Michael Hirst

Vikings returns for a gripping fourth season. Season three culminated with the extraordinary battle in Paris, where Ragnar seized victory from the jaws of defeat, but still returns to Kattegat dangerously ill. Thoughts of his death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king, including his wife Queen Aslaug and his oldest son, Bjorn. Meanwhile, Lagertha continues power struggles with her calculating, former second in command, Kalf.

Season five begins with Ivar the Boneless asserting his leadership over the Great Heathen Army, while Lagertha reigns as Queen of Kattegat. Iver's murder of his brother Sigurd sets the stage for vicious battles to come, as Ragnar's sons plot their next move after avenging their father's death. Bjorn follows his destiny into the Mediterranean Sea, and Floki, who is suffering from the loss of his wife Helga, takes to the seas submitting himself to the...

Henry, now forty-five, marries Jane Seymour. Jane helps to reconcile Mary with her father, but only after Mary signs a paper admitting that she is illegitimate. Jane gives birth to a son, but dies shortly thereafter. Devastated by Jane's death, Henry locks himself away, drawing fantasy palaces, with caustic court jester Will Sommers as his sole companion, and much more.

After failing to have his marriage to Katherine annulled, Henry appoints himself the head of the Church of England. Anne Boleyn insists that Henry remove the Queen from the picture. A royal visit to France finally prompts Anne to consummate her relationship with Henry. After failed attempts to have his marriage annulled, Henry's patience finally wears out and he marries Anne in secret. The king and new queen are disappointed that their first child...

Season Six returns following the battle between brothers which left Bjorn Ironsides a hero to the people who have been under the tyrannical rule of Ivar for so long. As the new leader of Kattegat, Bjorn struggles to fill his late father's shoes as king, while facing critical dilemmas and wrestling with the idea that power overshadows morals. Meanwhile, Ivar travels to Russia and meets his match in Prince Oleg, a ruthless and unpredictable ruler.

1585: Philip II's Catholic Spain is the most powerful empire in the world. Only England, ruled by Protestant Elizabeth, stands against him. The Queen is threatened by a depleted treasury, constant threats of assassination, and plots by Philip to install her cousin, Queen Mary of Scotland, on her throne. To which end a great armada is poised to invade England--as punishment for the capture of his treasure-ships, and to make Europe safe for Catholicism--even...

England, 1554. Henry VIII is dead. The country is divided, Catholic against Protestant. Henry's eldest daughter Mary, a fervent Catholic, is Queen. She is childless. The Catholics' greatest fear is the succession of Mary's Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. After Mary's death, Elizabeth ascends to the throne, thrust into an edgy world of political and religious flux she struggles to protect her power, life, and independence as the court boils with...