It is 1381. England, reeling from plague and years of conflict abroad, is a tinderbox waiting to spark.

Two childhood friends ride into the town of Brentwood, Essex, where they come upon an altercation with a local Justice bent on squeezing more coin from the masses. Thus begins a rebellion of the common folk - loyal to the king, but not to those wealthy landowners who curtail their freedoms; the multitude finding cause against the powers that threaten their livelihoods. Set over sixteen days, Doom Painting roves across England as the revolt grows and swells and the rebels march to London to take their demands to the child-king Richard II.

Out of the rebellion emerges its enigmatic and charismatic leader Wat Tyler, an opportunistic and mercurial rogue whose morality is birthed by the cause, and who shapes an identity for the English which has never been lost. A. K.

Blakemore's thrilling retelling of the Peasants' Revolt renders it a definitive moment in British history. In the meeting of peasantry and nobility, new versions of England are born, and - for one bloody summer - the people of England seize control.

We are delighted to be joined by A. K. here at bookhaus, who will be in conversation with Danielle Giles, author of MERE. Tickets cost £7 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £2 off the book. Presented by bookhaus.

Danielle Giles is a writer and researcher based in Bristol. She has been published in Extra Teeth and Dear Damsels, shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, and longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. She won the Local Prize in the 2023 Bath Short Story Award. MERE is her first novel; her second historical gothic, GENTLE THINGS, will be released in late July.

On The Glutton and The Manningtree Witches:

'Riveting, appalling, addictive' Megan Nolan

'There are few writers who can be truly likened to Hilary Mantel, but Blakemore is one' Observer

'Glimmers with darkness and glints with fear... Vivid and original' Daily Mail