Graham Shelby (18 September 1939 – 20 December 2016) was a British historical novelist.
He worked as a
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...
and book-reviewer before embarking on a series of
historical novels
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
, several of which are set in the twelfth century.
List of works
*''The Knights of Dark Renown'' (1969), set in the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...
during the reigns of
Baldwin IV,
Baldwin V and Queen Sibylla, majoring on the real-life knights
Balian of Ibelin,
Raynald of Châtillon and their arch-enemy Saladin.
*''The Kings of Vain Intent'' (1970), sequel to the above, dealing with the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
, depicting
Conrad of Montferrat as the villain: the US edition contains an additional chapter.
*''The Villains of the Piece'' (1972) (published in the US as ''The Oath and the Sword''), is set in an England racked by
anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
and civil war. It tells of the conflict between
King Stephen and
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
.
*''The Devil is Loose'' (1973), is about a rise to power of
Richard the Lionheart and his brother John, with the King of France playing off one against the other. And the great model of chivalry, William Marshal who remained unswervingly loyal to each of the
Angevin kings.
*''The Wolf at the Door'' (1975), a sequel to the above, following the fortunes and misfortunes of King John, and the continuing story of William Marshal.
*''The Cannaways'' (1978), First of two books about a fictional family of 18th century coach builders in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, tells of the
picaresque adventures of Brydd Cannaway and his travels through Europe to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
*''The Cannaway Concern'' (1980), a sequel to the above, following the story of Brydd's daughter, Charlotte, and her involvement with the dashing sea captain, Matcham Lodge, and the
Jacobites
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
.
*''The Edge of the Blade'' (1986). A fictional story about Baynard Falkan and his travels to the Holy Land at the time of the Third Crusade to deliver treasure to the Cause, and win the hand of the beautiful Christiane de Magnat-Vaulmier.
*''Demand the World'' (1990), The true story of
Elisa Lynch who escaped poverty and the ravages of the
Irish famine
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...
to become the mistress of Latin America's most powerful dictator,
Solano Lopez Solano may refer to:
Places
* California State Prison, Solano
* San Francisco Solano, a town in Almirante Brown Partido, Argentina
* Solano Avenue, a street in Berkeley and Albany, California, in the United States
* Solano castle, a colonial castl ...
.
*''Columbus'' (1970) Written under the name of James Gant. A novelised
biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
of the famous
explorer.
*''The Besieged'' (1972) Also under the name of James Gant, tells the story of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
resistance to the yoke of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, culminating in the siege and massacre at Masada in AD 72.
*''New Blood'' (1981) Under the name of Richard Salem, a horror story set in the US where an apparently peaceful
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
town hides a hideous secret.
Translations
''The Knights of Dark Renown'' and ''The Kings of Vain Intent'' were translated into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
as ''Ritter der Finsternis'' in 1975, and ''The Devil is Loose'' and ''The Wolf at the Door'' as ''Der ertrinkende Eber'' in 1980.
All four novels were translated into
Hungarian as ''Sötét lovagok ; Hiú királyok'' and ''A Sátán széttörte láncát ; Farkas a kertek alatt'' in 1983.
''The Edge of the Blade'' was translated into Hungarian as ''A penge éle'' in 1991.
''Demand the World'' was translated into
Spanish as ''El Fuego de una Vida'' in 1992.
''New Blood'' was translated into Hungarian, appearing as a 5-part serial in Rakéta Magazine,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
in 1985 as ''Friss vér''.
''Blood Let'' (by Richard Salem) was unpublished in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, but appeared in Hungarian as a 4-part serial in ''Rakéta'' Magazine, Budapest in 1989 as ''Kiontott vér''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelby, Graham
British historical novelists
1939 births
2016 deaths
Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity
Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages
Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period
Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age