Saints and Sinners

Name: Saints and Sinners
Rating: 3.9 (170 reviews)

by John Broughton Book 1 in the Saints and Sinners series.

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3.8(170)

Mercia and Lindsey, late seventh century. After Queen Osthryth dies in suspicious circumstances, her ring is found in the possession of the young noble Æthelbald. Accused of murder and threatened by his ambitious cousin Ceolred, he is forced from Mercia while King Æthelred’s abdication creates a dangerous contest for the succession.

Æthelbald must survive exile, shifting loyalties and the weakness of King Cenred before he can challenge for power himself. The novel follows his transformation from hunted claimant to a ruler capable of imposing authority across the Midlands, while questioning the violence and compromise required to become a dominant king among the competing Anglo-Saxon realms.