James Aitcheson

James Aitcheson was born in Wiltshire in 1985 and studied History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he developed a special interest in the medieval period. He is fascinated in particular by Anglo-Saxon England and by the political and social upheavals that accompanied the Norman Conquest. It was while studying at Cambridge that he had the inspiration for his debut novel, Sworn Sword. The first in a new series published by Preface, it explores the turbulent times which followed the Battle of Hastings, as seen through the eyes of one of the invaders, an ambitious and oath-sworn knight named Tancred. Set against a backdrop of intrigue and rebellion, the novel builds upon real-life events to tell the story of a little-known yet nevertheless pivotal period in England’s history.