Book
The Bombard
First published 1959
During Edward III’s campaign against Calais, a young Englishman becomes attached to one of the primitive gunpowder weapons beginning to appear beside bows, engines and armoured cavalry. The cumbersome bombard is dangerous to its own crew as well as to the enemy, and learning to serve it brings the boy into the brutal routines of siege warfare.
Treece places technological change inside the Hundred Years’ War rather than presenting the cannon as an instant revolution. Hunger, disease, discipline and divided loyalties matter as much as the weapon itself, while the presence of the Black Prince exposes the distance between chivalric reputation and the experience of ordinary fighters. The novel was also published in the United States as Ride into Danger.
Historical Periods
Historical people
More from this period
4 more top-rated novels about Siege of Calais
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
More from this period
5 more top-rated novels about Reign of Edward III
Ranked by rating and voting volume; books already shown on this page are omitted.
More by the author
Other books by Henry Treece
Discover more
Authors similar to Henry Treece
Recommended from shared genres and periods.
Rosemary Sutcliff
38 books
Cecelia Holland
20 books
Gillian Bradshaw
20 books
H. Rider Haggard
55 books
Giles Kristian
10 books