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M J Porter

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The Lady of Mercia's Daughter: England: The Tenth Century Kindle Edition

by MJ Porter (Author), M J Porter (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 462 ratings

Book 1 of 4: The Tenth Century

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A part of the Tales of Mercia series of related titles charting the Saxon kingdom of Mercia's rise and fall by bestselling author MJ Porter

Betrayal is a family affair.

12th June AD918.

Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians and daughter of Alfred the Great, is dead.

Ælfwynn, the niece of Edward, king of Wessex, has been bequeathed her mother’s power and status by the men of the Mercian witan. But she knows Mercia is vulnerable to the north, exposed to the retreating world of the Viking raiders from her mother’s generation.

With her cousin Athelstan, Ealdorman Æthelfrith and his sons, Archbishop Plegmund and her band of trusted warriors, Ælfwynn must act decisively to subvert the threat from the Norse. Led by Rognavaldr, the grandson of the infamous Viking, Ivarr of Dublin, they've turned their gaze toward the desolate lands of Northern England and the jewel of York.

Inexplicably she's also exposed to the south, where her detested cousin, Ælfweard, and uncle, King Edward, eye her position covetously, their ambitions clear to see.

This is the unknown story of Ælfwynn, the daughter of the Lady of the Mercians and the startling events of late 918 when family loyalty and betrayal marched hand in hand across lands only recently reclaimed by the Mercians. Kingdoms could be won or lost through treachery and fidelity, and there was little love and even less honesty. And the words of a sword were heard far more loudly than those of a king or churchman, noble lady’s daughter or Viking raider.

The Tales of Mercia suggested reading order:

Gods and Kings trilogy
The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles
The Mercian Ninth Century
The Lady of Mercia's Daughter and A Conspiracy of Kings
The Earls of Mercia series

The Tenth Century suggested reading order;

The Lady of Mercia's Daughter
A Conspiracy of Kings
Kingmaker
The King's Daughters

Praise for The Lady of Mercia's Daughter

"M.J. Porter has delivered a genuinely un-put-downable story about a real heroine whose fate you will not guess, and I will not tell. This brilliant fictional -or maybe true - account of events in England's dark ages gripped me for hours. It is essential reading for lovers of epic tales about warrior princesses." Amazon Reviewer

"An excellent book, intrigue, action, betrayal, it has it all. It took me three days to read this book, I had difficulty putting it down." Amazon Reviewer

"I loved the historical background and the way the author describes scenes. A very engaging story I found difficult to put down." Amazon Reviewer

MEET THE AUTHOR
I'm an author of historical fiction (Early England/Viking), fantasy and 20th-century mysteries. I like to write. You've been warned.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07353D8SQ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ M J Publishing (August 24, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 24, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3881 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 226 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1522079742

Best Sellers Rank: #665,261 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,750 in Historical Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #7,223 in Historical Thrillers (Books)
- #22,678 in Historical Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 462 ratings

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M J Porter

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I'm an author of historical fiction (Early English/Saxon, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest, as well as three 20th-century mysteries) and fantasy (Viking age/dragon-themed). I have also written my first non-fiction book, The Royal Women Who Made England, available from early 2024.

I was born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since 1066. Raised in the shadow of a strange little building, told from a very young age that it housed the bones of long-dead kings of Mercia and that our garden was littered with old pieces of pottery from a long-ago battle, it's little wonder that my curiosity in Early England ran riot. I can only blame my parents!

I like to write. You've been warned!

Not sure where to start your journey through Saxon/Early England?

If you're new to Saxon England, then Son of Mercia, book 1 in Eagle of Mercia Chronicles, is perhaps where you should start. And then follow on with Wolf of Mercia and Warrior of Mercia and the continuing books in the series.

King of Kings, book 1 in The Brunanburh Series, is the story of the build-up to the greatest battle on British soil you've probably never heard about, Brunanburh. 'An epic story of kingsmanship that will set in motion the pivotal, bloody Battle of Brunanburh where allies have to be chosen wisely.'

If you like action adventure with a heavy dose of violence, foul language, and good old camaraderie - The Ninth Century series is for you, starting with The Last King. And fans of The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles will find a familiar face. Or The Seventh Century, starting with Pagan Warrior, has a little more politics to go with the set-piece battles.

If you like stories about the forgotten women of history, then the Tenth Century series, starting with The Lady of Mercia's Daughter, is a good place to begin. Or, The First Queen of England, with a little more romance.

If you're interested in the last century of Early England (before 1066) then The Earls of Mercia series is for you.

If you want to read it all, then you can read in chronological order or mix it up. The series wasn't written in chronological order (I have a tendency to move backwards through time).

If you're as interested in the ancient kingdom of Mercia as I am, then the loosely connected, The Tales of Mercia is for you. The individual series can be read in this order.

1) Gods and Kings starting with Pagan Warrior.

2) The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles starting with Son of Mercia.

3) The Ninth Century books starting with The Last King

4) A detour to The Lady of Mercia's Daughter and A Conspiracy of Kings, from the Tenth Century series

5) The Earls of Mercia series starts with The Earl of Mercia's Father.

If you're interested in fantasy with a Viking twist, then try The Dragon of Unison books or The Innkeeper standalone novel.

If you're interested in my 20th-century mysteries, then The Custard Corpses and The Automobile Assassinations are the books for you. And Cragside, a standalone 1930s murder mystery set at the beautiful North Northumberland estate.

My first non-fiction book, The Royal Women Who Made England, now published by Pen and Sword in hardback and ebook..

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

462 global ratings

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Amy Selvidge

A heroine of perfection

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

A true grit novel of intrigue and guise speckled with a heroine you can't help but be enamored with and her bold and vivacious style

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Kindle Customer

Excellent read, great entertainment.

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

I found this to be well written and far superior to a lot of books written about the people and places in the tenth century. Story, moved at a good pace and there was plenty of action. It ended too soon. The characters are believable and likable. I was genuinely interested in what happened to the main character. I will be buying the next book in the series

My only bone of contention was the use of the f-word. Not needed in the story. So many other words or phrase could have been used. I'm one of the many who find it offensive, but even more importantly, the f word had not been in use in the tenth century. The first record of the word was in the late fifteen hundreds. From the quick research I did it would be more accurate to use the word bloody. If the f word was around earlier than the 16th C, it did not have a sexual connotation. It meant to strike or hit.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

The Warrior Queen

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020

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I like it! She is strong, Intelligent and her battle skill phenomenal . The treachery expected but still surprises . Over all the flow is good. There are a couple of times of pronoun confusion the editor missed. More thorough editing or a different set of eyes on the manuscript.

3 people found this helpful

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sombra

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2018

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fear

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Lover of historical fiction

Tedious

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021

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Although it may be historically accurate, I found this to be tedious and lacking in any page turning qualities. Too violent for my taste.

3 people found this helpful

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nybsmb

Frustrating to Read

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2020

Reading this book, for me, is frustrating to the point that I am tempted not to finish it. I cannot go more than a few pages without coming across a blatant editing error such as using “covert” instead of “covet” and failing to start a new sentence with a capital letter. And if the story takes place on open land, does it make sense that the character would put her weapons on the floor before crossing the contested ground?

I enjoy historical fiction but the many errors in the text ruin the experience for me.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Mercia

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2024

Verified Purchase

Very enjoyable and exciting novel about the struggles of Mercia against Wessex and the bravery of Aelfwin and her supporters.

Warren Thomas

Great yarns but ...

Reviewed in Australia on September 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

This and the others in the series were otherwise well written great stories but were marred by the writer's recurring misuse of homonyms e.g. "peel "when it should be "peal" and so on. This I found extremely irritating!

BenmaricKindle Customer

The Lady of Mercia's Daughter. By M. J. Porter

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have read an excellent, well researched book on Aethelflaed where she learnt to love Aethelred of Mercia and birthed Elfwynn in later life where she was busy helping her husband mould Mercia. The relationship between Mother and daughter was a little fraught. But as we know, the ASC tells the story from the position of the territory in which they were written. We will never know the truth of of their relationship, but it does seem that Elfwyn was deprived of Mercia before 918 was over either by entering holy orders (why?) or by becoming the wife of Aethelstan Half King, son of Aethelfrith. I can only see her taking holy orders if she was unlike her mother and she did not have the Mercian's trust. We will never know, but it was nice to give this little mentioned woman a voice just audible through the mists of time. An enjoyable book.

4 people found this helpful

Ruth123

Fantastic introduction to the world of the saxons

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book, will review on my Goodreads too. The writing is engaging and fresh, capturing the era in a way that takes the reader on a journey, a journey continues in the sequels. The display of strength in the women of the time is astounding compared to what we know of later centuries, but rules for the privileged always differ from the lives of the poor. When we read removals written about the powerful, this difference must be kept in mind. The story is flowing and absorbing, the setting and clothes and environment are, I feel, as close as we can imagine 1000 years later, the characters, particularly the protagonist, seem three dimensional, and their behaviour shows how the author lived, in a way, in the tenth century experiencing events, making this book a give star read and a great way to spend an afternoon, coffee at the ready! Thanks for writing this book, have the rest waiting on my kindle as penny concerns writes the longest and most absorbing books, and I've started, near 400 pages in and not even halfway lol! It'll be 2021 by the time I get to them, merry Christmas to the author and any readers of this review, I hope this is helpful and you enjoy this book as much as I have! Stay safe and be patient, once we vaccinated, we can live lives without fear, and though it'll never be the same, we can create lives that bring us peace and joy xxx

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

a great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2023

Verified Purchase

A really good read, detailed description and carried through at pace. A bit gory in places, but shows the viciousness of battles.

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The Lady of Mercia's Daughter: England: The Tenth Century Kindle Edition

A part of the Tales of Mercia series of related titles charting the Saxon kingdom of Mercia's rise and fall by bestselling author MJ Porter

Betrayal is a family affair.

The Tales of Mercia suggested reading order:

The Tenth Century suggested reading order;

Product details

Videos

About the author

M J Porter

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

OR

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

The Lady of Mercia's Daughter: England: The Tenth Century Kindle Edition

A part of the Tales of Mercia series of related titles charting the Saxon kingdom of Mercia's rise and fall by bestselling author MJ PorterBetrayal is a family affair.

The Tales of Mercia suggested reading order:

The Tenth Century suggested reading order;

Product details

Videos

About the author

M J Porter

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

A part of the Tales of Mercia series of related titles charting the Saxon kingdom of Mercia's rise and fall by bestselling author MJ Porter

Betrayal is a family affair.