Medieval Gower Stories

By Ann Marie Thomas

Fascinating stories from medieval Gower: battles, brutality, adultery, daring escapes, fairies and an ogre!

If you like scandal, intrigue and true stories from history, then you’ll love Ann Marie Thomas’ book.
Buy Medieval Gower Stories and witness the crimes of mad King John, the atrocities of the Ogre of Abergavenny and search for the lost treasure of Edward II.

By the author of Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth and Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John, both big hits with locals and tourists alike.

Amazon Reviews:
1. The first local history book I ever read left me totally confused. It assumed its readers would already know all the people and places. Ann, doesn't do that. Her disarmingly straightforward style unpacks the complexities of all those unfamiliar medieval characters even though many have the same name generation after generation. A delightful book.
2. A nicely readable overview of the political history of The Gower and the surrounding areas of Wales in the period following the Norman Invasion of Britain. Some of the tales tempt much further investigation - this will be a good introduction to the subject for many readers.
3. As a complete novice to this subject I found this little book very easy to dip in and out of. Each story stands alone, the combination of fact with legend works well and it held my interest throughout.
4. Well researched interesting, informative book. It was written in simple easy language so would also be good for teens or perhaps older children if they were interested in history. I hadn't read any of the authors previous books but I am likely to now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Marie Thomas
• Release date: Jan 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9780957198883

Ann Marie Thomas

Writing poetry and making up stories since I was a child, I only started to write seriously when my children were grown. My main ambition is to write science fiction, but along the way I got fascinated by local history and distracted by a major stroke. I wrote poetry about my stroke and spent my recovery writing a local history book. Taking early retirement gave me the chance to concentrate on my writing. I have been married for over 45 years, with 4 grown children and 8 grandchildren.I had already written up my research into the de Braose family before my stroke, but the long hours in hospital gave me time to think about it in detail. Once I came home, rather than sitting doing nothing, I rewrote the book, and taught myself to format and publish in both ebook and print. My husband contacted the art department of the local university, who helped me find a wonderful artist to illustrate my books.Alina, The White Lady of Oystermouth came out as an ebook and in print for the locals and the tourist market at Easter 2012 and it's success gave me the impetus to write another, Broken Reed: The Lords of Gower and King John, which came out in September 2013.The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015 led me to adapt and enlarge my Broken Reed book and produce The Magna Carta Story: The Layman's Guide to the Great Charter. This came out in May 2015.During my research I found other fascinating stories which are not long enough for a book, so I collected them together into Medieval Gower Stories, published in October 2017.I am now working on another great story from Gower medieval history: Swansea Miracle.When I was in hospital I wrote a flood of poetry, about my stroke, my therapy, my faith, and random things like the rain outside my window. I have now published them as an ebook and print, My Stroke of Inspiration. 22 poems in all: verse, doggerel, and blank verse. The poems talk about suffering and patience, therapy and faith, and are surprisingly cheerful. If you are a stroke survivor or know someone who is, or just enjoy poetry, these poems will comfort, encourage and inspire you.There is also a Christian non fiction book, Blinded by the Light, warning of the traps Christians can fall into, published in February 2020.I continue to work on my recovery from the stroke, and although I am disabled I lead a very busy life. I am involved in my church and active on social media. I am still writing science fiction, a series called Flight of the Kestrel, about the adventures of the crew of the Fast-Response spaceship the Kestrel. The first book in the series - Intruders - was published in April 2016, and the second - Alien Secrets - was published in October 2017. The third - Crisis of Conscience - was published in June 2021. Watch out for book 4 Planet Fall.

Book preview

Medieval Gower Stories

Ann Marie Thomas

Illustrations: Line drawings by Carrie Francis, pictures from Wikimedia & Pixabay and author’s own photographs

Published by Alina Publishing

Copyright © 2017 Ann Marie Thomas

Ann Marie Thomas has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

ISBN 978-0-9571988-8-3

This book is also available in print ISBN 978-0-9571988-9-0

Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Gower Fights Back (1136)

2. The Ogre of Abergavenny (1175)

3. Starved to Death (1210)

4. John de Braose (1202-1232)

5. The Ensanding of Pennard Castle (Early 14th century)

6. Llywelyn's Wife (1230)

7. The Little Old Woman of Kidwelly (1242)

8. The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend (1320)

9. Escape from The Tower of London (1323)

10. Has Anyone Seen my Treasure? (1326)

Companion Books by this Author

About the Author

Map of Gower

De Braose Family Tree part 1

De Braose Family Tree part 2

F

REE BOOK!

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Praise for this and other history books:

Ann Marie Thomas has collected together the back story of this tragic figure from Swansea's past. A fascinating account of what really happened in a local landmark many, many years ago... (Swansea Life magazine)

Though this piece of writing is based on facts, I couldn't help sense a bit of a storyline. Sometimes non fiction can get too caught up in story telling that the underlying facts are put on the backbench but I must stress that while there is an interesting storyline to this piece, the emphasis is on the facts - which is needed in any good non fiction writing. It is a great short piece. The amount of information isn't overwhelming and certainly a good introduction for anybody wanting to research this particular era... it is a wonderful piece that is rich with historical information. It is in fact a great starting point for further research into this field. (Thomas Falco for Readers Favourite)

We know King John. He upset his barons and had to sign Magna Carta. We know little more. This well-written book fills a big hole in history. It explains how their discontent was fueled by his treatment of the lords of Gower and Swansea. Betrayal and intrigues that make the doings of the Ewings pale into the shade. It