Bernard Cornwell, the master of martial fiction (Booklist), brings Thomas of Hookton from the popular Grail Quest series into a new adventure in 1356, a thrilling stand-alone novel. On September 19, 1356, a heavily outnumbered English army faced off against the French in the historic Battle of Poitiers. In 1356, Cornwell resurrects this dramatic and bloody struggleone that would turn out to be the most decisive and improbable victory of the Hundred Years War, a clash where the underdog English not only the captured the strategic site of Poitiers, but the French King John II as well. In the vein of Cornwells bestselling Agincourt, 1356 is an action-packed story of danger and conquest, rich with military strategy and remarkable charactersboth villainous and heroictransporting readers to the front lines of war while painting a vivid picture of courage, treachery, and combat.