'Bloody and beguiling.' THE TIMES
'A salty, action-packed saga.' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Perfect for Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell fans.' DAILY EXPRESS

Spanning the sacking of England's south coast by Castilian raiders, the cut-throat halls of Windsor Castle and a seismic, blood-soaked naval battle – no one brings medieval England as thrillingly to life as Sunday Times bestseller and master storyteller Dan Jones.

A COUNTRY ON THE BRINK.
AN ALLY TURNED FOE.
A FINAL CRUSADE.

1350. England reels in the aftermath of the Black Death. Towns emptied, families shattered, a kingdom weakened, and yet still, worse is to come.

After a failed alliance, the Castilians grow ever bolder in their threats against the Crown, mounting attacks onto English shores and even stealing people away.

Loveday FitzTalbot has survived a lifetime of battles, but never an enemy this elusive. When his newfound family is threatened, he is forced into dangerous work for a man whose loyalties shift like the tide.

This unknowingly leads him to a long-awaited reunion, a battle unlike any he has faced before and a final farewell that will change everything…

Praise for THE ESSEX DOGS

‘Influences as diverse as Bernard Cornwell and Game of Thrones.’ SPECTATOR
‘If you've ever enjoyed a Ridley Scott film, go and buy this book!' ALICE WINN
'The way Dan Jones writes enemies reminds me of Cornwell at his best.' CONN IGGULDEN
'This is the Hundred Years' War as directed by Oliver Stone with a historian's eye for detail.' ELODIE HARPER
'Battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched.' DAILY MAIL
‘Unforgettable characters.’ SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
‘This razor-sharp motley crew... leap off the page and charge straight at you.’ SUN

A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK 2026

'A sumptuous Gothic mystery' NAT REEVE, author of NETTLEBLACK
'Kidd has imagination to die for' Guardian
'This tale of secrets and mysteries is steeped in atmospheric suspense. Gothic, yes, but galvanised by flashes of inventive wonder' Mail on Sunday
Wildly imaginative . . . [a] terrific steampunk tale' Daily Mail

A secret cannot stay locked away forever

Bodkin Bell, orphan, pickpocket and survivor, doesn't know where she came from, but she knows she's different. Gaslights flare as she walks past. Cutlery spins. Shocks fly from her fingertips.

For years, she was 'Little Spark', the star of an electrifying travelling act - until it went too far and she ended up in a London gaol.

Now she's been offered a way out. A chance to serve at Point Mote, a vast, desolate house marooned on the misty Kent marshes. There, she will assist a reclusive family of cunning inventors in the creation of automata: miraculous, lifelike machines for which gentlemen collectors will pay handsomely.

But this house of wonders hides mysteries too. As Bodkin starts to question why she is really there, she unearths secrets that have been buried bone-deep for years - and a truth beyond all imagining. One that was never meant to be found.