Nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell - action set six hundred years ago is as fresh and vital as six days ago, with rough, tough men at war, proving once again that nothing changes - least of all great storytelling.

An extraordinary and dramatic depiction of the legendary battle of Agincourt from the number one historical novelist Agincourt, fought on October 25th 1415, St Crispin's Day, is one of England's best-known battles, in part through the brilliant depiction of it in Shakespeare's Henry V, in part because it was a brilliant and unexpected English victory and in part because it was the first battle won by the use of the longbow - a weapon developed by the English which enabled them to dominate the European battlefields for the rest of the century. Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt is a vivid, breathtaking and meticulously well-researched account of this momentous battle and its aftermath. From the varying viewpoints of nobles, peasants, archers, and horsemen, Azincourt skilfully brings to life the hours of relentless fighting, the desperation of an army crippled by disease and the exceptional bravery of the English soldiers. From the Inside Flap

The word AGINCOURT echoes still for us today. It was one of the greatest English victories ever. The few, the yeomen of England, triumphed over their adversaries.

It is a true story that Bernard Cornwell has long wanted to write. It is hard to imagine a better storyteller to bring such an amazing time to life. The characters are all based in fact and the heroes are the English longbowmen, the backbone of Henry V's army, his secret weapon. But the single, strongest character, is a champion of tournaments, and yet is imprisoned for marrying a forbidden woman.

He becomes a great warrior.

`Azincourt', the name of the place where the battle happened and its name in England for some centuries afterwards, is an outstanding and powerful novel. Full of detail of the countryside, of the torrential rain and mud, of the sickness among the soldiers and their fear of the overwhelming enemy facing them, the story depicts completely the courage, the stoicism, the sheer bloody-mindedness of the fighting man. It is a magnificent achievement.

The word AGINCOURT echoes still for us today. It was one of the greatest English victories ever. The few, the yeomen of England, triumphed over their adversaries.