Even though my Guinevere books fall somewhere between history and legend, fantasy and historical fiction, I’m striving to make them as historically accurate as possible, so I’ve done a lot of research. Here is a sampling of the works that have most influenced my writing:
Books
Alcock, Joan. Daily Life of the Pagan Celts
—–. Food in Roman Britain
Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain
—–. Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain 550-850
Ashe, Geoffrey. King Arthur’s Avalon: The Story of Glastonbury
—–. The Quest for Arthur’s Britain
—–. The Traveller’s Guide To Arthurian Britain
—–. The Virgin: Mary’s Cult and the Re-emergence of the Goddess
Barber, Richard. King Arthur: Hero and Legend
Bennett, Matthew and Jim Bradbury et al. Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World
Birley, Anthony. Life in Roman Britain
Brimacombe, Peter. Knights of the Round Table
Campbell, James (ed.). The Anglo Saxons
Castleden, Rodney. King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend
Clarkson, Tim. The Men of the North: The Britons of Southern Scotland
—–. The Picts: A History
Coghlan, Ronan. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legend
Coppens, Philip. The Land of the Gods
Cunliffe, Barry. Roman Bath Discovered
Day, David. The Search for King Arthur
Duffy, Kevin. Who Were The Celts?
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Druids
Ferre, Robert. The Labyrinth Revival
Frazer, James. The Golden Bough
Gidlow, Christoper. The Reign of Arthur
Gifford, Clive. Food and Cooking in Ancient Rome
Ginnell, Laurence. The Behon Laws: A Legal Handbook
Goodrich, Norma Lorre. Guinevere
—–. King Arthur
—–. Merlin
—–. The Holy Grail
Graves, Robert. The White Goddess
Harbison, Peter. Pre-Christian Ireland
Hopkins, Andrea. The Book of Guinevere
Hopman, Ellen Evert. A Druid’s Herbal
Kerrigan, Michael. The History of Death
Kondratiev, Alexei. The Apple Branch
Konstram, Angus. British Forts in the Age of Arthur
—–. Strongholds of the Picts
Korrel, Peter. An Arthurian Triangle: A Study of the Development and Characterization of Arthur, Guinevere and Mordred
Koch, Peter T. The Gododdin of Aneirin: Text and Context from Dark-Age North Britain
Laing, Lloyd. The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland: C.AD 400 – 1200
—–. Celtic Britain
Laing, Lloyd and Jenny. Celtic Britain and Ireland
—–. The Picts and the Scots
Letourneau, Charles. The Evolution of Marriage and of the Family.
Leventon, Melissa (ed.). What People Wore When
MacBain, Alexander. Celtic Burial Rites
MacCullum, Jack E. Military Medicine: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century
Mann, Nicholas R. The Isle of Avalon
Markale, Jean. Women of the Celts
Matthews, Caitlin. King Arthur and the Goddess of the Land
Matthews, Caitlin and John. Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom
—–. Ladies of the Lake
Matthews, John. King Arthur and the Grail Quest: Myth and Vision from Celtic Times to the Present
—–. King Arthur: Dark Age Warrior and Mythic Hero
—–. Secrets of the Druids
Matthews, John and Bob Stewart. Warriors of Arthur
McCoy, Edian. Celtic Women’s Spirituality
Morris, John. The Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650
National Geographic Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
Nicolle, David. Arthur and the Anglo Saxon Wars
Norris, Herbert. Church Vestments
Nossov, Konstantin. Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics
Paine, Angela. The Healing Power of Celtic Plants
Phillips, Graham and Martin Keatman. King Arthur: The True Story
Poste, Beale. Britannia antiquea, Or Ancient Britain brought within the limits of authentic history
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume 18, p 286-291
Ralls-Macleod, Karen and Ian Robertson. The Quest for the Celtic Key
Reno, Frank. Historic Figures of the Arthurian Era: Authenticating the Enemies and Allies of Britains Post-Roman King
Snyder, Christopher. The Britons
Thompson, Jack George. Women in Celtic Law and Culture
Tichelaaer, Tyler R. King Arthur’s Children: A Study in Fiction and Literature
Wagner, Paul. Pictish Warrior AD 297 – 841
Walkley, Victor. Celtic Daily Life
Warren, F. E. Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church
Expert Interviews
- Geoffrey Ashe, noted historian, author and Arthurian expert.
- Jamie George, Glastonbury/Avalon expert; founder of Gothic Image Tours; helped Marion Zimmer Bradley research The Mists of Avalon.
- Jonathan Jarrett, Retained Lecturer in History, Oxford, Queen’s College.
In Person Research
- England – June 1999 (Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the Lake District, London, Somerset, Sussex and Kent). Thank you to Ben Moore for being one of the facilitators of that trip.
- England- June 2013 (Somerset, Devon and Cornwall). Thanks to Jamie George for leading the tour.
Television
The History Channel and The History International Channel
- The Quest for King Arthur
- Rome: The Rise & Fall of and Empire
- Rome: Engineering an Empire
- The Warrior Queen Boudicca
- Lost Worlds “The Pagans”
Welsh Public Television
- The Celts: The Complete Epic Saga – “The Sacred Groves” and “From Camelot to Christ”
PBS