok-bx
December 1, 2025bx,Rokp (1.99)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews