Category: Book info

How a single novel, a trilogy, a prequel and finally the translations emerged from a publisher’s call for entries – find out all about the less than straightforward history and background of The Northumbria Trilogy in this blog post!

An idea grows

Hostile nations, youngsters fighting with swords, a medieval background and a story about teenagers from days of yore – how on earth did I come up with this idea?

Inspiration

In the past, writers took their inspiration from divine and heroic deeds, legends, the Bible or saints, or they were commissioned to write a text on a certain topic by great rulers or the heads of monasteries. With large publishing houses, the latter is true even today, especially for non-fiction books. But inspiration and calls for papers are also available to the masses, namely in the form of publicly announced writing competitions and calls for short stories or other contributions for collective works. Such was the case with the book idea for my debut novel, Das bretonische Mädchen (The Breton Girl), which was published by a small publisher in 2019 and later became Book 2 of The Northumbria Trilogy in a revised and expanded version in late 2020. It all started with a call for submissions on a completely different topic, namely “Devilish Beasts – Beastly Devils” from Machandel Publishing.

One, two, and counting

While I was quick to plot the basic story, I took some time to find the background against which the action would be set. “Nothing easier than that”, said my writing coach back then. “You’re a medievalist. You write historical fiction.” And that’s what I did. I wrote the first fifty pages of the story, but suddenly ran into an unexpected problem, if you can call it that: While developing the main characters of the novel, my coach pointed out that one of the main supporting characters deserved a book of their own. So after finishing my debut novel, I wrote the story of the supporting character, and now I already had two books that raised questions among readers.

Three is the magic number, or is it not?

A third novel was needed to answer those questions, but even this final book was not the end. Readers did not only want to know what came after, but also what went before books 1 and 2. So there I was, finishing manuscript number 3 and wondering what had driven the female characters of the first two books to come to the main setting of the series, and ending up with a prequel.

Historical background of the Northumbria Trilogy

The trilogy and prequel are all set in early medieval England in the second half of the 11th century.

Time

Book 1 is set in the years from 1066 to 1071, just before and five years after the Norman Conquest. These years were difficult ones for King William I (William the Conqueror), who had a hard time asserting his claim to power, and the rebellious North in particular caused a lot of trouble during this period – although things were not much better on the Welsh border or in East Anglia. Book 2 is set twenty years after the Norman Conquest in the years from 1086 to 1088, the time when William II (William le Roux, William Rufus) succeeded his father William I,. Book 3 is set in 1093, in the middle of the reign of William II. The rebellious English North has finally been subdued, but the Scottish king Malcolm continues to invade Northumbria. Almost thirty years after the Norman Conquest, northern England remains a hotspot for trouble to the Norman king.

Place

It’s not just Lucan in the third book who travels around a lot. The settings of the trilogy are spread all over Northumbria: In Book 1, we follow Oswulf from Ledlinghe (Leavening) to Wilburgfos (Wilberfoss) in Eoforwicscire/Everwicscire (Yorkshire). In Book 2, we accompany Roger in Wilburgfos and Everwic/Eoforwic (York). In Book 3, we travel with Lucan back and forth between Bebbanburh (Bamburgh Castle), Wilburgfos and the castle of the richest Breton in the history of England, Alain le Roux, at Hindrelagh/Riche Munt (Richmond), north of Everwic.

The outsider: the prequel

The action of the prequel takes place in the same time, in 1070, but further south, in East Anglia. The land there was divided between (Norman) barons and Anglo-Saxon subjects, who, like their Northumbrian counterparts, tried to rebel against the new lords. In particular, the Anglo-Saxon Hereward (the Wake) and his allies, who later included the Earls Morcar and Edwin, made life hell for King William. They entrenched themselves at their fortress in Ely in the middle of the Fenlands, the impenetrable marshes of East Anglia.

Is everything in the novels history?

No. The story and all the main characters are fictional, but places, historical figures and the medieval setting are based on historical facts.Ledlinghe is one of the few places in northern England to have been spared, at least in part, from the depredations of King William, known in English as the infamous “Harrying of the North”. However, much of the area in today’s Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland, in other words the whole of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, fell victim to the royal vindictiveness and suffered the consequences for decades afterwards. In the second book, I have adjusted the historical facts a little in some places to suit the needs of the story. For example, I brought forward the date of the foundation of the monastery in Wilburgfos, which did not exist at this location until the 12th century. I also had to make the squire Walter Fossard a little older because I found it too confusing to have a third Robert in the novel (namely his historical older brother, who would have been a perfect fit age-wise). “Lucan”, by the way, is the name of one of King Arthur’s closest companions. He and Sir Bedevere are the last to stand by him on the battlefield.

While reading the trilogy, have you ever wondered why two villages and, in the final volume, a monumental castle are the settings of the Northumbria Trilogy? Find out how it came about and what fascinated me about these locations.

How it all began

I had the original idea for the book from which developed The Northumbria Trilogy when I came across a call for Fantasy short stories with the theme “Devilish Beasts – Beastly Devils”. However, when I developed the idea, it soon became clear that I would set the story against a historical backdrop, and that is how it started.

Why England?

As a medievalist, I have been studying the language and literature of the Middle Ages extensively, with a focus on England and France. So instead of plunging into the creation of new, unknown fantasy worlds, I preferred to fall back on old, familiar ones and hence set my story in medieval England. Why medieval France missed out as a setting and how I came to choose the 11th century as the time period, I no longer know, but I remember that it didn’t take me long to make this decision.

Why northern England and two little-known villages?

The paths of writers are sometimes unfathomable. The 11th century is a fascinating time because it is so important to English history. England had only been a single, united empire for a few generations, when it was completely turned upside down by the Norman conquest in the second half – politically, socially, culturally, linguistically. This upheaval was particularly tough in the North of England, which resisted the Normans for a long time and bitterly regretted it. Decades later, the North was still suffering from the consequences of King William’s revenge, even though the new king and his successor had long since had to deal with other problems. It is those exciting thirty years after the Norman conquest of England that provide the historical setting of The Northumbria Trilogy.

Wilberfoss (Wilburgfos)

The village of Wilberfoss near York popped up during research as the ideal central setting for The Northumbria Trilogy. I needed a place with a manor and a monastery that both existed towards the end of the 11th century – which narrowed down the choice quite a lot. Wilberfoss had both and was inconspicuous enough that I was able to bend history ever so slightly. The Benedictine monastery there did not actually exist until the beginning of the 12th century, but I have predated it a little for the purposes of my story. You can read why I needed a monastery and a manor in For Lord and Liege – Book 2 of the Northumbria Trilogy (German version). If you want to know more about present-day Wilberfoss, check out the parish page by clicking here.

Leavening (Ledlinghe)

Just like Wilberfoss, Leavening owes its position as one of the main settings of The Northumbria Trilogy to a historical peculiarity. In fact, it was one of the few places that was not completely destroyed during the so-called Harrying of the North – an extensive campaign of destruction by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069/70 with devastating consequences for the entire North of England that lasted for decades. Find out what may have saved Leavening from this fate in Warrior of two Kings – Book 1 of the Northumbria Trilogy. Find out more about modern Leavening here.

First two tiny villages and then a castle?

For Book 3 of The Northumbria Trilogy, I needed something more mundane than a small village, because the protagonist is a jongleur, a special, very versatile type of minstrel – and, like most other entertainers of the Middle Ages (blog post available on my German website), they preferred to work at the courts of nobility. They were often permanently employed there to tell traditional, old stories and sing about the exploits of their masters, under whose roof they lived until either they died or their master got tired of them.

Why Bamburgh (Bebbanburh) as the third setting of The Northumbria Trilogy?

Some wealthier noble household it had to be – fair enough, but why Bamburgh Castle, high up north, not far from the Scottish border and opposite the holy island of Lindisfarne? After all, there were plenty of other rich manors in the York area and especially south of it. That is true, but Volume 3 continues both the story of The Northumbria Trilogy and the history of northern England. So I chose the mighty castle on the volcanic hill directly on the northeastern coast not only for historical reasons.Insights into, and views of, Bamburgh Castle can be found on the Castle website. Further links to the surrounding places, which also play a role in the third volume, can be found here .

Curious?

If you want to find out why it had to be Bamburgh Castle for plot reasons, you can check in The Minstrel’s Quest– Book 3 of the Northumbria Trilogy (German version) if your speculations after the first two books were correct.