ESSEX DOGS

A historical saga about a motley crew of English fighters making life miserable for the French during the early days of the Hundred Years’ War.

Ten strong when they land in Normandy in 1346, the Essex Dogs, as the crew is called, are led by Loveday FitzTalbot, a faded veteran struggling with deep personal losses. A colorful and contrary mix of English, Welsh, and Scots, the Dogs range from the temperamental Father, whose days of preaching were already long past when he suffered brain damage from a falling roof tile, to Romford, a young, cocksure archer who has a habit of getting in trouble. Their job in Normandy is to first find the enemy—not always easy considering "the ingenious French tactic of fleeing at the first sight of trouble"—and then rout them. When the English and French armies do meet, as in Caen, rivers of blood are spilled. Loveday, who must rely on his wits as much as his sword to survive, must also contend with his newly developing conscience. An impeccably researched "you are there" novel with a real-time approach, Jones' entertaining fiction debut (following nonfiction books including Crusaders, 2019) moves episodically from encounter to life-threatening encounter. For all its violence, the book hums with black humor. Jones is at his best when humor and violence come together: "The head flew off, tumbled once in the air and landed by Loveday's face, so that they were almost nose to nose. Its eyes seemed to widen hugely, then the eyelids fluttered closed." Retrieving three knights' publicly displayed skulls in Paris against all odds is an undertaking that's as much fun as a good heist scene. It will be hard to top those scenes in Jones' planned sequels.

An enjoyable romp through the darkest of ages.