Marching to war

DAN JONES talks to Rhiannon Davies about his debut historical novel Essex Dogs, which follows a group of hard-bitten mercenaries fighting for their lives in the 1346 Crécy campaign

- DAN JONES

Rhiannon Davies: This is your first foray into historical fiction. What made you decide to write a novel?

Dan Jones: The story of Essex Dogs was catalysed, I suppose, in the summer of 2019, when I had dinner with George RR Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series and an avid reader of history. Talking to him, and realising that it was possible to take serious historical ideas and communicate them via fiction, gave me the kickstart I needed.

Did you deviate from the historical record when writing Essex Dogs?

Yes, because there's no point in writing fiction if you're not going to take full advantage of creative licence. But of course, even in this genre the readers want to feel like history is informing the narrative. So I wanted Essex Dogs, which is about the Crécy campaign in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War, to be based on the original sources.