The medieval Welsh Helen of Troy?

My new novel Conquest: Daughter of the Last King is published by Impress Books next week and is the first in a trilogy about Nest ferch Rhys – the daughter of the last independent Welsh king at the end of the 11th century. Nest is a controversial historical figure. She  makes significant appearances in medieval…

Between historical fiction and historical research

In my historical novels I’m always imagining in the gaps and with the mysteries: what happened to the 10th century Viscountess Emma of Limoges during the three years she was held for ransom by Vikings before her husband paid up? (The Viking Hostage)   why did the 11th century Count Ramon Berenger of Barcelona kidnap…

Almodis: The Peaceweaver Extract

Prologue Roccamolten Castle, La Marche  November 1037 I stand on the precipice wrapped in bulky grey and silver furs. My eyes are trained, like a hawk at hunt, on the steep road snaking up the mountain towards me. I feel the bitter cold of the granite ledge through the thin leather of my shoes, and…

Writing Almodis

Paolo Ucello, The Hunt in the Forest, 1470, Ashmolean Museum, inspired my description of Almodis on a deer hunt. ORIGINS When I enrolled on the MA Creative Writing at Trinity St David, University of Wales three years ago, the last thing I expected to produce was an historical novel. I imagined I would develop the…

Almodis Bibliography

Aurell, Martin, Les Noces du Comte: Mariage et Pouvoir en Catalogne (785-1213) (Paris: Sorbonne, 1995). Bachrach, Bernard S., State-Building in Medieval France: Studies in Early Angevin History (Aldershot: Variorum, 1995). Bloch, Marc, Feudal Society, 2 vols. (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1961). Bogin, Meg, The Women Troubadours (New York: W.W. Norton, 1980). Bonnassie, Pierre, La Catalogne…