In this this remarkable book, Max Adams breathes new life into the royal families of the largely forgotten Saxon Kingdom of Mercia, which we can now see played a crucially important role in the foundation of the emerging kingdom of England.

Francis Pryor, author of Britain AD: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo-Saxons

A brilliantly executed attempt to recover Mercia from the shadows and place it back at the heart of the historical narrative ... In his conclusion, Adams modestly claims to have thrown “no more … than another lighted candle into the shadows”. But in illuminating the long-hidden history of England's original heartland, he has achieved far more than that.

Philip Parker, The Telegraph

A new and welcome perspective on what is still, after so many centuries, the heartland of England, and which was, perhaps, the kernel of the English state.

Tim Shippey, London Review of Books

Adams provides a unique perspective on the mechanisms of politics and power, and does not shy away from drawing connections between the past and the present ... Sure to become a classic on one of the most neglected yet fascinating parts of medieval history.

Liberty Spicer Hinze, British Archaeology

Praise for Max Adams:
Gripping, hugely enjoyable and deeply scholarly

History Today Books of the Year

A Game of Thrones in the Dark Ages

Tom Holland, The Times