A stunning recreation of the life and times of Oswald of Northumbria: Christian warlord, founder of Lindisfarne monastery – and the first great English monarch.

'A triumph – a Game of Thrones in the Dark Ages' TOM HOLLAND. The magisterial biography of Oswald Whiteblade, exiled prince of Northumbria, who returned in blood and glory to reclaim his birthright. A charismatic leader, a warrior whose prowess in battle earned him the epithet Whiteblade, an exiled prince who returned to claim his birthright, the inspiration for Tolkein's Aragorn. Oswald of Northumbria was the first great English monarch, yet today this legendary figure is all but forgotten. In this panoramic portrait of Dark Age Britain, archaeologist and biographer Max Adams returns the king in the North to his rightful place in history.

"An engagingly populist and evocative book that makes a bold and effective attempt to bring a particularly obscure period in northern British history to the general reader" - Literary Review

"This early ruler had a life, and a legacy that rivals any fable" - Independent

"Gripping, hugely enjoyable and deeply scholarly." - History Today Books of the Year