Books

‘Edoardo Albert… relates the city’s spiritual history: Christianity arriving from Italy, through King Alfred and the medieval church, taking in atheism and theosophy, up to Hillsong and the present. He relates his own spiritual history too, from Catholicism, through atheism, the occult and Islam, then back again. Both are intriguing.’

Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham.

First Published 19th February 2016 by Lion Hudson.

Excerpt

I was, in fact, the Asian immigrant archetype: a swotty, well presented (through all my years at school, I never once returned home with shirt untucked or tie undone) pupil upon whom the mantle of ‘future doctor’ had already been placed by my proud parents. Every Asian/Italian immigrant in the seventies wanted their son to be a doctor and I loved science, scoring top marks in biology, physics, chemistry and, with a little more effort, maths. What else was I going to be?

But God bugged me.

I don’t remember the answer, but I remember the question. I was about six at the time.

“Mummy,” I asked, “it says in the Bible that God created everything, but scientists say that animals evolved from other animals. Which is right?”

It was a trick question. I had a faith, and it was absolute. I believed in books.

Oswald 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 the new faith. He must reignite Oswald’s hunger for glory and renown, for gold and power and the homage of men.

But, if he does, will it destroy Oswald?

First Published 15th May 2015 by Lion Fiction.

Excerpt

“How did you find me?”

The young man, dark where his brother was fair but in all other ways his younger image, grumbled as he stumbled towards the landing beach, the sole of Oswald’s foot hurrying him along whenever he lagged. Beside him, and not nearly as abashed as the young ætheling, the fisherman’s daughter walked, rolling her hips and flashing the whites of her eyes at the startled glances of passing monks.

“Bran found you,” said Oswald.

Oswiu looked around, scanning the sky for his accuser. “I hate that bird,” he said.

“Bran does what I tell him.”

“As do we all.”

“You do not.”

Oswiu flashed a grin back at his brother. “Of course I don’t – ow!”

Oswald brandished a birch switch at him. “Hurry up. We have to get her off Iona before the abbot hears you brought a maid ashore.”

“I didn’t bring her – she came herself, didn’t you?”

The fisherman’s daughter smiled sidelong at Oswald, who did his best to ignore her. Aidan, tagging behind, thought it best to lag so that the brothers might sort the matter out between themselves.

“You encouraged her.”

“I wouldn’t say encouraged…”

“Paid?”

“No! Of course not.”

“Here, what be you thinking I am?” The fisherman’s daughter stopped fast in her tracks and turned to face Oswald, hands on hips, outrage on her lips. Her hair was black, her skin white and still unstained by wind and sun. The ætheling, forced to stop, looked her in the face, steady and long, and blood flushed the girl’s cheek and she dropped her gaze.

“I think you are beautiful,” said Oswald, “and I know we must get you off this island. Now, hurry.” Taking the lead, Oswald, strode towards the beach, where curraghs lay upon the strand like seals sunning themselves.

The fisherman’s daughter fell in beside Oswiu. “Why didn’t you tell me about your brother?” she whispered, staring after Oswald as he led them on.

Oswiu groaned. “Not you as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dived into the sea to speak to you, and your father nearly killed me with that oar, but one smile from him and you’d do anything.” Oswiu stared after his older brother. “How does he do it?”

“God’s grace lies upon him.” Brother Aidan had caught up. “And he gives of it freely and without thought.” The monk too looked after Oswald. “I do not think he even knows it is there – it is as natural to him as breathing is to us.”

Buried in 899 AD as the King of the English at his capital city of Winchester, Alfred the Great’s bones were thought to have ultimately moved to an unmarked grave. His remains had been completely lost to us for centuries until researchers at the University of Winchester discovered what is in all probability a piece of his pelvis in a cardboard box. This exciting discovery has reawakened interest in one of our most notable monarchs. The only English monarch ever to have had the epithet ‘the Great’, Alfred’s reputation reaches down to us through the years. Christian hero, successful defender of England against the Vikings, social and educational reformer. There is a man and a life buried amid the myths. Within these pages, discover Alfred’s dramatic story.

First Published 14th August 2014 by Amberley Publishing

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 Edwin walks by the shore, alone and at bay, he is confronted by a mysterious figure – the missionary Paulinus – who prophesies that he will become High King of Britain. It is a turning point. Through battles and astute political alliances Edwin rises to great power, in the process marrying the Kentish princess Aethelburh. As part of the marriage contract the princess is allowed to retain her Christian faith. But, in these times, to be a king is not a recipe for a long life …This turbulent and tormented period in British history sees the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon settlers who have forced their way on to British shores over previous centuries, arriving first to pillage, then to farm and trade – and to come to terms with the faith of the Celtic tribes they have driven out.

Here’s what Bernard Cornwell said about the book: “Edwin, High King of Britain, brings to life the heroic age of our distant past, a splendid novel that leaves the reader wanting more.” (Yes, that Bernard Cornwell!)

First Published 21st March 2014 by Lion Fiction.

Excerpt

“My lord.”

Edwin stood, sliding up from his crouch as smoothly as a cat. The seax glittered in the star light.

“What do you want of me?”

“I know well why you stand outside the king’s hall through the dark of the night.” The man’s voice was deep and strong, with the resonance of a scop, but his words carried a strange accent, unlike any Edwin had heard before.

“Who are you?”

“I know why you stand vigil by the sea, through the darkest watches of the night, alone and troubled in mind, my lord. I know the evil that threatens you, the betrayer who will hand you over to your enemies and I ask you this: what reward would you give the man who can save you from evil? What would you do for the man who persuades King Rædwald to remain in his honour and not hand you over to your enemies?” As the man spoke, his voice grew lower, quieter, but Edwin could still hear it clearly, for all other sound had faded from the world.

“What reward would you give that man?”

Edwin – a tall man – looked up into the face of his questioner. “For such a deliverance, I would give whatever was in my power to give.”

The dark man grasped his staff, planting it more firmly in the ground, but he made no move to approach closer.

“And what if that man prophesied, and prophesied in truth, that you would become king, putting down your enemies in their pride? And that you would ascend to a greater power than any of your fathers, a greater power than any king in these islands has wielded since the days of the Emperors?”

Edwin could not tear his gaze from the shadowed eyes of the cloaked man. Who was he? Was he a god?

“If such things came to pass, I would give more generously than any king – gold, and jewels, and horses.”

The stranger inclined his head. “And if this man unknown to you, who spoke in truth revealing the paths of the future and the glory that awaits, also brought guidance for life and salvation, knowledge unrevealed to your fathers and forefathers, would you follow his counsel and obey his advice?”

Edwin fell silent. The stranger waited for his answer.

“If such a man exists, who by his counsel can deliver me from my enemies and raise me to the throne, then assuredly I would follow his advice and wait upon his counsel.”

The cloaked man bowed his head. His lips moved, and Edwin heard the murmur of words in a language unknown to him. Then he raised his head and stepped towards the king. Placing his hand upon Edwin’s head, he said, “Remember this. Remember well this sign I place upon your head. When you receive this sign again, remember this conversation and remember your promise.”

The cloaked man stepped back and raised his cowl to cover his head.

“Who are you?” asked Edwin. “Are you a god?”

The man, his face now lost again in shadow, turned away.

“Remember the sign,” he said and walked into the shadows.

Not daring to move, Edwin watched as the stranger merged into the night. Woden, the All-Father, wore a hood when he wandered the world. Edwin shivered. It was late summer and the night was not cold, but he shivered, in awe, and fear, and, most dreadful of all, in hope.

J.R.R. Tolkien lived for most of his life in Oxford, and the great university city proved a valuable source of inspiration for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Using photographs both new and old, as well as specially authorised quotations from his works, this absorbing ebook charts Tolkien’s life in Oxford, from his arrival as an undergraduate of Classics in the Michaelmas term of 1911, his first post-First World War job at the Oxford English Dictionary and professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, to his death in September 1973.

Presented in convenient ebook format, this is an essential companion for anyone wanting to find out about Tolkien’s days at Oxford, and the relationship of one of England’s most awe-inspiring cities to one of the twentieth century’s most remarkable writers.

First published in 2012 by the sadly defunct High-Res History and now available as an e-book

In Britain, during the so-called Dark Ages, a kingdom flourished that traded as far afield as Byzantium, that sent scholars to teach the kings of Europe, that created unmatched art and weapons, and that produced some of the most extraordinary men and women in history. That kingdom was Northumbria, and hardly anyone remembers Cuthbert and Oswald, Wilfrid and Hilda now, nor how the kings of Northumbria reigned as High Kings of Britain. But the patient labours of archaeologists have gradually brought this story to light, and revealed just how extraordinary this kingdom by the sea at the edge of the world was. 

My co-writer, Paul Gething, brings the archaeological chops to the work, seeing as how he is one of the directors of the Bamburgh Research Project, which is continuing to bring to light further discoveries about the kingdom, and one of the key figures in the revolution of our understanding of the kingdom, the people and the times.

First Published 14th December 2012 by The History Press

Written for children eight and above, this story tells the life of Bilal, the first muezzin of Islam. Bilal was originally an Ethiopian, a black man, and a slave. But he was freed by Abu Bakr, who went on the be the first Muslim caliph, and the Prophet Muhammad made him the first muezzin – the man who calls the faithful to prayer – because of his beautiful voice. Bilal thus went from slavery to one of the most public roles of the new and growing religion. This beautifully illustrated book, with original drawings by Angela Desira, reveals the story behind the haunting call to prayer.

First Published 17th September 2009 by Kube Publishing

December 2011 is the 900th anniversary of the death of the great Muslim mystic, scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali. This book, written to be suitable for children at Key Stages 3 and 4, brings the man and his world to life. Having risen to the heights of influence and prestige in the Muslim world while still a young man, Al-Ghazali had a profound crisis of conscience and, leaving everything behind, set off on a career as a wanderer and pilgrim. Widely regarded as the second most influential man in Islamic history, this richly illustrated book will challenge and enthrall the reader.

First Published 17th January 2013 by Kube Publishing

Ibn Sina, or Avicenna as he was known in the West, was the man who knew everything. But his was not a life of quiet study, but rather one full of intrigue, plots, desperate escapes and long imprisonments. This concise biography tells how Ibn Sina revolutionised philosophy and medicine, and make lasting contributions to mathematics and science, while serving amirs and sultans, and fleeing from the more bloodthirsty ones. Such was the scope and brilliance of his work, Ibn Sina can justly be compared to Leonardo da Vinci as a true polymath.
With maps and illustrations aplenty, and background information on the context of the places and times when Ibn Sina lived, this short book brings an exotic, exciting and dangerous era vividly to life.

First Published 15th August 2013 by Kube Publishing