BookBrowse Reviews Essex Dogs by Dan Jones

BookBrowse:

In the first volume of a planned series, a band of English mercenaries are led on a ruthless campaign through the French countryside during the Hundred Years' War.

In 1346, near the start of the Hundred Years' War, England's King Edward claims to be the rightful king of France and is planning an invasion to assert that claim. The men of the mercenary company called the Essex Dogs don't care much about the French crown, but they've made fighting their profession. They sign up for 40 days of service.

The Essex Dogs start out as a band of 12 men. Some, like the mentally deteriorating priest known as Father, have been with the group for years; others, like 16-year-old Romford, joined up at the last minute to avoid trouble back in England. They are led by Loveday FitzTalbot, a man who has seen a lot of war and is losing his taste for it. They're among the first to land on the beach in Normandy, and by fighting well there they catch the attention of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick and Marshal of the Army. They quickly find that the French are not the only threat to their lives, as nobles use them as pawns in their political games and resentments grow between the Dogs and another group of mercenaries.

Dan Jones is an accomplished historian, and that background can be seen in the adept way he brings the 14th century to life. Though the issues they struggle with—war, trauma, and substance abuse, among others—are timeless, the ways in which the characters approach them feel very authentically medieval. One of the most interesting ways this manifests is in the effects of class divides. The reader gets a clear sense of just how different the war looks depending on a person's social status. At times, the Dogs' lives are at stake as one lord attempts to one-up another. Fittingly, given the main characters' perspectives, the wider political situation is given minimal attention, but glimpses of it can be seen through the nobles and royals leading the campaign.

Essex Dogs is a book about war, and it unflinchingly depicts the realities of the campaign. The battle scenes are chaotic and brutal, capturing the characters' struggle for survival with heart-pounding intensity. Outside of the battles, the effects of political ambition and strategy can be felt, but once the fighting starts there is only adrenaline-fueled violence and Loveday's desperation to keep his men alive. Readers should also be aware that the book contains frequent references to sexual violence, though nothing of that nature is graphically depicted. Though King Edward claims the French are his subjects and under his protection, the campaign is largely focused on looting and destruction. Some of the characters, such as Father, revel in this, while the teenage Romford is horrified. Loveday, long accustomed to violence, is newly disturbed and begins second-guessing his choices.

While the characters' reactions to the war are compelling, the relationships between them are not as well developed. The focus on the story's present means that the history of those relationships is not deeply fleshed out, and some plot points lack emotional weight as a result. The characters' struggle to preserve the Dogs as a tight-knit unit is less gripping than their individual stories because we never see the comradery they once shared, and must take Loveday's word that they ever actually had that dynamic.

When people think of the 14th century, they might imagine majestic kings, noble lords, and the legends that have been passed down about them. Instead, Dan Jones brings to life the struggle of the ordinary foot soldier. If you're looking for a book that dispels the fantasy of the knight in shining armor and focuses on the horrors of war, Essex Dogs, the first in a planned series, is for you.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in March 2023, and has been updated for the January 2024 edition. Click here to go to this issue.