The Year 1072 - Retribution

The Harrying of the North series.  The series is woven around historical fact and tells the story of Hravn and Ealdgith, friends in their mid-teens who witness, then flee from, the Harrying of the North in Richmondshire in January 1070.  It follows their rapid transition from adolescence to adulthood, their evolving relationship and changing fortunes.  The series brings to life the Northern Dales, Cumbria and Northumberland at a time of great social upheaval and in so doing it explores how English daily life was affected and forced to change.  Hravn is Norse-Cumbrian by birth, and Ealdgith is Angle. An underlying theme is how these races blended together to form the English nation within the North.

Book 3. The Year 1072-Retribution. At the behest of Earl Gospatric, Hravn and Ealdgith lead their war-band from into Durham and Richmondshire in an attempt to disrupt King William’s return to the North before they can reclaim their lands on the Westmorland border. They find that they have more than just Norman men-at-arms to overcome.

It is a tale of the fortitude of young people, their courage and ingenuity; and also of female empowerment and leadership during a period of increasing male dominance.