The Fighting Man

AD 1066

Adrian Deans

• Publisher: Adrian Deans
• Print ISBN: 9780987612922
• eBook ISBN: 9780987612939
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Historical Fiction
• Index: Literature

A Tale of Love and Revenge
Set Against History's Bloody Backdrop... In the year 1060, young Brand Holgarsson's family are wiped out in a Viking raid arranged by Brand's treacherous uncle Malgard. Malgard is named thegn of the town of Stybbor in East Anglia while Brand is made outlaw and hunted through the woods by Malgard's men, determined to extinguish the last possible claim to Malgard's thegnship. Aided by a strange young woman, Valla, who claims to be 242 years old, Brand escapes and is befriended by Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex and the choice of the Saxon nobles to be king after the childless Edward (the Confessor). Brand nurses his dream of vengeance over Malgard while sharing Harold's perils and waiting for Valla who will only return from The Place of Dreams if Brand has remained true to his promise to lie with no other woman. All stories come together at the Battle of Hastings, where Harold's great banner, The Fighting Man, flew above the field at Senlac Ridge in opposition to the papal cross carried by William the Bastard. "Not since reading Sharpe have I felt such a sense of being in the story. Outstanding." - Stuart Quin, Full Circle Films "I read it on the train, walking down the street, well after my usual bed time and when I was supposed to be working. Even though I knew exactly where the story was headed, I was compelled to know what happened next." - Jane B Rawson, From The Wreck

Table of contents

• Part One
• Chapter 1, The Mind of God
• Chapter 2, A Small Prick
• Chapter 3, The Ring of Office
• Chapter 4, The Chain of Valla
• Chapter 5, My Errant Shafts
• Chapter 6, A Strange Device
• Chapter 7, A Profoundly Arousing Pleasure
• Chapter 8, His Greatness and Subtlety
• Chapter 9, The Equal of a Serf
• Chapter 10, Always Keep a Hand on Your Sword
• Chapter 11, Our Peril and Our Loss
• Chapter 12, When All the Scrapping Dogs Are in the One Pit
• Part Two
• Chapter 13, The Last Words of Ygrene
• Chapter 14, A Vulnerable Gaming Piece
• Chapter 15, A Truth You Do Not Want to Learn
• Chapter 16, A Magical Place
• Chapter 17, A Dangerous Game
• Chapter 18, Visions of the Hidden World
• Part Three
• Chapter 19, A Bond of Silence
• Chapter 20, Nowt But A Codpiece
• Chapter 21, Arriving Unannounced in a Strange Land
• Chapter 22, The Way of the World
• Chapter 23, A Warrior and Warlord at the Peak of His Powers
• Chapter 24, A Harmless Interlude
• Chapter 25, The Normal Rules Regarding Men and Women
• Chapter 26, The Truth of Property
• Chapter 27, The Nature of the Test was Obscure
• Chapter 28, Like Dogs With A Cornered Hind
• Part Four
• Chapter 29, Split Our Family and You Split Inglalond
• Chapter 30, A Lesser Evil
• Chapter 31, A Form of Treason
• Chapter 32, Poachers and Other Criminals Condemned
• Chapter 33, A Perfect Vessel
• Chapter 34, The Hairy Star
• Chapter 35, Cunning and Cruel
• Chapter 36, Death From Distance
• Chapter 37, The Destiny of Gods
• Part Five
• Chapter 38, Driven By Greed and Pride
• Chapter 39, Friday the Thirteenth
• Chapter 40, A Flicker of Light in His Mind’s Eye
• Chapter 41, The Thrusting, Hacking Madness of War
• Chapter 42, The Fighting Man
• Epilogue
• Historical Note