Middle Ages Fiction

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

AD 1315. Ireland and England are ravaged by bitter war. Rotting in an English prison, condemned as a heretic, Irish Knight Templar Richard Savage is given one chance of reprieve. But there is a catch. He must return to Ireland as a traitor, and work as a spy there for the king of England.

Unexpectedly losing his father is devastating, but when Noah’s dad leaves him the wildly successful Club Playpen, it’s more responsibility than he can face. Noah’s business skills are nonexistent and his interest in taking charge is zilch. The pressure to keep the club open has him scrambling to find someone to take over, but who does he dare trust with his father’s legacy?

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man—any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call—by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest.

Strong-willed and free spirited, lady-in-waiting Marjory de Warenne long ago gave her body and soul to the charming and beguiling Earl of Warwick, Guy de Beauchamp. But her family never approved of the pairing. Now, on the eve of war and an arranged marriage to another suitor, Jory yearns for the man who could make all of her dreams come true.

Ivy Mae Bloom is almost 13 years old, her name is almost a complete sentence, and her family’s RV is almost a home. That’s one too many “almosts” for Ivy. She desperately wants a place to put down roots, but it’s her mama’s job as a fallen star to tend the magic underpinning the world - a job that’s kept Ivy’s family living on the road since before Ivy was born. After Ivy steals Mama's entire supply of wish jars in the hopes of finding a place to call home, disaster strands her family in Whistling Ridge, North Carolina, with Mama's star sisters.

Every time violence erupts in the Middle East, Ida knows what's coming next. Some of her classmates treat her like it's all her fault—just for being Palestinian! In eighth grade, Ida is forced to move to a different school. But people still treat her like she'll never fit in. Ida wishes she could disappear. One day, dreading a final class project, Ida hunts for food. She discovers a jar of olives that came from a beloved aunt in her family's village near Jerusalem. Ida eats one and finds herself there—as if her parents had never left Palestine!

For as long as they can remember, Mac, Lina, Milo and Avery have celebrated Family Week together in "the smallest, gayest town in the world"—Provincetown, Massachusetts. But this summer, their big rented beach house feels different. Avery’s dads are splitting up, and her life feels like it’s falling apart. Milo’s flunked seventh grade, which means everyone is moving on to bigger and better things except for him. Mac’s on his way to a progressive boarding school that lets transgender kids like him play soccer, but it means leaving his twin sister, Lina, and his moms behind.

Back when Dee and Juniper were still friends, Dee never hid in the bathroom. Now, at the beginning of sixth grade, Dee finds herself there often. The dripping faucet is annoying, and there are other places she’d rather be—like at home and in her room with her cat, Norman. But at least Dee is safe from overenthusiastic teachers and having to see Juniper walking through the halls with her new friends. Dee would rather be alone than witness that.

What happens when you're middle-aged? Is it over? Will you change or remain the same? What will you do with the second half of your life? All of the short stories and essays in this collection illuminate this incredibly interesting and vital stage. All characters demonstrate how they have chosen to navigate this new world. Some are more successful than others, but all are interesting.

Fifteen-year-old Charlotte is restlessly coming of age in early twentieth-century Basra, Iraq. The daughter of a Seattle doctor and missionary, Charlotte craves an adventure of her own making. Just the thought of the steppes, hills, valleys, and the winding river stirs Charlotte’s imagination and sends her compass of flight dancing. So, preferring the wondrous unknown to solicitude, Charlotte packs up copies of her father’s Gospels and a statue of the Baby Jesus and runs away.

Luz Veliz is a soccer star—or rather, she was a soccer star. With her serious knee injury, it's unlikely she'll be back on the field anytime soon. But without soccer, who is she? Even her dad treats her differently now—like he doesn't know her or, worse, like he doesn't even like her. When Luz discovers she has a knack for coding, it feels like a lifeline to a better self. If she can just ace the May Showcase, she'll not only skip a level in her coding courses and impress Ms. Freeman and intriguing, brilliant Trevor—she'll have her parents cheering her on from the sidelines.

AD934. King Athelstan of the English has been successful in uniting the many kingdoms of Britain against one enemy, the Viking raiders. But men who are kings don’t wish to be ruled. Constantin, King of the Scots, rebelled against the Imperium and was forcibly brought to bend the knee to Athelstan and England at Cirencester. His son Ildulb seeks bloody vengeance from Athelstan following the battle at Cait and the death of his son. Olaf Gothfrithson, king of the Dublin Norse, having asserted his power following his father's death has his sights set on reclaiming Jorvik.

Growing up together in the Surra section of central Kuwait, Katkout, Fahd, and Sadiq share neither ethnic origin nor religious denomination - only friendship and a rage against the unconscionable sectarian divide turning their lives into war-zone rubble. To lay bare the ugly truths, they form the protest group Fuada’s Kids. Their righteous transgressions have made them targets of both Sunni and Shi’a extremists. They’ve also elicited the concern of Fahd’s grandmother, Mama Hissa, who cautions them that should they anger God, the sky will surely fall.

Eleven-year-old Aliya Shah lives a double life in Islamabad, Pakistan - at home with her Pakistani father and Dutch mother, and at the American School, where Aliya tries to downplay that she is a "half-and-half." But when a hit-and-run driver kills the son of the family's servant, Sadiq, who is also Aliya's dear friend, her world is turned upside down. After she discovers the truth behind the tragedy - a terrible secret that burdens her heart - her conflicted loyalties are tested as never before.

Kiss Tomorrow Hello brings together the experiences and reflections of women as they embark on a new stage of life. The 25 stellar writers gathered here explore a wide range of concerns, including keeping love and sex alive, discovering family secrets, negotiating the demands of illness and infertility, letting children go, making peace with parents, and contemplating plastic surgery. The tales are true, the confessions candid, and the humor infectious.

Best friends since the fifth grade, Vaughn, Reenie, Susan, and Audrey have always been considered the most likely to write the Great American Novel, marry a prince, find fame, and run the world, respectively. Now in their 50s, they are all still chasing those dreams - which sometimes makes the "girls" collide.

Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history: blamed for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in which hundreds of innocents died. What motivated this Renaissance woman who was born of Florence's most powerful family, and one day came to rule France?

Two teens join an epic battle to save a distant world and its dragon prince. Whitney and Edward are ordinary teenagers, but their lives are about to take an extraordinary turn. As they approach their 13th and 14th birthdays, a mysterious force beckons to them, awakening a sense of wonder and curiosity within. Little do they know, they possess incredible powers that are entwined with the fate of a hidden world they never knew existed.

Sincerity is Duffy’s final collection of poems as Poet Laureate and the much-anticipated successor to the Costa Award-winning The Bees. Time and its passage are at the heart of this reflective work, which gazes out from the autumn of life. There are moving elegies here for what has departed; whether that be children who have flown the nest, a way of life, literary luminaries, past loves, lost parents or our own youth.