For additional information check out the Bibliographic section.
1978 - The Wind From Hastings
Cover artists: David Christensen and Royo
This is the book that started it all. A novel that speaks of some of Morgan's roots as well as a viewpoint about the Battle of Hastings that is very fresh indeed. One could even call this a Welsh novel. Some emails have arrived that wanted to know when Morgan would be writing more Welsh novels. This is a very easy read and should be readily available since it is has been republished by our friend that runs TOR.
1980 - Lion Of Ireland
Cover artists: Honi Werner, .Gino D'Achille, PEI Books, Eric Tenney,. Easton Press Ed, leather
King, Warrior, Lover - Brian Boru was stronger, braver, and wiser than all other men -- the greatest king Ireland has ever known. Out of the mists of the country's most violent age, he emerged to lead his people to the peak of their golden era. His women were as remarkable as his adventures. Fiona, the druidess with mystical powers. Deirdre, beautiful victim of a Norse invader's brutal lust. Gormlaith, six-foot, read-haired goddess of sensuality. Set against the barbaric splendors of the tenth century, this is a story rich in truth and legend -- which friends become deadly enemies, bedrooms turn into battlefields, and dreams of glory are finally fulfilled.
1982 - The Horse Goddess
Cover artists: Ben Stahl & David Kramer
A stormy love story that sweeps across the ancient world of the 8th century before Christ. Its heroine is Epona, whose legends finally made her a goddess; its hero, Kazhak, a Scythian warrior, a prince of the wild horsemen of the eastern plains. A woman of the west meets a man of the east in a world still swirling with elemental spirits. As their story opens, Troy is a crumbling ruin and Athens is rising, far to the south. Mortal men and women are being turned into gods as tales are told and retold of their extraordinary adventures, and above all looms the awesome figure of Kernunnos, the Druid priest -- the Shapechanger -- who will become the prototype of the first werewolf as he pursues Epona and Kazhak from the Alps to the Ukraine. If this is not actual history, it has the ring of truth. Based on Morgan's painstaking research, it leads readers to say "YES, this is how it must have been." Epona and her people are destined to become part of the permanent landscape of memory
1982 - Personal Habits
Cover artist: Rolf Bruderer
This is the only book Morgan wrote using a pseudonym. This is the intimate story of female friendship tested by the fire of ambitions both sacred and profane. Penny, as Sister Immaculata, rises to great power and influence at a major medical facility. Ivory fights her way to the absolute height of media stardom, where her sensitivity and daring make her the most influential television interviewer of the day. It is these very skills which uncover the scandal that turns loving friends into adversaries. Penny and Ivory. Two extraordinary women at the pinnacle of their careers, battling the demands of convent life, the intrigues of religious and secular politics, the challenges of network news, and ultimately the very limits of friendship, love, and commitment. Read this closely think of the time frame and you might see a similarity to life. Nuff said.
1984 - Bard
Cover artists: Jim Fitzpatrick, Don Maitz, Julek Heller, Kevin Tweddell
This magnificent novel of the birth of Ireland is a living portrait of the Great Gaelic bard, Amergin. His poetic vision inspired his people to leave Spain and attempt the conquest of fabled Erin in the fourth century B.C. Because of his irresistible passion, they embarked on one of mankind's greatest adventures, to a land at the very heart of mystery. Destiny links the brilliant Amergin with a woman named Shinann, a beguiling heroine unique in literature. Her people, the Tuatha De Danann, represent a riddle that has never been solved. the myth and magic of their story may even be very real history -- and the shimmer of their sorcery still colours Ireland. Bard lays bare the soul of a creative artist destined for immortality, revealing the forces that shape both poem and poet at a turning point in history. High adventure and breathtaking beauty culminate in one haunting question -- which has more power, the weapon or the word? Which will ultimately win Ireland, the sword . . . or the harp?
1986 - Grania
SEE AND HEAR MORGAN'S INTERVIEW
Cover artists: Hector Garrido and FinBarr O'Connor
This is fast becoming a most sought after novel. The time is the sixteenth century. Elizabeth the Great rules an England grown fat on conquest, while in Ireland darkness is falling. The sacred oak of the Gaels is warming England's hearths. But one person stands fast against the hated English. A beautiful young woman, Grace of Umhall, called Grania, the notorious pirate queen of Connaught, raised like a boy by her father and a match for any man. With her faithful lieutenants Tigernan and Tuari Oge, and her wise druidic servant, Evleen, Grania draws to her colors the best and boldest of her countrymen, challenging the hated Sassenach at their own game... warring, plundering, loving , scheming. No one knew that concealed beneath Grania's bold laughter and men's clothing were the still-fresh hurts of childhood and the body of a woman thirsty for love. Not until she meets a man who awakens her to physical passion and another who teaches her the terrible power of hatred do Grania's adventures reach their peak. In her joys and sorrows, in her gallant stand against the powerful English, we discover the story of Ireland -- rich, passionate, tragic, and unconquerable.
1986 - Red Branch
Cover Artists: Don Maitz and Gino D'Achillel
Through a hundred generations of poets, the story of Cuchulain has been woven into a thousand marvelous stories and the mystery enshrouding him has deepened. It is said that the boy Setanta who later was called Cuchulain could run and catch a spear before it hit a distant target. Rumors abound of his unnatural parentage, his pact with the Goddess of Battle, his romance with a foreign born warrior woman, his deadly struggle with the notorious Queen Maeve, and surely his doomed battle to save his homeland is one of the great finales, not only in Irish literature but in all the world. Red Branch is Cuchulain's whole fierce story, it is also a rich depiction of ancient Ireland, where Druids chanted to nature gods who themselves lived and interacted with mortals. This was a world where battles were fought by champions in single combat while tiny armies of handpicked warriors sat on the sidelines and cheered. Red Branch is an epic adventure, brimming with battles, love affairs, and enchantments.
1987 - Xerxes (very difficult to find)
Carol McDougall
Raised in the lavish opulence of an eastern court, Xerxes, king of Persia, saw his empire as the center of civilization. History has left opposing views of him: to the Greeks the Persian king was an oriental despot, cruel even to his own people, and and easily manipulated, indecisive, even compassionated, rule, a renowned reformer and brave warrior. Born around 519 B.C. into the ruling Achaemenid dynasty of Persia, Xerxes was trained from and early age in court ritual and royal duties. He ascended to the throne in 486 and quickly proved his might by brutally suppressing revolts in Egypt and Babylon. Fulfilling a vow to avenge his father's ignominious defeat by the Greeks at Marathon, Xerxes in 480 amassed an enormous fleet and army, including his famed elite corps the Immortals, to invade Greece. The Greek city-states, urged on by Athens, halted their internecine struggles to defend their homeland. After slaughtering the Greek force at Thermopylae Xerxes, convinced of imminent victory, was tricked into recklessly engaging the Greek fleet at Salamis. In the first great naval battle in history, the Greeks soundly defeated the mighty Persian fleet, and Xerxes retreated to Persia in disgrace. In his later years Xerxes, lured into the web of court intrigue and harem politics gave himself over to every excess, infuriating his generals, alienating his wives and children, and making enemies of the powerful court viziers. In 465 B.C. the Great King of Persia was found murdered in his chambers. Xerxes' campaign against the Greeks drew that collection of warring city-states into a bond of national identity, setting the stage for the rise of Hellenic civilization, the foundation of the Western cultural heritage. In history's final irony, Xerxes, the autocratic Great King of the powerful Persian Empire, sparked the flame in which democracy was forged.
Revised: October 02, 2007 .