Thurkill's Battle

by Paul Bernardi

‘Thurkill is a warrior with a heart and soul, a man of honour and mettle that Beobrand would be proud to have alongside him in the shieldwall.’ Matthew Harffy December 1066. England’s future lies in ruins. King Harold is dead, mutilated. The cream of England’s warrior nobility lie with him. In Lundenburh, those lords who were not killed in battle, have elected a new king. A beardless boy called Edgar – the last prince of Wessex – on whose young shoulders, all hope now rests. Edgar must summon what remains of the warriors of England if he is to prevent Duke William from taking his crown. Following the brutal events at his father’s hall in Haslow, Thurkill has marched his warband north to join Edgar in Lundenburh. The charred remains of his childhood home hold nothing now but bloody memories that will haunt him to his dying day. Determined to play his part, Thurkill offers his sword to the young king in defence of the city against marauding Norman horsemen. But he can only delay the inevitable as Duke William is finally crowned king on Christmas Day. With Edgar defeated and, with him, all Saxon hopes dashed, Thurkill travels north to Gudmundcestre, where he sets up home with Hild, with whom he has been reunited. But any hopes he has of putting his past behind him are torn to shreds by the arrival of Robert FitzGilbert, brother of the man he killed in Haslow. Robert has come to claim the blood price for his brother’s death - and he will stop at nothing in his quest for vengeance. Once more, Thurkill must kill or be killed. Paul Bernardi is the author of The Huscarl Chronicles and To the Devil His Due. Praise for Paul ‘Thurkill’s Revenge, a bravura tale set against the backdrop of the Norman Conquest, presents the exploits of a Saxon bodyguard in cinematic detail. The narrative weaves a rich weft and warp of fact and fiction - the protagonist Thurkill’s father, Scalpi is one of the few Saxon fighting men known to have faced the Normans at Senlac Ridge, Hastings – and the author displays an historian’s eye for authentic detail in a galloping read.’ Paul Bannister, author of Storm of Arrows ‘A fast paced, action packed medieval adventure; a boy becomes a man during one of the most tumultuous pivot points of English history.’ J.A. Ironside, author of The King's Knight series ‘The cataclysmic events of 1066 seen through the eyes of a strapping youth — a gripping tale of courage and revenge.’ Alistair Forrest, author of Libertas

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

Paul Bernardi has always loved all things historical, ever since being made to traipse around castles and museums as a small child. He may have pretended to hate it passionately, but deep down he loved every minute of it.
This love then translated into a desire to study, from A level up to Bachelors and then Masters degree at the University of Leeds in the late 1980s.
Throughout this time, every thing history-related has been devoured with passion: books (fact and fiction); TV documentaries and series; and films especially (Zulu is the greatest film ever made, right?).
Finally he has realised his dream of becoming a writer of historical fiction. His debut novel, To the Devil His Due, was self-published in 2014 and tells the story of a real British plan to assassinate Hitler during the second world war.

Reviews

[Kevin Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cracking read, roll on book number three.

[peter david mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resisting the normans.

A step up on the first book as you are now fully wrapped up in following several characters in the story instead of just Thurkill. Once again the chief enemy is a Fitzgilbert, however the war band has a desperate fight for survival.

[James Crawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only bad thing about this book is that I've finished it and book 3 is not yet available :(