Simon Merrivale

BOOKS


1			By Treason We Perish Written by A. J. MacKenzie Copyright: 2023 "October, 1338. A great war has begun, one that will define Europe for a century. King’s Messenger Simon Merrivale returns to England in disgrace, his life barely intact, after a bid to create a pro-English state in Savoy goes disastrously wrong. With the battle lines drawn, a new and overwhelming threat emerges. King Edward III has assembled an uneasy alliance of European powers to enforce his claim to the throne of France. But corruption is rife both at home and abroad, emptying the king’s war chest. Lack of money could cripple everything that has been built."

2			City of Woe Written by A. J. MacKenzie Copyright: 2024 "Florence, 1342. A city on the brink of chaos. Restored to favour at court, King's Messenger Simon Merrivale accompanies an English delegation to Florence, the powerful centre of European finance, to negotiate a loan to offset King Edward III’s chronic debt. A top secret plot, one to decide the fate of European control. But the delegation has another purpose: to set up an Englishman, Henry Stapledon, Bishop of Dorchester, as an anti-pope in Rome. If they can succeed, they will undermine the papacy and strike a hammer blow to French support across Europe."