Sir John Hawkwood

A hero's journey begins in an exhilarating new series by Griff Hosker. In 1335 the Black Death was just thirteen years away from England but there were other threats and dangers. Young John Hawkwood is forced to leave his home and seek a life in London. There he learns how to survive and, more importantly, how to fight. Leaving his life as an apprentice tailor he follows the army and King Edward to fight the Scots. He has a skill; he cannot only use a bow, but he can use a sword and his mind. This is just the start for John Hawkwood who will become, in the fullness of time, one of the greatest condottiere the world has ever seen, a man who, at the Battle of Castagnaro in 1387, shows the world that he was a great leader, too.

A hero's journey begins in an exhilarating new series by Griff Hosker. In 1335 the Black Death was just thirteen years away from England but there were other threats and dangers. Young John Hawkwood is forced to leave his home and seek a life in London. There he learns how to survive and, more importantly, how to fight. Leaving his life as an apprentice tailor he follows the army and King Edward to fight the Scots. He has a skill; he can not only use a bow, but he can use a sword and his mind. This is just the start for John Hawkwood who will become, in the fullness of time, one of the greatest condottiere the world has ever seen, a man who, at the Battle of Castagnaro in 1387, shows the world that he was a great leader, too.

The Black Death! England has won the war with France but the disease which rampages through the land takes both rich and poor, warrior and worker. John Hawkwood and his two companions spend the winter in the north. It is in the spring that he begins to mould his company into a fighting force, and he serves the Baron Mortimer on the Welsh Border. There his men learn to fight as one and John Hawkwood begins the change from archer to man at arms. When the King and the Black Prince commission him to fight for them, first in an action against the Castilian pirates and then on a chevauchée through Gascony, he learns the skill of leadership.

Poitiers was in the past, but it changed the life of Sir John Hawkwood for he gained his spurs and that was another step on his journey. Once he realised that he had more ambition than just to serve the King of England he joined forces with Albert Sterz and formed a company of mercenaries who hired out their swords. Fighting for the King of England against Burgundy they gained a reputation which made others both fear and hate them in equal measure. When Sir John is robbed of his fortune by the murder of his banker then he had an enemy to pursue. He learns to become a political animal who chooses friends wisely. His enemies just proliferate with each victory. The defeats merely make him and the White Company, even stronger!

Betrayal by friend and foe alike beset Sir John Hawkwood as he enters the murky world of Italian politics. He will emerge from the experience as a true leader of men but first he has to outwit his enemies of which there are many. With Montferrat secured from the Savoyards and with the White Company now firmly in his hands Sir John Hawkwood leads his men to Pisa where they have been hired to fight the Florentines. The hero of Poitiers is about to enter a world of treachery, intrigue and double dealing for which he is quite unprepared. It is where he learns to lead and finds the true worth and mettle of the men he leads, the White Company.

Sir John Hawkwood has almost all that he needs. He is the most respected and feared mercenary leader in Italy but he is surrounded by those who would do him and his family harm. He faces betrayal from friend and foe alike. His constants are his company and the leaders who fight for him. Treading a tightrope between warring factions that include the Pope and the Lord of Milan, Sir John Hawkwood decides to make the White Company into a warband and he becomes a warlord.

Sir John Hawkwood is not getting any younger but he is now the supreme condottiero, not only in Italy but the whole of Europe. When the two rival popes try to manipulate him he has to use new skills to outwit them. He finds himself facing almost insurmountable odds when he is attacked by the Milanese and Veronese. He faces defeat at Castagnaro but his mind is as sharp as ever. Sir John Hawkwood shows his rivals why he is the best.

Sir John Hawkwood may be getting old but he is still as wily as a fox. Feared and revered in equal measure, one of the greatest military leaders the world has ever known is drawn once again into a territorial dispute, beginning at the Florentine borderlands. Leading a coalition of city-states, he strikes deep into the nest of Milanese vipers and their allies. Using the skills honed over a long and illustrious career, the English mercenary takes the war to the very gates of Milan, cementing his legacy as 'Giovanni Acuto' – supreme condottiero. The bittersweet final instalment in the engaging tale of Sir John Hawkwood; the English Mercenary who became an Italian legend. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, David Gilman and Ben Kane.