the Book and Knife

A novel set around a powerful medieval book which reaches England and becomes caught up in the struggle between its two leading families, and the events leading up to the Norman invasion of 1066. A book that is so powerful and linked to a foretelling so inescapable that it will put a new ruler on a throne but which ruler and what country? In 1031, an Arab scientist, a Jewish astronomer and a Christian monk gather under the dome of an observatory in Spain. A foretelling written on the blade of a knife tells of a new ruler, whose power will come from the knowledge in a centuries old book. As its guardians begin to covet this knowledge for themselves, the book is drawn into the conflict between the houses of Wessex and Godwin, and England’s destiny. It will carry a secret at the heart of the succession to the English throne. But the book is in danger, from those who will use it for the wealth and power it can bring — or who want to destroy it. From Spain to Normandy and England, The Book and the Knife: Thegn of Berewic is the story of the power of knowledge, of a generation—spanning blood feud, and of the struggle for control of England before the Norman invasion of 1066. A story of loyalty and treachery, love and hate.