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Series

The Grail Quest

The Grail Quest follows Thomas of Hookton, an English archer whose search for the truth about his family becomes entangled with the opening decades of the Hundred Years’ War. The novels move through the capture of La Roche-Derrien, the assault on Caen, the Battle of Crécy, Neville’s Cross, the later siege and battle at La Roche-Derrien, the fall of Calais and the Battle of Poitiers.

Thomas pursues the Holy Grail and later the sword La Malice while serving in armies shaped by longbow warfare, chevauchée, siege and plague. Rival nobles and churchmen treat the relics as weapons capable of deciding wars, forcing Thomas to distinguish faith from political ambition as he becomes an experienced commander of archers and mercenaries.

Reading order

Books in this series (4 books)

Harlequin cover

#1 – Harlequin

Bernard Cornwell

Thomas of Hookton, a young English archer, joins Edward III’s armies after Norman raiders destroy his Dorset village and steal the relic guarded by his father. His pursuit of the attackers takes him into Brittany, where he helps capture La Roche-Derrien, and then into the 1346…

Vagabond cover

#2 – Vagabond

Bernard Cornwell

After Crécy, Thomas of Hookton returns to England while continuing his search for the Holy Grail and the truth about his family. He is drawn into the Scottish invasion of 1346 and fights at the Battle of Neville’s Cross, where the English defeat and capture King…

Heretic cover

#3 – Heretic

Bernard Cornwell

Thomas of Hookton returns to Gascony after the fall of Calais and captures the fortress of Castillon d’Arbizon, hoping to draw Guy Vexille and other seekers of the Holy Grail into the open. His command of a small company places him amid raids, local feuds and…

1356 cover

#4 – 1356

Bernard Cornwell

Thomas of Hookton serves the Black Prince during the 1356 campaign across France while searching for La Malice, a legendary sword believed to have belonged to Saint Peter. French and English factions compete to possess the weapon as the prince’s raiding army becomes trapped by a…