The Hoodsman - Blackstone Edge

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It was 1070 and William the Conqueror had finally made a tactical mistake. He was leading his army from York to Chester across the Pennines in winter. The young hoodsman, Raynar of the Peaks, raced home to the Peaks Forest. William was about to cross his peaks, his backyard, and to do that he must use the old Roman street through to Manchester.

Raynar needed to convince the local Hood to set a trap. If all went well, the Conqueror would die at Blackstone Edge.

By 1101, Edith, Queen of the English was playing matchmaker to find a husband for her sister the Princess Mary of Scotland. But whom? The elder Raynar was not about to allow the lovely young Mary to be betrothed to a rapist pig of a Norman, especially not to William Mortain, the Earl of Cornwall. Over Mortain's dead body.

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 fifth 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.

Genre: Fiction / Action & Adventure (fancy, right?)