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Spanning eras from post-Roman Britain to the present day, the stories bring to life both legendary moments of deceit as well as imagined episodes of treachery.
Readers will encounter princes, soldiers, noblewomen, knights, highwaymen, pirates, and ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. All of these characters have something in common, though: betrayal. Collectively, these stories illustrate the truth that whatever its source—family, foe, lover, comrade—betrayal has devastating consequences.
Death at the Feet of Venus—by Derek Birks
Spring 455. Having made a mortal enemy of Vortigern, the High King of Britannia former Roman Dux, Ambrosius Aurelianus retreats to a ruined Roman burgus near Vindocladia in south-west Britannia. A diverse company of refugees joins him there, including not only some of the local Durotriges people, but also a handful of renegade Saxons. Though Ambrosius is keen to make alliances with other leaders in the region, some see him as a Roman interloper who might be a dangerous rival. Ambrosius must negotiate, but whom can he trust—even among his own people?
Love to Hatred Turn’d—by Annie Whitehead
AD940. Alyeva and Dunstan have grown up together. Dunstan’s calling to serve God and king means he must leave their childhood home, but his path is not easy and she wants to protect him. Dunstan’s ambitious brother will do whatever it takes to further his own career, something that Alyeva learns to her cost. There are powerful factions at court, and murderous plots afoot. Alyeva is entangled in them and she must try to break free and, more importantly, attempt to prevent a killing that will have far-ranging repercussions. In the court of the Anglo-Saxon kings, danger lurks around every corner and the skill is in learning whom to trust...
[Those who've read Alvar the Kingmaker will be familiar with some of these characters]
A Knight’s Tale—by Charlene Newcomb
April 1185. Stephan l’Aigle is eighteen years old, the third son of a Yorkshire baron with no hopes of inheriting land or titles, probably a good thing as he has no interest in women, nor any desire to marry or produce heirs. He finds pleasure in the arms of other men, and believes men like himself cannot love. Against Lord Richard’s enemies, Stephan will hone his sword arm, and learn about comradeship, duty, and honor. Will his relationship with one of Richard’s knights crack his hard-hearted armor?
All Those Tangled Webs—by Anna Belfrage
It is 1330. England has a young king—but the power resides firmly with his regents, Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. Not everyone is happy with this. In fact, most of the kingdom’s peers resent Mortimer. None more so than Edmund of Kent, half-brother to the deposed and supposedly deceased Edward II. When rumours reach Edmund that Edward II is not dead but instead held captive, Edmund decides to act. Reinstating Edward II will end Mortimer’s rule—and hopefully make Edmund his brother’s righthand man. Assuming, of course, that the rumours are true…
Family or Fealty—by Mercedes Rochelle
July 1403. Thomas Percy, the most able but least flamboyant member of the family, finds himself drawn into the crucial events surrounding the fall of Richard II and the turbulent reign of Henry IV. A man of principle, he is tormented by calamitous choices he must make—regardless of the consequences to himself. How does a man justify the betrayal of his sovereign in order to spare himself from fighting his kin?
Heart of a Falcon—by Amy Maroney
Rhodes, Greece. 1457. The King of Cyprus invites young Frenchwoman Estelle to join his court. At her parents’ urging, she overcomes resistance to the idea and begins to imagine a glamorous new life. But when the true nature of her journey across the sea is revealed, Estelle realizes she has been the victim of a great deception—and must summon all her courage to survive.
Road to the Tower—by Elizabeth St.John
England, 1483. When Lady Elysabeth Scrope receives an urgent summons to escort her godson Prince Edward to London, she makes an impulsive decision that will change England forever. The sudden death of the king has thrown alliances into turmoil, and the safety of the twelve-year-old heir is at stake. Protecting the young prince from the ambitious Woodvilles is one thing. Defying Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and her half-sister, Margaret Beaufort, is quite another. As Elysabeth and the prince near London and their ultimate destination, the Tower, she begins to question the wisdom of her decision…and her family’s hidden motives.
House Arrest—by Judith Arnopp
April 1484. Placed under house arrest after conspiring against King Richard III, Margaret Beaufort contemplates her path to treason and the likelihood of betrayal in the future.
Drake — Tudor Corsair—by Tony Riches
May 1577. Devon adventurer Francis Drake has made his fortune stealing silver and gold from the Spanish in the West Indies, and is summoned to meet Queen Elizabeth in secret. He becomes an admiral, and sets out on a high-risk venture to follow Ferdinand Magellan’s route to the Southern Sea. One of his captains, Thomas Doughty, challenges Drake’s authority to command the mission, yet what should be the price of Doughty’s disloyalty?
Honour of Thieves—by Cryssa Bazos
An ill-gotten treasure, an old betrayal and an impenetrable castle. Can James Hart, a Royalist highwayman, break into Warwick Castle and prevent a nemesis from destroying a friend?
A Not So Bonny Betrayal—by Helen Hollick
Pirate Calico Jack Rackham and his lover, Anne Bonny, are familiar names to many, but, beyond the romanticised version of their time at sea, published by the anonymous author, Captain Johnson, not much is known about them. What if there was more to their tale than we realise? What if their lives were intertwined with a fictional pirate hero—Jesamiah Acorne, Captain of the Sea Witch? And what if the capture, and subsequent hanging, of Calico Jack, was not merely because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
The Idealist—by Alison Morton
Imagine a tiny state surviving through sixteen centuries from the dusk of the Roman Empire… Roma Nova.
In this alternative historical fiction tale, Statia Mitela, patrician and idealist in the 1840s, follows her heart and her principles, but naïvely lays herself open to ruthless opportunists, blind to the peril threatening her beloved Roma Nova. In the 21st century her many times great-granddaughter, Carina Mitela, must pick up the pieces or her family will face permanent and total ruin.
A dark secret in Roma Nova’s past which comes to haunt its present. But who is the betrayer and who the betrayed?
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