That Maitland's hypotheses and conclusions should still be central to such a debate is not the least remarkable feature of this extraordinary book.

In the 14th century, dark days fell on the Church as two popes, one in Rome and the other in Avignon, each supported by different political empires, struggled for supremacy. Hearing of a secret which may bring them victory, one side hired a mercenary to retrieve this priceless information.

Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria. Orphaned at ten, he is captured and adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the English kingdom to survive the Danish assault. This book is set in England during the reign of King Alfred.

This novel interweaves history and adventure to recreate the life of Julius Caesar. In the city of Rome, a titanic power struggle is about to shake the Republic to its core. Citizen will fight citizen in a bloody conflict and Julius Caesar will be in the thick of the action.

Reflecting recent historical, textual and archaelogical research, this revised and updated edition of Michael Wood's classic book overturns preconceptions of the Dark Ages as a shadowy and brutal era, showing them to be a richly exciting and formative period in the history of Britain.