Most notable of Iggulden’s creations is Henry’s spymaster, Derry Brewer, who brings the story strands together by advising the king and commanding troops against rebellion. Whilst most of the characters are based on real figures, there are a few of Iggulden’s own invention that serve his purposes as a writer with a narrative to control.

Iggulden’s primary concern is to tell a gripping story that is woven around historical facts and figures, and not to give a history lesson. Stormbird isn’t entirely historically accurate, and neither should it be. Iggulden captures well the conniving courtiers surrounding the weak and ineffectual Henry VI, whose mind is beset by insanity and religion, and is consequently incapable of governance. The story opens with the death of Edward III in 1377 before jumping forward in time to the start of the child king’s reign. Stormbird is set in England in the mid Fifteenth Century during the troubled reign of Henry VI, where the English loss of territory in France and the raising of taxes to continue war against her neighbour form the backdrop. His latest work, Stormbird, is the first of a series that will chart a very different epoch – the War of the Roses.

His previous series of novels have seen him tackle stories from the Roman and Mongul empires. Conn Iggulden is a much-loved author of historical fiction.

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