Head of Zeus

eBook

Hardback

Trade Paperback

Paperback

Essex Dogs

by Dan Jones

Essex Dogs Trilogy, 1

The sensational historical fiction debut from Sunday Times bestseller Dan Jones.

July 1346. The Hundred Years' War has begun, and King Edward and his lords are on the march through France. But this war belongs to the men on the ground.

Swept up in the bloody chaos, a tight-knit company from Essex must stay alive long enough to see their home again. With sword, axe and longbow, the Essex Dogs will fight, from the landing beaches of Normandy to the bloodsoaked field of Crécy.

There's Pismire, small enough to infiltrate enemy camps. Scotsman, strong enough to tear down a wall. Millstone, a stonemason who'll do anything to protect his men. Father, a priest turned devilish by the horrors of war. Romford, a talented young archer on the run from his past. And Loveday FitzTalbot, their battle-scarred captain, who just wants to get his boys home safe.

Some men fight for glory. Others fight for coin. The Essex Dogs? They fight for each other.

Praise for Essex Dogs:

'A new champion has entered the front line of historical fiction to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bernard Cornwell.' Jane Johnson
'Battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched.' Daily Mail
'Vital, earthy, and heart-stopping... So deft and funny that you'd never guess this is Dan Jones' debut work of fiction.' Suzannah Lipscomb
'[Dan Jones'] mastery of his subject matter is obvious. The soldiers' lives are rather brilliantly recreated – the kit, the fighting, the boredom and discomfort.' The Times
'Few books manage to be as compelling on every level as Essex Dogs: it's adventure, history, and heart.' Dana Schwartz
'A busy, urgent little masterpiece.' Graham Hurley
'Fascinating. Brutal. Real... Impossible to put down.' Simon Turney
'Horribly compelling... Only Dan Jones can carry you through blood, piss and vomit and leave you wanting more.' Daisy Dunn
'With a cast of unforgettable characters, written with irrepressible verve and historical accuracy, Dan Jones delivers a compelling novel that thrums with swordswinging energy.' Simon Sebag Montefiore
'The battles that shaped Europe from the point of view of the soldiers... Searing.' Kate Williams
'War. Looting. Junkies. Pintle-tugging. The English abroad. Dan Jones takes you to the year of Our Lord 1346.' Tibor Fischer

Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book * Action & Adventure

15 Sep 2022 * 464pp * £16.99 * 9781838937911

REVIEWS

'A new champion has entered the front line of historical fiction to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bernard Cornwell... A full-throated charge onto the mediaeval battlefield, a rip-roaring adventure full of blood and guts, camaraderie and inventive curses'

Jane Johnson

'Horribly compelling... Only Dan Jones can carry you through blood, piss and vomit and leave you wanting more'

Daisy Dunn

'Vital, earthy, and heart-stopping... So deft and funny that you'd never guess this is Dan Jones' debut work of fiction'

Suzannah Lipscomb

'Few books manage to be as compelling on every level as Essex Dogs: it's adventure, history, and heart'

Dana Schwartz

'The battles that shaped Europe from the point of view of the soldiers... Searing'

Kate Williams

'With a cast of unforgettable characters, written with irrepressible verve and historical accuracy, Dan Jones delivers a compelling novel that thrums with swordswinging energy'

Simon Sebag Montefiore

'A busy, urgent little masterpiece'

Graham Hurley

'Fascinating. Brutal. Real... Impossible to put down'

Simon Turney

'War. Looting. Junkies. Pintle-tugging. The English abroad. Dan Jones takes you to the year of Our Lord 1346'

Tibor Fischer

'Essex Dogs is the first in a planned trilogy by the bestselling medieval historian Dan Jones. His mastery of his subject matter is obvious. The soldiers' lives are rather brilliantly recreated – the kit, the fighting, the boredom and discomfort. Jones is excellent on the battles, too, focusing on the violence and the panic'

The Times

'[Essex Dogs] is the first instalment of what promises to be an epic trilogy'

History Revealed Magazine

'The historical detail is totally authentic... Essex Dogs shows the total brutalilty of medieval warfare, but also the camaraderie of a troop of men who fight for each other and for England'

Bishop's Stortford Independent

'Battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched... Jones captures the fear and frenzy of the fight and the loyalty and kinship of the Dogs in this slaughterous, sweary, swaggering debut'

Daily Mail

'Visceral and powerful, the reality of medieval warfare leaping from every page, it's gripping storytelling at its best... With a cast of unforgettable characters, this is historian Dan Jones's first foray into fiction and it's terrific'

Choice

'With its unflinching emphasis on the blood and guts of 14th-century battle, Jones's debut is not for the squeamish, but it's an enthralling, character-filled read'

Sunday Times

'Historian Dan Jones plunges the reader right into the medieval battlefield in this riotous retelling of the epic Hundred Years War between England and France'

Metro

'Packed with historical insight, bringing alive not only the war, but the lives of the common soldiers... I can hardly wait for the next instalment'

Historical Novel Society

Author

Dan Jones

Dan Jones is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of ten non-fiction books, including The Templars, The Colour of Time and Powers and Thrones. He is a renowned writer, broadcaster and journalist, and has for many years wanted to write authentic but action-packed historical fiction. His debut novel, Essex Dogs, is the first in a planned trilogy following the fortunes of ten ordinary soldiers in the early years of the Hundred Years' War. He lives near London with his family.

ALSO BY Dan Jones

The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960

The Tale of the Tailor and the Three Dead Kings

OTHER BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE