The Keys of Hell and Death is the second novel in the English Civil War historical fiction series Divided Kingdom by Charles Cordell. It opens at the Battle of Lansdown Hill in July 1643 and ends three weeks later at the Storming of Bristol. The action moves between Lansdown Hill, Chippenham, the Siege of Devizes, the Battle of Roundway Down, Bath and Bristol.
The story is told from the perspectives of a series of characters including half-brothers Ralph and Francis Reeve, Cornish fisherman and tinner Kendall Tremain, disabled and impoverished seaman Abel Cowens, enslaved African houseboy Moussa Dansocko and Enid Powell, an abused housemaid.
“Heart-pounding action, heart-breaking loss as a nation tears itself apart. You can smell the sweat of fear. Knife edge sharp scholarly knowledge combined with the skill of a natural storyteller. ... vividly rich in historical detail. Not to be missed.” - **David Gilman, award-winning author of the *Master of War* series, *The Last Horseman* and *The Englishman***
"Plunges the reader into the very trenches, hedgerows, ridges and streets of the war. The narrative unfolds hour by hour ... It is here, down in the detail of warfare, that Cordell's background as a professional soldier shines. This is... a story of the precious, precarious present day, lived moment by moment." - **Miranda Malins, author of *The Puritan Princess* and *The Rebel Daughter***
"Immersive and immediate.... Fans of military history will relish the detailed descriptions of the battles, topography and logistics, while lovers of historical fiction by the likes of Ben Kane, Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden and Dan Jones will want to add the Divided Kingdom series to their reading pile." - **Oliver Cromwell Association, *The Protector's Pen***
"This is not a book for the feint-hearted. It is civil war with all its atrocities and madness." - **Dr Beth Rogers, Chair of the John Hampden Society, *The Patriot***
"Charles Cordell evokes the experience of the Civil War soldier, in every branch of arms, more vividly than ever before." - **Professor Ronald Hutton CBE FRHistS FSA FLSW FBA, TV historian and acclaimed author of *The Royalist War Effort 1642-1646* and *Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief***
"Brilliantly captures the plight of soldiers in realistic detail in and around battle." - **General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE**
