Yes, building a realistic setting for our historical fiction can be fun. But recreating the world of Sixth Century post-Roman Britain in The Song-Sayer's Lament had some real challenges. Normally, I'd always start with maps for the period, to get the geography right. But I have this "thing" about language and authenticity, like this... 1. … [Read more...] about Five Steps to Recreating Sixth Century Britain
Sixth Century Britain
My novel set Sixth Century post-Roman Britain, The Song-Sayer's Lament, inspired me to write a batch of blogs about this missing hundred years of Britain's history.
Sixth Century Britain – Poetry in The Song-Sayer’s Lament
Readers have been asking me about the poetry in The Song-Sayer’s Lament and whether I wrote it myself. I always take such questions cautiously because, of course, you never quite know whether it’s loving or loathing that’s prompted the query. Anyway, hands up. Yes, I wrote it all. But before I get to the poetry itself, maybe a few quick words of … [Read more...] about Sixth Century Britain – Poetry in The Song-Sayer’s Lament
Sixth Century Britain – Who Stole Britain’s Sixth Century?
I paid my first visit to Sixth Century Dark Ages Britain almost fifty years ago. It was Rosemary Sutcliff’s fault, since it was through the pages of A Sword at Sunset that my juvenile “King Arthur’s Round Table” image of the so-called Dark Ages first began to dissolve – the idea dawning that a more “realistic” portrayal of the period may be … [Read more...] about Sixth Century Britain – Who Stole Britain’s Sixth Century?
Sixth Century Britain – the Hill Fort Walks: Part Two
My journeys to check out the locations I’ve used as settings for The Song-Sayer’s Lament took me next to Anglesey, which features strongly in the novel. There are some remarkable archaeological sites on the island, all worth a visit, and including: Aberlleiniog Castle (Llangoed); or the burial chambers at Porth Trecastell, Bryn Celli Ddu and Din … [Read more...] about Sixth Century Britain – the Hill Fort Walks: Part Two
Sixth Century Britain – the New Novel
Here's the cover... And here's the synopsis... In the Westerlands of those isles once named Britannia by the Empire and its vanished Legions, the brother of Ambros Skyhound is killed in a kinfolk-feud, which will ignite a vicious civil war. There are warlords who follow the new ways of the Christ-followers – those, too, who still defend their … [Read more...] about Sixth Century Britain – the New Novel