A Knight and a Spy: 1403 – The Story Before the Story
I have to admit that I was a little nervous about writing A Knight and a Spy: 1403.
The book is a prequel to my Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy series, taking the story back seven years before the events of the main series begin. That is quite a gap in historical fiction, particularly when readers already know the characters they are going to meet later in their lives.
Would readers want to go back that far?
Would they enjoy meeting characters they already know when they are younger, inexperienced and, in some cases, not even yet part of each other’s lives?
As it turns out, I needn’t have worried.
The response to A Knight and a Spy: 1403 has been hugely encouraging, and I have been delighted by how well the book has been received.
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about writing it was the opportunity to explore the world of these characters before the events that shape the later books. Jamie de Grispere is here, but he is still a young squire, only just beginning the training that will eventually lead him towards the man and spy he becomes in the Road to Agincourt series.
And Jamie is not alone.
The book introduces a number of characters who will become important as the later story unfolds, allowing readers to see them at a very different stage of their lives. Among them is the dashing Earl of Warwick, while we also encounter a young Prince Hal – the future Henry V – long before the events that will eventually make him one of the most famous kings in English history.
For me, that was part of the fascination of writing a prequel. The reader may know something of what these people will eventually become, but they do not yet know the journey that will take them there.
And, of course, the story builds towards one of the great turning points in the turbulent reign of Henry IV: the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403.
The real battle was a pivotal moment for the young Lancastrian dynasty. Henry IV’s forces faced the rebellion of the powerful Percy family, with the king’s son, Prince Henry, taking part in the fighting. The battle ended with the defeat of the rebellion and the death of Sir Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy.
In A Knight and a Spy: 1403, that dramatic historical event provides the climax towards which the story has been building.
It is a story of ambition, loyalty, suspicion and divided loyalties – but it is also the beginning of a journey. A journey that will eventually lead, seven years later, into the world of A Knight and a Spy and the wider Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy series.
So, while the heroes of the later books are not yet the men readers will come to know – and some have not even met one another yet – the seeds of their future stories are already being planted.
Looking back, I am very glad that I took the risk of going back to 1403.
A Knight and a Spy: 1403 is not simply an addition to the series. It is the story before the story – a chance to see where it all began. A Knight and a Spy: 1403 – The Story Before the Story
I have to admit that I was a little nervous about writing A Knight and a Spy: 1403.
The book is a prequel to my Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy series, taking the story back seven years before the events of the main series begin. That is quite a gap in historical fiction, particularly when readers already know the characters they are going to meet later in their lives.
Would readers want to go back that far?
Would they enjoy meeting characters they already know when they are younger, inexperienced and, in some cases, not even yet part of each other’s lives?
As it turns out, I needn’t have worried.
The response to A Knight and a Spy: 1403 has been hugely encouraging, and I have been delighted by how well the book has been received.
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about writing it was the opportunity to explore the world of these characters before the events that shape the later books. Jamie de Grispere is here, but he is still a young squire, only just beginning the training that will eventually lead him towards the man and spy he becomes in the Road to Agincourt series.
And Jamie is not alone.
The book introduces a number of characters who will become important as the later story unfolds, allowing readers to see them at a very different stage of their lives. Among them is the dashing Earl of Warwick, while we also encounter a young Prince Hal – the future Henry V – long before the events that will eventually make him one of the most famous kings in English history.
For me, that was part of the fascination of writing a prequel. The reader may know something of what these people will eventually become, but they do not yet know the journey that will take them there.
And, of course, the story builds towards one of the great turning points in the turbulent reign of Henry IV: the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403.
The real battle was a pivotal moment for the young Lancastrian dynasty. Henry IV’s forces faced the rebellion of the powerful Percy family, with the king’s son, Prince Henry, taking part in the fighting. The battle ended with the defeat of the rebellion and the death of Sir Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy.
In A Knight and a Spy: 1403, that dramatic historical event provides the climax towards which the story has been building.
It is a story of ambition, loyalty, suspicion and divided loyalties – but it is also the beginning of a journey. A journey that will eventually lead, seven years later, into the world of A Knight and a Spy and the wider Road to Agincourt – King’s Spy series.
So, while the heroes of the later books are not yet the men readers will come to know – and some have not even met one another yet – the seeds of their future stories are already being planted.
Looking back, I am very glad that I took the risk of going back to 1403.
A Knight and a Spy: 1403 is not simply an addition to the series. It is the story before the story – a chance to see where it all began. Click here to order and begin reading: https://mybook.to/oSoG
A Knight and a Spy 1403 release
