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757
House of Mercia (Related to this series)
- Author
- MJ Porter
- Narrator
- David Thorpe
- Publisher
- Boldwood Books
- Publish Date
- 22 July 2026
- Run Time
- 12 hours 37 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- Historical adventure fiction, Family life fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Fiction: narrative themes, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Interior life, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Narrative theme: Social issues
What to expect
This is Mercia. The year is 757.
A king will fall. A king will rise.
But first, civil war will rage.
King Æthelbald's forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.
Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.
But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.
With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.
Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.
Praise for M J Porter:
'Immediate and personal. MJ Porter recounts a sensitive, reluctant hero's coming-of-age within a Dark Age realm riven by chaos and conflict' - Matthew Harffy
‘Refreshing… I was reluctant to put the book down’ - Historical Novel Society
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Details
- Author
- MJ Porter
- Narrator
- David Thorpe
- Duration
- 12 hours 37 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781806585823
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- Boldwood Books
- Genre
- Historical adventure fiction, Family life fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Fiction: narrative themes, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Narrative theme: Interior life, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Narrative theme: Social issues
Synopsis
This is Mercia. The year is 757. A king will fall. A king will rise. But first, civil war will rage.King Æthelbald's forty-year vice-like rule over Mercia has been rigid. But he lacks a legitimate heir despite his insatiable bedchamber antics.Offa must stand hostage to his family’s good behaviour, when his father missteps in removing his mother from Æthelbald’s bed. Shockingly, his younger sister now replaces her.But the king isn’t finished with his denigration of Offa’s noble House. When his parents are traitorously killed, Offa’s resentment grows, compounded by the ridicule heaped on him by King Æthelbald’s oathsworn warriors.With the king’s health deteriorating, the matter of the succession becomes paramount. There are plenty who share a claim to the kingship.Discord threatens to fracture the mighty realm, and those with sword and shield, seax and spear are prepared to risk it all to be the future king of Mercia.Praise for M J Porter:'Immediate and personal. MJ Porter recounts a sensitive, reluctant hero's coming-of-age within a Dark Age realm riven by chaos and conflict' - Matthew Harffy‘Refreshing… I was reluctant to put the book down’ - Historical Novel Society
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