Allegiance of Blood

by Mark Turnbull

Sir Francis Berkeley strives to protect his wife and family from the brutal effects of the British Civil War. But aside from the struggle between king and parliament, the allegiances of family, friendship and honour entangle him at every turn and prove to be just as bloody.

As a witness to treason on the field of Edgehill, Francis is drawn into a fast-moving world of espionage and politics. Against a backdrop of some of the major battles and sieges, Francis’s fight to reunite his family opens up very different conflicts with which to contend.

Everything is at stake when the war comes to a little church one December morning. Can the family survive the parliamentarian onslaught as well as their own feud?

Genres: History

Paperback

Published October 23, 2019

About the author

Since childhood I have been a passionate enthusiast of seventeenth century history, taking part in battle re-enactments and visiting historic sites. I live in Durham, England. Apart from personal enjoyment, I decided to write because I wanted to contribute to knowledge of the 17th century, and help keep the historical events alive.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a regional chair of The Battlefields Trust.

Reviews

[Mary Yarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Who speaks of peace at a time like this?”

The lèse-majesté of Parliament has led to this, or so says the King. The King’s rejection of the Nineteen Propositions led to this, the Roundheads counter. Regardless of whose fault it is, the die has been cast, and that tiny spark of defiance has lit an inferno. The fields are now soaked with English blood. The wounded and dying cry out for mercy. This is what Civil War looks like. Pym was right, who can speak of peace at a time like this?

Staunch Royalist, Sir Francis Berkeley, awakened to high-pitched shrieks and low tormented moans, but that was not all he heard as he lay wounded on the battleground of Edgehill. There is a traitor in their midst. A man who is intent on leaking information to the enemy. This man must be stopped. But what if that man turns out to be a friend? What then?

From the bloody aftermath of the Battle of Edgehill to the Church of St Lawrence at Alton, Allegiance of Blood by Mark Turnbull is the eloquent retelling of one of the darkest eras in English history.

Told from the viewpoint of both the Royalists and the parliamentarians, Allegiance of Blood is a monumental work of scholarship. The depth and scope of this book is not only impressive but vivid, compelling, and tautly gripping. The canvas is vast, but Turnbull has full control of his characters. Allegiance in Blood is an exhilarating adventure from start to finish.

Sir Francis Berkeley, the hero in this unforgettable tale, is a man of deep understanding and loyalty. He is the King's man, and yet there are times, especially when dealing with friends and family, where his conscience demands a more human touch than that of a hardened soldier. Through Francis' eyes, Turnbull has captured the very essence of what it must have been like to fight against your fellow countryman, to watch as your family is torn apart by conflicting allegiances and selfish ambition. Not only does Francis have to fight a war, but he is also ever mindful of the influence of his spiteful and poisonous mother-in-law who is determined to turn his wife against him. Turnbull has given his readers a character in Francis, whose realism is almost tangible. Brilliant!

There are many historical characters in this book. Turnbull has given as much care and attention to their detailing as he does to his protagonist — Francis. Amongst the horror and the filth of war, several characters captured my attention. Turnbull's portrayal of Prince Rupert of the Rhine was utterly sublime. Rupert's obstinate and sometimes arrogant nature counters his sharp intelligence and his military mind, which made this portrayal not only compelling but absolutely irresistible.

Another portrayal of a historical character that deserves my praise is that of John Pym. Turnbull has penned Pym exactly how I imagined him to be. Pym is steadfast in his beliefs, and his responsibilities lie heavy on his shoulders, especially when his own body is failing him. A wonderful depiction of one of the key figures of the English Civil War.

Likewise, Turnbull's portrayal of King Charles and Henrietta Maria, Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland was written with diligence and care. I thought they were masterfully portrayed, as was the young Prince James, Duke of York.

The historical detailing of this book has to be commended. Turnbull has very obviously devoted many hours to researching this era, the people who shaped this history, and the battles that saturated England's fields with the blood of her sons and daughters. But not only does Turnbull write about the war and the matters of state, he also depicts what the war was like for the ordinary citizens — how their world too was turned upside down by this war. The attention to detail and the very short chapters, certainly made this book an enthralling epic. Kudos, Mr Turnbull, your hard work has certainly paid off.

There are several famous battles in this book, but the one that stood out for me was the Storming of Bristol. Not only did Turnbull recount this battle with a historian's attention to detail, but he also described it with a novelist eye for the entertaining. Turnbull certainly knows how to keep his readers hooked.

If you are looking for your next great English Civil War Historical Fiction book, then look no further than Allegiance of Blood by Mark Turnbull. Fans of battle heavy fiction will undoubtedly love this book.

Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.

[Michael Bully · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story open at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 and I was immediately struck by the high qualify of the writing. The scenes shift from different counties and there are a number of prominent characters who play significant roles, but they begin to connect well. The story line is unpredictable, and builds to a great climax.
The standard subjects of divided families, the sheer sadness and misery of civil war, the general horror of war itself, spying, sly individuals who aim to stay on the winning side at whatever cost, corruption. There seems little in the way of political or religious idealism , though characters show great courage to assist their loved ones who are caught up in the fighting. Perhaps this is one of the strengths of the novel, the author isn't taking on either a teacher or preacher role, but presents a well crafted tale. There is a great array of historical detail, such as which herb bushes to dry laundry on, which indoor plants help to keep away flies, the smell of saltpetre , as well as keeping to the main civil war timeline. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Tony Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading military historical fiction since the early 1980s, inspiring me towards being a Military Historian and officer for the Battlefields Trust.
The heart of the novel is in the characters, the narrative is very personal, the action is tightly focused upon the individuals with the significant battles and sieges being the backdrop. It is this aspect that I found exceptional.
Even without it’s Historical aspect Allegiance of Blood would be an outstanding novel, it is enriched immensely by the detailed and credible historical background Mark provides, the combination of complex and skillful story telling, with this Historical detail has resulted in what I consider a masterpiece of Historical fiction; I believe this novel sets the standard of balance between History and fiction at a very high level, it can be used as a template. Some of the prose is simply beautiful, making one pause in admiration. The complexity and accomplished construction of multiple story lines has created a narrative that ensnares the reader in a turbulent 17th Century world, a world in which very little is certain, except uncertainty.
a more detailed review can be found at http://foxburg.edublogs.org/2019/11/0...

[Katy Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Robert Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the aftermath of the bloody Battle of Edgehill, Mark Turnbull has thrown us headlong into the opening gambits of the English Civil War. It is Royalists against Parliament but also neighbour against neighbour, even families divided. A shocking, brutal time but compelling reading.

The new author has skilfully woven his fictional hero Sir Francis Berkeley into the fabric of a country divided by belief and war. We have an edge of the seat ride through a time of danger, intrigue but of big ideas. Sir Francis is a royalist but will need to face up to friends fighting for the Parliamentary cause. He will also experience turncoats and espionage, some of it rather too close to home, in this human drama from a most incendiary decade of history.


The weekend before our self isolation began my football match was cancelled and so by chance I was able to attend an event about the English Civil War at Stockton's Green Room. There were talks on the three battles in Teesside from historian Phil Philo. The wonderful Civil Insolencies was performed live by poet Bob Beagrie and a band of musicians putting the 17th century battle of Guisborough into dramatic words and music.


In between the two, new north eastern writer Mark Turnbull introduced his debut book. I bought it, read it and was immediately transported back to 1642 and believe me that is not a very comfortable place to be.


Mark pitches you into the bloody battlefield at Edgehill. It is a frightening place to be. Danger lurks around every corner, on the end of a pike or perhaps from political or family feud, subterfuge and intrigue. The fictional family of Sir Francis Berkeley is pitched headlong into a political narrative that I previously knew little about, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.


Mark uses all his experiences as a battlefield re-enactor to make the pages sing with gunpowder and deadly drama. His extensive research gives us pen portraits of all the major characters and conspirators, from the diminutive King Charles 1 to his 6ft 4” dashing Prince Rupert or the ailing parliamentarian foe, Pym or cautious general, Lord Essex.


But this is a drama that is very personal to Sir Francis and his family and as such it really draws you all too close to the heat and heart of the action. As a historical novel I put this debut right up there with the major players like Hilary Mantel. The characters are so well drawn, so rounded, if not roundhead and all too believably fallible. Allegiance of Blood is sitting up and begging to be adapted for tv or film.


Dive into this book and you come up with a real understanding of a period of internal strife that helped shape this nation. Torn apart community from community, even between neighbours and within families. Who will you trust? And how will you survive when the Parliamentary power and powder has you hemmed into a corner?


Exceptional read. Nothing has brought this most un-civil strife and times so vividly to life for me as this book.


Allegiance of Blood

[Helen Hollick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Turnbull knows his subject inside out"

Mark Turnbull’s novel Allegiance of Blood chronicles the difficult decisions and tragic events that befall relatives and friends forced to choose sides in a civil war. In this case it is the English Civil War, about which the author knows a very great deal. From battle strategy and inter-faction political backstabbing, to what civilians wore and what they ate, Turnbull is in full control of his subject. The story follows the progress and set-backs of an honourable Royalist, Sir Francis Berkeley, whose sister is married to a Puritan zealot and whose mother-in-law is...well, that would be a spoiler, but she is most men’s idea of the mother-in-law from hell.

The novel opens with Sir Francis Berkeley lying wounded on a battlefield. But for a kind-hearted woman who claims him as her husband he would probably have died there. As it is, what Berkeley witnesses in his agony leads to another honourable man’s death. This second man, also a husband and father, is named Harbottle. Believing the war to be wholly wrong, Harbottle is liaising between the warring armies in an attempt to limit bloodshed. Berkeley chooses to see this as spying and treason against the Royalists, but not long after Harbottle’s execution he learns his own dear friend Jackson is involved in espionage for Parliament as well. Berkeley is tasked with contacting Jackson, and soon comes to appreciate the hidden difficulties of civil war.

Unbeknownst to Berkeley, his own mother-in-law is also caught up in passing information to the enemy. This is the principle thread linking the multiple points of view in this debut novel. Chapters swing in and out of the main storyline, showing the progress of the war and how it affects disparate people, from the monarch himself to a nurse-maid whose only desire is for a secure home and employment.

As mentioned above, Turnbull knows his subject inside out, which at times is a little hard on the reader who doesn’t. A character list showing who’s who on the battlefield would have been appreciated because not all noblemen were fighting for their king. Nevertheless, Turnbull’s excellent ability to depict seventeenth century English towns and terrain provides for solid background. His familiarity with battle strategies also means the reader has a better awareness of the outcomes. The more domestic yet nonetheless traumatic aspects of Berkeley’s war with his mother-in-law and his attempts to protect his family are handled in a convincing manner and one fears for his wife and child from the outset. Underlying all these conflicts, national and domestic, is the ever-troublesome matter of religion. The desperate and frightening scenes in the church at the end of the story are, therefore, all the more tragically ‘right’.

This is a very good book but it is slightly affected by the typical 'debut novel syndrome' of too many points of view and occasional deviation from the main storyline because of it. I would recommend that the author uses a more stringent technical editor for his next novel. Nonetheless, it is well written, has very good descriptive writing and in its way quite an important book, demonstrating how civil war can split friends and family apart. It is also a very 'visual' book: one of those novels that reads like watching a film. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the English Civil War, and for those who enjoy behind-the-scenes and beyond-the-battlefield war stories. Mark Turnbull shows how civil war is perhaps the very worst sort of war.

Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds

[J.G. Harlond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Turnbull’s novel Allegiance of Blood chronicles the difficult decisions and tragic events that befall relatives and friends forced to choose sides in a civil war. In this case it is the English Civil War, about which the author knows a very great deal. From battle strategy and inter-faction political-backstabbing, to what civilians wore and what they ate, Turnbull is in full control of his subject. The story follows the progress and set-backs of an honourable Royalist, Sir Francis Berkeley, whose sister is married to a Puritan zealot and whose mother-in-law is . . . well, that would be a spoiler, but she is most men’s idea of the mother-in-law from hell.
The novel opens with Sir Francis Berkeley lying wounded on a battlefield. But for a kind-hearted woman who claims him as her husband he would probably have died there. As it is, what Berkeley witnesses in his agony leads to another honourable man’s death. This second man, also a husband and father, is named Harbottle. Believing the war to be wholly wrong, Harbottle is liaising between the warring armies in an attempt to limit bloodshed. Berkeley chooses to see this as spying and treason against the Royalists, but not long after Harbottle’s execution he learns his own dear friend Jackson is involved in espionage for Parliament as well. Berkeley is tasked with contacting Jackson, and soon comes to appreciate the hidden difficulties of civil war.
Unbeknownst to Berkeley, his own mother-in-law is also caught up in passing information to the enemy. This is the principle thread linking the multiple points of view in this debut novel. Chapters swing in and out of the main storyline, showing the progress of the war and how it affects disparate people, from the monarch himself to a nurse-maid whose only desire is for a secure home and employment.
As mentioned above, Turnbull knows his subject inside out, which at times is a little hard on the reader who doesn’t. A character list showing who’s who on the battlefield would have been appreciated because not all noblemen were fighting for their king. Nevertheless, Turnbull’s excellent ability to depict seventeenth century English towns and terrain provides for solid background. His familiarity with battle-strategies also means the reader has a better awareness of the outcomes. The more domestic, yet nonetheless traumatic, aspects of Berkeley’s war with his mother-in-law and his attempts to protect his family are handled in a convincing manner and one fears for his wife and child from the outset. Underlying all these conflicts, national and domestic, is the ever-troublesome matter of religion. The desperate and frightening scenes in the church at the end of the story are, therefore, all the more tragically ‘right’.
This is a very visual’ book: one of those novels that reads like watching a film. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the English Civil War, and for those who enjoy behind-the-scenes and beyond-the-battlefield war stories. Mark Turnbull shows how civil war is perhaps the very worst sort of war.

[Clare Rhoden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly immersive read for lovers of historical fiction, especially around the era of the English Civil War. Turnbull knows his subject well and uses the settings of battles and political intrigue to look at the human cost of civil war (any war really) where family members may be pitted against one another.
From its opening in the aftermath of the battle of Edgehill, when Francis Berkeley - lying wounded and left for dead - overhears a treasonous conversation, readers sink into the sights, smells, and sounds of the time. Rich in detail, the story follows Francis and his small family as well as giving imaginative insights into the major players of the events. The ending is satisfactory, but leaves me eager for a sequel (which I think is coming).
There are no surprises here, with each major character conveying their historical personality as we understand it (eg tempestuous and over-eager Prince Rupert, sad and indecisive Charles I, intelligent and single-minded Lord Essex), but the insertion of fictional characters helps bring the historical context to three-dimensional light.
Equally reassuring is the dedication to historical accuracy and the energy which sweeps the narrative along.
For lovers of military history, historical fiction, and the English Civil War period. Readers of The Stranger Prince will enjoy this foray into the fray.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating foray into the English Civil War that illustrates the complexities behind individual motivations to side with the King or with Parliament. Sir Francis has opted for the Crown but most of his motivation is driven by the need to protect his family. He's a 'soft' Royalist in as much as he's happy with the traditional way of things and sees service to the King and Prince Rupert as a way of bettering his family's prospects. This puts him at the heart of some bloody battles in the early stages of the conflict and adds strains to his relations with his in-laws who are less than enamoured with King Charles.
Mark Turnbull (a very approachable author who had a stall at Newark Book Festival) has crafted an engrossing, believable story that doesn't favour either side: the King has Absolutist traits, the Queen a fervent Catholic; Parliament is divided and there are plots to force a particular path that would put more power in belligerent hands and undermine those preferring dialogue with a fickle King.
The turmoil this causes to the ordinary people, even those of a higher rank such as Sir Francis, is well described. The battle scenes are particularly well executed, keeping the action & impacts clear and understandable.
A great historical read for anyone wanting to get stuck into this fascinating period. Who would have thought the country could be so divided? ;-)

[James Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book but did find it quite difficult to switch between characters and scenes

[ChillwithabookAWARD With · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Allegiance of Blood by Mark Turnbull has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award.
www.chillwithabook.com

[Markus Andronicus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book and in particular the description of the Battle of Alton. So looking forward to the sequel.

[JC Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and informative read. This dramatic period of British history comes alive.

[Andrew Ming Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think it is telling that the first 5 star review is from the owner of a paid for review site that gave this book its "award".
The other reviews talk about the research done for this book and boy does the author hit you over the head with it. Massively over blown descriptions of inconsequential stuff like the handle and blade of a sword etc etc etc etc etc. And will the women please stop clutching their chest at every conceivable moment. I won't even talk about the bad sex scene...
The author should try writing a bolt counter history book because he sure cannot draw decent characters.
I wish I could write something complimentary about this book as I don't like pure negative reviews, so here goes.The cover is good.
Note to self: Never buy a book with "Blood" in the title.

[Andrew R Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story. Abrupt ending

Loved this story and the historical content.
It's climax is very good reading but what an abrupt and unexplained ending.
I felt as if I'd been short changed or the Kindle version hadn't downloaded properly. 🙄

[Sandra Bjarnason · Rating 3 out of 5]

4

[Claire Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite examples of historical fiction bring with them historical fact – stories that encompass true events and encapsulate the period they’re set in. And that is exactly what you get with Allegiance of Blood. The plot and characters are driven by the real events of the early years of the British Civil Wars, and I’m pleased to say the book highlights how deeply these events affected the people of the time.

From the start, I was struck by the emotive quality of the writing. The main character’s love for his family draws you to him early on, and much of that effect is created by the author’s dexterous use of language. Similes and analogies paint pictures that help us see scenes and feeling feelings, but that doesn’t just apply to the protagonist. One of the key elements of the novel is how it tells its story from various viewpoints – Royalist and Parliamentarian, aristocrat and commoner, young and old. The only negative for me here is that the frequent shift in focus can be a bit dazing. Given how interwoven the war was though, it’s maybe appropriate to dart between characters and settings as the situation unfolds.

I loved the inclusion of so many real people, and the characterisations of Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Queen Henrietta Maria in particular struck me as really accurate from what I understand of these historical figures. Rupert makes for such an entertaining read! I also greatly appreciated all the little details that bring the 17th century to life – from the clothing to the food, the taverns to the sewage-filled streets and onto, possibly most impacting of all, execution.

Indeed the harsh realities of the era aren’t shied away from, and that includes the matter of warfare. Although the battle scenes weren’t my personal favourite bits, they are spectacularly done. Sometimes they made me flinch, in fact. There’s a great power to a chapter that essentially mounts a reader onto horseback and puts them face to face with the armed enemy. In many ways, Allegiance of Blood provides the re-enactment experience on the page.

As a lovely balance to the combat, there’s plenty of sensitivity to be found throughout the book as well. The storyline involving the wet-nurse really intrigued me, and there’s even a cute little baby! I enjoyed the different paths the plot follows and the various aspects of life that we see.

Remembering this is a debut novel, I can’t wait for more from Mark Turnbull, who is clearly an expert in Civil War history, and he’s used his knowledge to brilliant effect with Allegiance of Blood.