Arthur Conan Doyle · 1891 · overland

Arthur Conan Doyle's 1891 historical romance of English archers in the Hundred Years' War, a book he prized above his Sherlock Holmes. In 1366 the young scholar Alleyne Edricson leaves his abbey, takes service with Sir Nigel Loring, and marches with the White Company from Hampshire across the Channel to Gascony and over the Pyrenees into Spain, to the Black Prince's campaign and the carnage of Najera. Chivalry, archery and high adventure, drawn with Doyle's gift for a ripping yarn.

1. 1
   Beaulieu Abbey

   Alleyne Edricson, raised among the monks of Beaulieu Abbey in the New Forest, is sent out at twenty to see the world for a year and a day.

2. 2
   Christchurch

   At Twynham Castle by Christchurch he takes service with the gallant, half-blind knight Sir Nigel Loring, and falls for his daughter Maude.

3. 3
   Bordeaux

   Across the Channel to English Aquitaine and the dazzling court of the Black Prince at Bordeaux, joining the famous archers of the White Company.

4. 4
   Roncesvalles

   South with the army through the pass of Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees, into the cold mountains of Spain.

5. 5
   Najera

   To the bloody field of Najera, where the White Company makes its stand and few come home.