The Hoodsman - Ely Wakes

Book excerpt: Cover Flap In 1070 the Danes and the Anglo-Danes sought vengeance against the Normans for the Harrowing of the North. A gruesome murder turned young Raynar into a Berserker, and he organizes the Anglo-Danish bowmen who had nothing left to loose, into Wolfpacks. The Wolfpacks grew in number and they hunted down and slaughtered any Normans they found. This rebellion reaching out from the Fens was not led by lords. It was the monster that the Pope and every king and nobleman in Christendom feared the most. A peasant revolt. It was 1101 when Edit, Queen of the English found a husband for her sister the Princess Mary of Scotland. He was Count Eustace of Boulogne. A prior suitor, an enraged rapist pig of a Norman, William Mortain, the Earl of Cornwall, abducts Mary and to use as bait to capture King Henry. About the Author Skye Smith is my pen name. My ancestors were miners and shepherds near Castleton in the Peaks District of Derbyshire. I have been told by some readers that this series reminds them of Bernard Cornwell’s historical novels, and have always been delighted by the comparison. This is the sixth of my Hoodsman series of books, and you should read the first “Killing Kings” before you read this book. All of the books contain two timelines linked by characters and places. The “current” story is set in the era of King Henry I in the 1100’s, while the longer “flashback” story is set in the era of King William I after 1066. I have self-published twelve “The Hoodsman” historical-adventure novels and one Companion reference book for the series: # - SubTitle William I Timeline Henry I Timeline 1. Killing Kings 1066 killing King Harald of Norway (Battle of Stamford Bridge) 1100 killing King William II of England. Henry claims the throne. 2. Hunting Kings 1066 hunting the Conqueror (Battle of Hastings Road) 1100 hunting Henry I (Coronation Charter) 3. Frisians of the Fens 1067/68 rebellions. Edgar Aetheling flees north with Margaret. 1100 amnesty and peace. Henry recruits English bowmen. 4. Saving Princesses 1068/69 rebellions. Margaret weds Scotland (Battle of Durham) 1100/01 Edith of Scotland weds Henry (Battle of Alton) 5. Blackstone Edge 1069/70 rebellions (The Harrowing of the North) 1101 peace while the economy is saved from the bankers 6. Ely Wakes 1070/71 Frisian rebellion (Battles of Ely and Cassel) 1101 Henry collects allies. Mary of Scotland weds Boulogne. 7. Courtesans and Exiles 1072/74 English lords flee abroad (Battle of Montreuil, Edgar surrenders) 1102 Henry collects allies (the honour of Boulogne) 8. The Revolt of the Earls 1075/76 Earls revolt (Battles of Worchester and Fagaduna) 1102 Earls revolt (Battles of Arundel, Bridgnorth, Shropshire) 9. Forest Law 1076/79 fighting Normans in France (London Burned, Battle of Gerberoi) 1103 fighting Normans in Cornwall (Battle of Tamara Sound) 10. Queens and Widows 1079/81 rebellions (Gateshead, Judith of Lens) 1103 Edith made Regent (Force 5 Hurricane) 11. Popes and Emperors 1081 Normans slaughter English exiles (Battle of Dyrrhachium) 1104 Henry visits Normandy (Duchy run by warlords) 12. The Second Invasion 1082/85 power vacuum, peaceful anarchy (Regent Odo arrested enroute to Rome) 1085/87 Re-invasion and Harrowing of all England (Battle of Mantes, Conqueror dies) 1104/05 Henry invades Normandy twice (Battle of Tinchebray) Other Novels By The Same Author: The Pistoleer – 9 historical adventures set in the English Civil War. Maya’s Aura – 8 new age adventures while tripping around the world. Knut – many historical adventures set in the Viking Era.