The Book
The Book and the Knife: Thegn of Berewic by Paul Cobb
In 1031, an Arab scientist, a Jewish astronomer and a Christian monk gather under the dome of an observatory in Spain.
A foretelling written on the blade of a knife tells of a new ruler, whose power will come from the knowledge in a centuries old book. As its guardians begin to covet this knowledge for themselves, the book is drawn into the conflict between the houses of Wessex and Godwin, and England’s destiny. It will carry a secret at the heart of the succession to the English throne. But the book is in danger, from those who will use it for the wealth and power it can bring — or who want to destroy it.
From Spain to Normandy and England, The Book and the Knife: Thegn of Berewic is the story of the power of knowledge, of a generation—spanning blood feud, and of the struggle for control of England before the Norman invasion of 1066. A story of loyalty and treachery, love and hate.
The Author
Paul Cobb grew up on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales and lives in Kent. After studying languages and environmental science he worked as a farm conservation adviser for 40 years, helping farmers look after the countryside, in England and some of the time in France. Paul has also published poetry and is a former magazine columnist. You can find out more by looking at Paul’s website: https://paulcobb.com
How The Book Came About
Paul explains: “The Book & The Knife began with an image I couldn’t get out of my head; a country devastated in a single day, leaving its future in the hands of an occupying army. But where, and when? I went to Battle in Sussex, and found the answer was close to home; it had to be England, on the 14th of October 1066. Now it all fell into place – the story of a book of wisdom, of a knife with a strange foretelling on its blade, and of the 50–year struggle between two families that leads up to that October day, and that begins in Thegn of Berewic.
I’m a farmer by birth, a conservationist by profession and a historian by interest. I have lived and worked in my characters’ landscapes, in Sussex and Kent and Normandy, and the Book & The Knife series will take my characters to Yorkshire and the Fens, places of my childhood and youth. I know the hills and vales, the tracks and fields, the woods and streams, the towns and abbeys. I see them as they would have been a thousand years ago, and I enjoy weaving my fictional characters around these landscapes as much as around the real figures from history.”
RELEASE DATE: 28/11/2024 ISBN: 9781836280699 Price: £10.99
What We Thought
Powerful medieval book that becomes caught up in the struggle between the two leading English families of the time and leads to the follow up of the Norman invasion of 1066. Fiction based around real events and historical figures a perfect novel for lovers of historical adventures, an enthralling read.
Female First
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