The Year 1070 - Survival

Torn away from their homes and families due to the sudden and devastating ‘Harrying of the North’ by William the Conqueror’s soldiers, teenage friends Hravn and Ealdgith are forced to flee through the northern Yorkshire Dales in the bitter winter of 1070. Theirs is a tale of harsh survival and rapid change from childhood to adulthood under the constant threat of discovery, slavery or death at the hands of the Norman invaders or vicious bandits. Set in the Northern Dales and Cumbria, The Year 1070 weaves a tale around historical fact and real places, bringing to life the diverse people of the North and the challenges they faced at a time of rebellion, repression and great social upheaval. ‘The Year 1070 – Survival’ is a glimpse into life in an often forgotten moment at the time of one of the greatest social upheavals England has ever faced; it is a tale that will be continued.
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The Year 1071 - Resistance and Revenge

The year is 1071 and the people of Yorkshire are struggling to survive one year after the brutal Harrying of the North by their new Norman masters. Her family slain, and their Richmondshire lands seized by the Normans, Lady Ealdgith and her cousin, Hravn, fled from the slaughter, returning a year later to resist and take revenge. They do so with the support of her kinsman, the Anglo-Cumbrian, Earl Gospatrick of Northumberland and Cumberland. The story that unfolds is one of love, loyalty, remarkable leadership, courage and ingenuity as a small group of dispossessed people strive to survive and overcome oppression and cruelty. Set in the wooded Richmondshire hills, the faces and places of a forgotten age are brought to life in a tale of fiction based on historical fact.

The Year 1072 - Retribution

At the behest of Earl Gospatric of Northumberland, Sir Hravn and Lady Ealdgith, dispossessed survivors of the brutal Harrying of the North, have to lead their war-band from Bamburgh Castle into Durham and Richmondshire in an attempt to disrupt King William’s return to the North before they can reclaim their lands in the upper Eden Valley. They find that they have more than just Norman men-at-arms to overcome. It is a tale of the fortitude of young people, their courage and ingenuity; and also of female empowerment and leadership during a time of increasing male dominance and fractured English society. Written around historical characters and the geography of the North, their story brings to life the dramatic military, political and social events of that time.

The Year 1092 - Cumbria Invaded



Hravn and Ealdgith’s lives are again threatened by the Normans’ lust for land when King William Rufus decides to seize Cumbria from the King of the Scots.

Betrayed by King Malcolm, and the target of Count Alan’s vengeance, Hravn, Ealdgith and their growing family fight to defend their Eden Valley homeland, until they are forced into a series of battles to hold their last sanctuary around the shores of Ullswater.


Written around historical characters and the geography of the Lake District. It is a tale of the fortitude of young people, their courage and ingenuity; and also of female empowerment and leadership.


The Year 1102 - Jaws of Borrowdale


King Henry’s accession to the English throne ten years after the Normans annexed Cumbria threatens to end the independence of those living within the sanctuary of the Lakeland fells.


Acting in the King’s name, avaricious barons attempt to dispossess Lady Ealdgith’s family and force them to flee from their Ullswater lands to the safety of Borrowdale and a new home under the shadow of what is today called Castle Crag. 


Under Gytha’s leadership the people of the Lake District are inspired to resist Norman control, culminating in a final battle from the crag that dominates the ‘Jaws of Borrowdale’.


The concluding tale in the Harrying of the North series is written around historical characters and the geography of the Lake District. 


The story brings to life the dramatic military, political and social events of that time. It is a tale of the fortitude of young people, their courage and ingenuity; and also of female empowerment and leadership.

The Harrying of The North Series


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