Titles in this Set:
The Wolves of Savernake
The Dragons of Archenfield
The Ravens of Blackwater
The Lions of the North
The Serpents of Harbledown
The Stallions of Woodstock
The Hawks of Delamere
The Wildcats of Exeter
The Foxes of Warwick
The Owls of Gloucester
The Elephants of Norwich
Edward Marston Domesday Series:
The Wolves of Savernake:In 1086 England's mighty king, William the Conqueror, sends out surveyors and census takers to record the resources of his land and its people. Wherever the king's men go they bring excitement, and sometimes murder...The Ravens of Blackwater:The small village of Maldon is controlled by the wealthy and rapacious Fitzcorbucion family, led by Hamo Fitzcorbucion, the lord of Blackwater Castle. A volatile bully, Hamo has amassed wealth and land by means both legal and shadyThe Dragons of Archenfield:The frontier zone of Archenfield in Herefordshire is a no-man's-land, which acts as a bulwark between Norman-controlled English soil, and the Welsh border.
The Lions of the North:
A wealthy Yorkshire merchant enjoys the security of his castle, guarded as it is by his pet lions. When the beasts literally make a meal of an anonymous young man attempting to gain entry, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret cannot help but wonder why anyone would make such a suicidal effort, and soon suspect there is more at stake.
The Serpents of Harbledown:
When a young girl is found in a holly patch, dead from a snakebite, her premature death shocks the entire town of Canterbury on the day that Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive about the king’s business. But when astonishing truths come to light, the pair must look for a force more vicious than a mere reptile.
The Stallions of Woodstock:
In the forest of Woodstock an excited crowd waits for the first horse to pass the post, but the winning steed has an empty saddle, its rider lying in a copse with a knife in his back. While guests of the Sheriff of Oxford, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret inevitably find their attention drawn to the tragedy and uncover a startling truth.
The Foxes of Warwick
While hunting in the Forest of Arden, Henry Beaumont discovers the crushed body of a former member of his household. Flying into a rage, he soon arrests Boio, a local blacksmith, who was seen in the area, though the man disputes this. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Warwick to find the place in a frenzy. Though there to resolve property disputes on behalf of William the Conqueror, the pair are soon involved with preventing a miscarriage of justice, as the evidence against the blacksmith is flimsy at best. But with Beaumont deaf to reason, the race is on to find the anonymous man the blacksmith claims can corroborate his story before he s sent to the gallows.
The Wildcats of Exeter
As Nicolas Picard rides home from Exeter he is attacked by a snarling wildcat. Yet, when his body is discovered, there are lacerations on his neck that could only have come from human hands. When royal commissioners of William the Conqueror, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret, arrive in the city to preside over local land disputes, their proceedings are immediately hampered by the death of a key participant: Picard. With Picard s wife and mistress, as well as the wife of the former owner of the estate, staking their claim to the land, Delchard and Bret wonder whose greed has driven them to kill. But the root of the mystery lies far deeper than mere avarice.
The Hawks of Delamere
Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, is enraged when his hawk is killed by an arrow in the Forest of Delamere. When two poachers are caught, he orders their execution yet neither of them fired the arrow. As Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret come to Cheshire to settle a series of disputes between Church and State, they are guests of the Earl. But when they explore the castle and discover that the Prince of Gwynedd is being held there as a hostage, a number of questions arise. Who is trying to rescue him? Why is Idwal, the over-zealous Welsh priest, lurking in the city? And whose arrow is responsible for a gruesome human death in the forest?
The Owls of Gloucester:
The ordered calm of Gloucester Abbey is shattered by the murder of one of the monks. The Abbey becomes paralyzed with fear and the Abbot is ill-equipped to deal with such a heinous crime, especially as suspicion inevitably falls on the brothers themselves.
The Elephants of Norwich:
It is the juiciest piece of gossip the citizens of Norwich have heard for a long time. The ruthless Richard de Fontenel is himself the victim of robbery. In addition to two priceless golden elephants that he was using to lure the beautiful Adelaide into marriage, his steward Hermer is also missing.
