What is England, and who are the English?The man who first posed and answered these questions lived 1,200 years ago in Northumberland. The Venerable Bede spent almost his whole life in two monasteries looking over the North Sea, far from the centres of civilisation. Yet he became the foremost scholar of the first millennium, writing a history that continues to illuminate the Dark Ages, while also popularising our modern dating scheme.Faced with a Britain of competing kingdo...

An extraordinary account of how one man defied the most powerful ruler of his age and in doing so changed the course of European history.Throughout the 16th century, wars raged across Europe as kings and republics jostled for wealth and power. Yet one man exceeded all these medieval princes of Christendom: Suleiman the Magnificent. As ruler of the Ottoman Empire, he governed 25 million people from Constantinople, his realm stretching from Persia to the Atlantic Oce...

A Carcharodons novelWith a millennia-long hunt close to its end, Carcharodons Chaplain Manu must redouble his efforts as he ventures into the nightmare city of Commorragh.READ IT BECAUSEThis is your chance to learn more about the secretive savages of the Carcharodons Astra as they tangle with some of the most terrifying predators in the galaxy… almost as terrifying as themselves.THE STORYIn the darkn...

An Astra Militarum NovelAn elite squad of Cadian Kasrkin are tasked with a critical mission behind enemy lines. They must rescue their general in xenos-held territory before his dangerous knowledge falls into enemy hands. But not all is as it seems...READ IT BECAUSEHear the legendary elite soldiers of Cadia in action as they take on a mission so dangerous it could only be trusted to troops with their training and equipment.

"Edwin, High King of Britain, brings to life the heroic age of our distant past, a splendid novel that leaves the reader wanting more." Bernard CornwellDebut historical fiction series vividly recreating the rise of the Christian kings of Northumbria, EnglandIn 604 AD, Edwin, the deposed king of Northumbria, seeks refuge at the court of King Raedwald of East Anglia. But Raedwald is urged to kill his guest by Aethelfrith, Edwin's usurper. As ...

Bloomsbury presents The Man Who Stopped the Sultan: Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe by Edoardo Albert, read by Chris Courtenay.An extraordinary account of how one man defied the most powerful ruler of his age and in doing so changed the course of European history.Throughout the 16th century, wars raged across Europe as kings and republics jostled for wealth and power. Yet one man exceeded all these medieval princes of Christendom: Suleima...

The story of the Bamburgh Sword – one of the finest swords ever forged. In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realised that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, which had been f...

Northumbria was one of the great kingdoms of Britain in the Dark Ages, enduring longer than the Roman Empire. Yet it has been all but forgotten. This book puts Northumbria back in its rightful place, at the heart of British history. From the impregnable fastness of Bamburgh Castle, the kings of Northumbria ruled a vast area, and held sway as High Kings of Britain. From the tidal island of Lindisfarne, extraordinary saints and learned scholars brought Christianity and civil...

'Spirited and enjoyable' Nicholas HighamOswald had found peace. But now he must fight for the throne.Northumbria lies undefended. Cadwallon and Penda, the kings of Gwynedd and Mercia, ravage the land. Oswald has a rightful claim to the throne, but he is sick of bloodshed, and in his heart he longs to lay down his sword and join the monks of Iona. However, the abbot of Iona does not need another monk; the abbot wants a warrior king to spread...

This book takes the reader through London and its spiritual history - what its inhabitants believed, what they worshipped, where, when and how; the landmarks, the names, the issues and the arguments. Written in a more or less chronological way, it is interwoven with Albert's own spiritual journey. From its earliest days when Londoners would have worshipped pagan gods, through Roman occupation, the coming of Christianity, and the later waves of other faiths - Jews, Muslims, Hari Krishnas - ...

A Space Marine AnthologyThe successor Chapters of the Space Marines number in the hundreds, founded to fight for the survival of the Imperium. Across 13 short stories by 10 different authors, discover the history, customs, and stories of 12 different successor Chapters, from famed warriors to unsung heroes.READ IT BECAUSEDiscover successor Chapters new and old within this anthology of short stories by some of Black Library's premier ...

The transatlantic slave trade is one of the most shameful chapters in human history. Between 1500 and 1900 it's estimated that around 12 million African men, women, and children were stolen from their homes by Europeans, before being forcefully transported thousands of miles across the Atlantic. Those who survived the horrific 'Middle Passage' would then be sold, often separated from their families, and put to work as enslaved labor on plantations throughout the New World. While this inhum...