The Book of Dreams by Tim Severin is the exciting first book in Saxon, the historical adventure series full of epic battles and captivating characters.A haunting premonition . . . A deadly betrayal. Frankia 780AD: Sigwulf, a minor Saxon prince, is saved from execution after his family is slaughtered by the ruthless King Offa of Mercia. Sigwulf is exiled to the Frankish court of King Carolus, the future Charlemagne.He gains the friendship of some – Count Hroudland, ...

Odinn's Child by Tim Severin is the stunning first volume in the captivating Viking trilogy - an epic historical adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.Our story begins in the year 1001 and the toddler, Thorgils Leiffson, son of Leif the Lucky and Thorgunna, arrives on the shores of Brattahlid in Greenland to be brought up in the foster care of a young woman - Gudrid. Thorgils is a rootless character of quicksilver intelligence and adaptabili...

Corsair by Tim Severin is the first swashbuckling adventure in the Pirate series.On a late-summer's evening, two ships lurk off the coast of southwest Ireland. Seventeen-year-old Hector Lynch wakes to the sound of a pistol shot as the Barbary corsairs raid his village, and he and his sister are snatched. Separated from each other, Hector is sold at auction in Algiers, and thrown into a bewildering world where life is cheap and only the quick-witted survi...

The Emperor's Elephant by Tim Severin is the exciting second book in Saxon, the historical adventure series full of exploration and captivating characters.Sigwulf, a Saxon prince exiled to the court of Carolus, King of the Franks, is summoned by the royal advisor Alcuin of York. Carolus has received magnificent gifts from the Caliph of Baghdad and is determined to send back presents that will be equally sensational. White is the royal colour of Baghdad so the most importan...

Sworn Brother by Tim Severin is the thrilling second volume in the Viking trilogy - an epic adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.London, 1019: a few months have passed since Thorgils has escaped the clutches of the Irish Church only to find himself at the centre of a capricious love affair with Aelfgifu, wife of Knut the Great, ruler of England, and one of the most powerful men of the Viking empire. A passionate relationship between two unl...

Buccaneer by Tim Severin is the second swashbuckling adventure in the Pirate series.Sailing across the Caribbean, Hector Lynch falls into the hands of the notorious buccaneer, Captain John Coxon, who mistakes him for the nephew of Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica. Hector encourages the error so that his friends Jacques and Dan can go free.Coxon then delivers Hector to Sir Henry Morgan, a bitter enemy of Governor Lynch, expecting to curry favour with Morgan, bu...

The Pope's Assassin by Tim Severin is the exciting third book in Saxon, the historical adventure series full of epic battles and captivating characters.Rome, 799 AD. Pope Leo is viciously attacked in the street, by unknown assailants. Sigwulf, a Saxon prince who has been banished to the court of King Carolus in Frankia, is sent to Rome as a spy to discover who was responsible.There, he discovers a web of lies - the only clue to the attackers' identity is an intrica...

King's Man by Tim Severin is the thrilling third volume in the captivating Viking trilogy - an epic adventure in a world full of Norse mythology and bloodthirsty battles.Constantinople, 1035: Thorgils has become a member of the Varangian lifeguard and witnesses the glories of the richest city on earth but also the murderous ways of the imperial family. Under the leadership of warrior chief Harald Sigurdsson he is set up as the unwitting bait in a deadly ambush to destroy A...

For nearly three centuries, Robinson Crusoe has been the archetypal castaway, the symbol of survival in uninhabited wilds. In this book, Tim Severin adds this enterprising hero to the roster of legendary figures whose adventures he's replicated and whose origins he's explored. With the signature approach to literary and historical sleuthing that has led the New York Times to describe him as "original, audacious, and exuberant," Severin uncovers the seaman's world that captured Dan...

Sea Robber by Tim Severin is the third swashbuckling adventure in the Pirate series.Ambushed by a gang of hardened sea robbers headed for the South Sea, Hector Lynch, pirate and fugitive, must navigate their vessel on a nightmarish journey through the stormy seas off Cape Horn. There Hector uncovers the macabre and eerie remains of a small warship entombed on an ice float. Her only crew are two skeletons - the unfortunate captain and his dog, both frozen to death.W...

Privateer by Tim Severin is the fourth swashbuckling adventure in the Pirate series.Hector Lynch and his companions are in the Caribbean, diving to plunder a wreck on the notorious Vipers reef, when they are spotted by a passing Spanish ship. To prevent news of their activities getting out, they cripple the Spanish vessel by burning her sails - an act of piracy - and then head for their base in Tortuga. There Hector's wife Maria awaits, for she and Hector are planning a be...

The earliest surviving instance of sustained first-person travel narrative in ArabicMission to the Volga is a pioneering text of peerless historical and literary value. In its pages, we move north on a diplomatic mission from Baghdad to the upper reaches of the Volga River in what is now central Russia.In this colorful documentary from the tenth century, the enigmatic Ibn Fadlan relates his experiences as part of an embassy sent by Caliph al-Muqtad...