This is the heart of the story that keeps you emotionally engaged amongst all the brutality, all the horrors of war and all the injustices we are exposed to as the reader. To keep each other alive and above all, survive at all costs.

But most of all, the Essex Dogs are there for each other.

Some are scared, some take joy in the thrill, some are there just for the money. Essex Dogs really is a character-driven story that focuses on how our main figures react and evolve to the situations around them. We have a cast that really shows the chasm between the classes of society. It is a fine line, but Dan Jones appears to have found it effortlessly. Instead, Jones smoothly crafts the tone and atmosphere in a way that by the end feels so authentic and comprehensive, yet does not overwhelm you once.

It would be so easy for one with such grasp on the era to overload the reader with information. Instead we see how fractured the reality of the English army was, as Jones strips away the exaggerated patriotism, the pomp and pageantry, exposing the hearts of those in the army as he believes it was.ĭan Jones brings his extensive knowledge of this history into play expertly. A brutal presentation of medieval warfare that incorporates so much that is rarely even mentioned or acknowledged in most fiction.There is no glorification, no noble heroes like those of the Round Table. Compelling characters, an engaging plot and the perfect dose of immersion that allows you to feel like you are accompanying these characters on their odyssey, through all the blood, grit, trials and tribulations that tie them together.Įssex Dogs is a masterful piece of historical fiction which is unique in how it presents such a full picture of a campaign in enemy territory. I review this with my brother on our book channel - The Brothers GwynneĪ work of craft perhaps unrivalled in its presentation of medieval warfare. In the meantime, UK pre-orders are now open, via Amazon, Waterstones and WH Smith. And I’m sure you have questions! So I’ll leave the comments open here to subscribers to this newsletter and will round up some answers in an audio post later in the week. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as Essex Dogs. So it features sex, drugs, guns, pirates, assassination, cathedral desecration and much much more. It explores the siege both inside and outside Calais, and draws on research I’ve done into some of the more surprising aspects of this astonishing engagement.

Wolves of Winter follows some of the same characters you have already met in Essex Dogs - Loveday, Romford, Scotsman and the rest of the gang - and introduces some more whom I hope you will find memorable. (Other territory dates are to be confirmed soon.) It’s released in the UK on October 12th this year, and pre-orders are now open. The siege of Calais 1346-7 is the setting for my second novel - Wolves of Winter - which is the next instalment in the trilogy begun with Essex Dogs.

Essex Dogs by Dan Jones