"The greatest writer of historical adventures today"
(Washington Post) tackles his richest, most thrilling
subject yet—the heroic tale of Agincourt.
Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a cursed past—haunted by
what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done.
A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a
mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can
love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in
trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at
Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no
options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture
means certain death. Instead he is discovered by the young
King of England—Henry V himself—and by royal command he
takes up the longbow again and dons the cross of Saint
George. Hook returns to France as part of the superb army
Henry leads in his quest to claim the French crown. But
after the English campaign suffers devastating early losses,
it becomes clear that Hook and his fellow archers are their
king's last resort in a desperate fight against an enemy
more daunting than they could ever have imagined.
One
of the most dramatic victories in British history, the
battle of Agincourt—immortalized by Shakespeare in Henry
V—pitted undermanned and overwhelmed English forces
against a French army determined to keep their crown out of
Henry's hands. Here Bernard Cornwell resurrects the legend
of the battle and the "band of brothers" who fought it on
October 25, 1415. An epic of redemption, Agincourt
follows a commoner, a king, and a nation's entire army on an
improbable mission to test the will of God and reclaim what
is rightfully theirs. From the disasters at the siege of
Harfleur to the horrors of the field of Agincourt, this
exhilarating story of survival and slaughter is at once a
brilliant work of history and a triumph of
imagination—Bernard Cornwell at his best.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy