An authentic historical fiction set in England and Europe at the end of the turbulent 8th century CE. A tale of a clash of cultures; and the triumph of courage, resilience and determination over adversity.
On the 8th of June, 793CE, Fenn is a young apprentice scribe at St. Cuthbert’s Monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, England. He is just beginning a relationship with milkmaid Yseld but on that fateful summer’s day, he is violently torn from one life and thrust headlong into another.
Two strange dragon-headed ships appear on the beach and savage raiders swarm ashore – the first Viking attack on English soil. Fenn tries to save the Lindisfarne Gospels, a priceless manuscript, but its gold and jewel-encrusted cover is ripped from the book and taken as Viking plunder. Fenn and twenty others are dragged to the Viking ships, leaving the bodies of monks sprawled in the dust and the monastery in flames; the fate of Yseld unknown. The captives are taken across the wild North Sea to a life of cruel slavery in a harsh and foreign land; to a society that could not be more different from their own.
After months of brutal existence, Fenn seizes an opportunity to escape. He retrieves the stolen cover of the Gospels and together with four other slaves including a talented, beautiful and mysterious young woman, sets out to cross a thousand miles of uncharted seas and unforgiving landscape, pursued every step of the way by a ruthless and relentless Viking leader as the events of the times unfold and whirl around them.
This is Fenn’s story. A story of courage and hardship, of despair and joy, and of loyalty and love.
Can Fenn fulfil his vow to return the precious manuscript cover and lead his band of fugitives home…?
To LINDISFARNE.
