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Author

M J Porter

49 fiction · 3 non-fiction

M. J. Porter is a British author of historical fiction whose novels focus primarily on Anglo-Saxon England, Mercia and the wider Viking world. Their stories range across the sixth to the eleventh centuries, combining political intrigue, warfare and dynastic rivalry with detailed portrayals of everyday life before the Norman Conquest. Porter studied history at university and developed a particular interest in early medieval Britain while completing postgraduate research, where the discovery of the historical figure Ealdorman Leofwine inspired the long-running Earls of Mercia series.

Porter has written several interconnected historical series, including the Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, The Ninth Century, The Earls of Mercia and the Brunanburh novels. They also write twentieth-century historical mysteries and published the non-fiction work The Royal Women Who Made England. Known for fast-moving narratives and large casts of historical and fictional characters, Porter’s work explores how rulers, warriors and noble families competed for power during the formation of medieval England.

Periods and events

Alfred the Great and Wessex871–899 CE Anglo-Saxon Englandc. 476–1066 CE Danelaw865–954 CE Danish Conquest of England1003–1016 Early Medieval Rheged and Northumbria476–700 Formation of England899–1066 CE Great Heathen Army865–878 CE Kingdom of Northumbria in the Seventh Centuryc. 604–685 CE Mercian Expansion under Pendac. 626–655 CE Viking Age793–1066 CE Viking Age Scandinavia793–1066 CE Wessex in the Ninth Century9th century CE

Historical fiction

Historical fiction series by M J Porter (9 series)

The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles in Order

by M J Porter 9 books 4.5(18,527)

The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles follows Icel, a Mercian warrior serving King Burgred during the escalating Viking invasions of the ninth century. Across campaigns, sieges and political betrayals, Icel and his companions defend a kingdom increasingly trapped between the Great Heathen Army, internal weakness and the ambitions of…

The Earls of Mercia in Order

by M J Porter 11 books 4.4(8,591)

The Earls of Mercia series is a multi-generational saga of the powerful family that dominated English politics during the reigns of Æthelred the Unready, Cnut, Edward the Confessor and the years leading towards 1066. Beginning with Ealdorman Leofwine and continuing through Leofric, Ælfgar and their descendants, the novels…

The Brunanburh Series in Order

by M J Porter 4 books showing 1 book here 4.4(4,455)

The Brunanburh series traces the struggle to create and preserve a united English kingdom under Æthelstan and his successor Edmund. Moving from Æthelstan's accession through the coalition of Scots, Britons and Dublin Norse defeated at Brunanburh, the novels continue into the renewed wars for York and Northumbria after…

The Earls of Mercia Side Stories in Order

by M J Porter 4 books 4.4(949)

The Earls of Mercia Side Stories expand the main saga through figures whose lives intersect with Mercia's ruling family and the Danish conquest of England. The books focus on warriors, royal relatives and political survivors including Wulfstan, Sweyn, Cnut and Estrid, providing additional perspectives on war, kinship and…

The Kingdom of Mercia: the Ninth Century in Order

by M J Porter 10 books 4.3(15,324)

The Kingdom of Mercia: the Ninth Century series reimagines the reign of Coelwulf II, Mercia's last independent king, during the Great Heathen Army's conquest of the English kingdoms. Coelwulf and his oath-sworn warriors fight Danish jarls, negotiate uneasily with Alfred of Wessex and attempt to hold together a…

Gods and Kings in Order

by M J Porter 3 books 4.3(1,304)

The Gods and Kings trilogy follows Penda of Mercia through the wars that reshaped seventh-century Britain. Beginning with his struggle for power against Northumbria and continuing through the battles of Maserfield and the Winwaed, the series presents Penda as a pagan war leader navigating fragile alliances, dynastic rivalry…

The King’s Mother in Order

by M J Porter 3 books 4.3(646)

The King's Mother trilogy follows Lady Elfrida through the reign of her son Æthelred II and the political crises that engulf England at the turn of the eleventh century. As queen dowager and royal mother, she must defend her family and influence events amid Viking attacks, factional rivalry…

The Dark Age Chronicles in Order

by M J Porter 3 books 4.2(1,857)

The Dark Age Chronicles follows warriors and rulers in the violent centuries when Mercia, Northumbria, Wessex and neighbouring kingdoms competed for supremacy. The trilogy combines shield-wall warfare, dynastic ambition and divided loyalties, using the lives of fighting men to show how personal oaths and royal rivalries shaped early…

The First Queen of England in Order

by M J Porter 3 books 4.1(1,158)

The First Queen of England trilogy follows Elfrida, or Ælfthryth, from an ambitious noblewoman to queen consort of King Edgar and a central figure in the politics of late tenth-century England. The series explores royal marriage, motherhood, succession and the competing interests surrounding the young princes Edward and…

Historical fiction

Standalone historical fiction by M J Porter (1 book)

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Non-fiction

Non-fiction by M J Porter (3 books)

Reference works, biographies and other non-fiction are kept separate from the historical fiction above.

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