Before I begin writing each novel, I spend several weeks immersing myself in the history.

Taking Tancred beyond England, however, presented me with fresh challenges.

Just as in the previous two novels, battles and betrayals abound, but this time it’s personal. His travels take him overseas, firstly to Dublin and then to the Hebrides, as he hunts down the Viking warlord who kidnapped his love.

Set in 1071 and beginning in the East Anglian fens where the Normans are besieging the last rebel stronghold, it sees Tancred casting off some of the shackles that have hitherto bound him, and striking out on his own for the first time in the series. Knights of the Hawk, newly published in paperback (Arrow), is the latest installment in the saga. Beginning with Sworn Sword in early 1069, when the Normans suffered their first major defeats on English soil, the novels chart the adventures of Tancred, a maverick Norman knight seeking vengeance after his lord is murdered by English rebels. The aftermath of that fateful year, as the Normans struggled to assert their mastery and hold down a country rife with rebellion, forms the backdrop for my Conquest Series. It’s a fascinating period that has held my interest for over a decade, first as an undergraduate studying History at Cambridge and more recently as a novelist. The story of the Norman Conquest of England is one of kings and pretenders, invasion and resistance: fertile ground for historical fiction. Full of intrigue and vivid, realistic battles, this accomplished debut novel sets a high standard indeed.”Īitcheson told Writing.ie more about his latest novel Knights of the Hawk: “1066, the year of the Battle of Hastings, is undoubtedly one of the most famous dates in British, and arguably world history. Rarely have I been so transported into the world of the medieval knight and his environs. Particularly interested in the Anglo-Saxon period and the Norman Conquest, a time of tremendous change that proved to be one of the biggest turning points in English history, Sworn Sword was his first novel, and the first in his Conquest series. Ben Kane, bestselling author of the Spartacus novels, describes Aitcheson as “A terrific writer … Aitcheson’s portrayal of eleventh century England is vibrant and authentic. James Aitcheson was born in Wiltshire in 1985 and studied History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he developed a special interest in the Middle Ages.

National Emerging Writer Programme Overview.

Sworn sword james aitcheson