Three Weeks Until Publication!

Just three weeks to go until Edward II: The Unconventional King is released!  Hope you're excited :-)

Some important news first: the winner of a copy of Sara Cockerill's fab Eleanor of Castile: The Shadow Queen is Bev.  Congrats, Bev!

My aim in the book is to tell the story of Edward II and his reign, and the people around him, in the most accurate, non-biased, non-judgemental way I possibly can.  I deal with all the silly myths that have been invented about him and thus defend him when I think it's necessary, but don't hold back from discussing his many flaws and mistakes.  I have no interest in presenting a whitewashed, romanticised version of Edward II, constantly jumping in to defend and minimise all his faults, and writing him as a hard-done-by victim who just couldn't help it, diddums.  Equally, I think a lot of writers have judged him unfairly harshly ("A more complete ninny than Edward II has seldom occupied a throne"; "Worthy never to have been born," for example) and have forgotten that he wasn't a bad man who set out to do evil to his subjects; he was born into a hereditary monarchy and was forced by birth to try to fill a position he was unsuited to.  He battled to reconcile his position with his unconventional nature, and to subsume Edward the man into Edward the king, and failed.  The Unconventional King is the most personal portrait of Edward II yet seen, and I really hope you enjoy it.

You can pre-order The Unconventional King from Amberley, the publisher; Amazon UK; Amazon US; Book Depository; Barnes and Noble; Booktopia in Australia.  It will also be available as an e-book.