Oliver Hayes

Biography

Oliver Hayes studied the Dark Ages and early Medieval periods. He has since earned a living in publishing and is now writing freelance to bring some of his research to press in an entertaining and user-friendly format.

Where to buy in print

Books

Battle of Bailen
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 26,780. Language: English. Published: January 18, 2014 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
The Battle of Bailen set Europe alight. For years the magnificent, tough and superbly equipped armies of Napoleon Bonaparte had marched unchecked across Europe. But at Bailen a French army was fought to a standstill and forced to surrender by a small Spanish force led by an inexperienced commander.
The Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 29,650. Language: English. Published: January 18, 2014 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
The Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo was a savage affair, fought as part of the Peninsular War that pitched Britain’s Duke of Wellington against Napoleon’s French Marshals.
The Peninsular War
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 126,930. Language: English. Published: January 18, 2014 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Strategy, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
The Peninsular War was a savage war fought as part of the Napoleonic Wars that convulsed Europe for more than a decade. They saw set piece battles, guerrilla campaigns, sieges and every form of warfare known to the early 19th century.
Lancelot - The Truth behind the Legend - Celtic Twilight
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 6,970. Language: English. Published: November 6, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
Of all the Knights of the Round Table, none is so famous as Sir Lancelot. He is both the finest of the Arthurian knights, and the worst. He is the champion of the Round Table, and the reason for its destruction. He is loyal, yet treacherous. Noble, but base. His is a complex character that combines the best and worst of the world of chivalry in one person.
Niall of the Nine Hostages - Celtic Twilight
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 6,290. Language: English. Published: November 6, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Ireland, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
In this book historian Oliver Hayes goes back to the original legends, old manuscripts and seeks to disentangle fact from legend to reveal the true character and career of that greatest of early Irish High Kings - Niall of the Nine Hostages.
The Lost Tomb of King Arthur
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 12,000. Language: English. Published: October 25, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
In about the year 1190 monks at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset claimed that they had found the tomb of King Arthur. The discovery is today routinely dismissed as a crude hoax worked by monks greedy for the money that would come from a stream of pilgrims visiting the tomb. But was it a hoax? And if Arthur was not buried in Glastonbury, where was he buried?
King Lud - The Celtic God Who Founded London
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 9,210. Language: English. Published: October 21, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
According to legend, London was founded by King Lud, ruler of the Trinovantes tribe of Celts in the 1st century bc. But there is much more to King Lud than prehistoric kingship. Tracing the ancient legends back to their source, historian Oliver Hayes reveals a remakable truth - that “King Lud” was really a god and London was his Holy City.
RMS Titanic : The Rescue Mission
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 22,700. Language: English. Published: October 14, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » American, Nonfiction » Transportation » Ships & Shipbuilding / History
While the RMS Titanic was sinking more than a dozen ships were racing to the rescue. This is the story of the rescue mission, including the search for bodies that followed.
The Roman Gladiator Referee’s Handbook
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 36,480. Language: English. Published: July 3, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Ancient » Rome
"Ave Caesar. We who are about to die salute you". Or maybe not. Gladiators, lions, tigers, chariot racing, wrestlers, executioners, dancing girls, musicians, comedians, emperors and slaves, the Games had it all. And the referee had to keep them all in order - somehow.
The Siege of Badajoz 1812
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 23. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 29,970. Language: English. Published: June 6, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
The bloodiest siege of the Napoleonic Wars was the 1812 attack on Badajoz by Wellington’s British army in the Peninsular War. Not only were the casualties among combatants heavy, but the subsequent sack of the city saw brutality, murder and rape on an unprecedented scale.
Salamanca 1812
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 29,240. Language: English. Published: March 22, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western
For six weeks in the spring of 1812 Wellingston’s Anglo-Spanish army marched and countermarched across western Spain as it sought to find away past the French army of Marshal Marmont. Their chance came at Salamanca.
Oporto 1809
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 28,610. Language: English. Published: March 22, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western
The Battle of Oporto was key early British victory in the Peninsular War that ensured that the troops commanded by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) would not be driven out by the French any time soon.
The Battle of Barrosa
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 22. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 21,890. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
The Battle of Barrosa was an unexpected British victory in the Peninsular War. Caught strung out on the march on a mountain road by a superior French army, the British should have been annihilated, but instead gained a stunning victory.
The Retreat to Corunna
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 21. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 22,220. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western
The Retreat to Corunna was a spectacular defeat for the British Army, yet it managed to save its reputation by carrying out one of the great fighting retreats of military history.
The Battle of Albuera 1811
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 20. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 30,600. Language: English. Published: March 1, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western
Key note: The Battle of Albuera was one of the bloodiest, and yet least decisive of the battles fought in the Peninsular War.
Toulouse - 1814
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 19. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 27,600. Language: English. Published: February 20, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Pictorial, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
By the spring of 1814 the Peninsular War was nearing its climax. The British army under Wellington was invading southern France, but they were faced by a larage French army under the cunning French Marshal Soult. Wellington’s attack on Toulouse was to prove to be one of his hardest fought actions.
The Pyrenees - 1813
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 18. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 35,490. Language: English. Published: February 20, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Strategy
By the summer of 1813 the Peninsular War had reached a crisis. The British army under Wellington was poised to invade France, but he was faced by the towering Pyrenees mountains and the cunning French Marshal Soult. What followed was a classic campaign of mountain fighting.
San Sebastian 1813
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 27,880. Language: English. Published: February 20, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
By the summer of 1813 the Peninsular War had reached a crisis. The Port of San Sebastian had to be captured, and captured fast if Wellington’s British armies were to avoid a humiliating retreat due to lack of supplies. But in San Sebastian was the wily French commander Louis Rey. The scene was set for a classic siege campaign.
The Papal Prophecies - St Malachy and the Doom of the Popes
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 8,330. Language: English. Published: February 18, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Western, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Religious history
NOW UPDATED FOR POPE FRANCIS. For five centuries scholars have puzzled over a document known as The Papal Prophecies that were ascribed to St Malachy, an Irish cleric who died in 1148. The Prophecies clearly state that both Rome and the Papacy will be destroyed at some date in the early 21st century.
The Female Pope - The True Story of Pope Joan
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 9,600. Language: English. Published: February 18, 2013 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Italy, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Christian Church / History
For centuries rumours and legends have swirled about that one woman did get to be pope in Rome. The Catholic Church has always denied the stories, but they refuse to go away. It is now time to look anew at these old stories and try to discover the truth that lies behind them.
The Battle of Vimeiro
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 17. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 33,140. Language: English. Published: October 22, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons, Nonfiction » History » Modern / 19th Century
It was the Battle of Vimeiro that established the reputation of Sir Arthur Wellesley, later to be the Duke of Wellington.
The Madrid Uprising 1808
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 16. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 26,000. Language: English. Published: October 10, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Spain & Portugal, Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Pictorial
On 2 May 1808 the Spanish capital of Mardrid erupted into savage violence. The citizens of Madrid had had enough of the French army in thier city and were rising up to throw them out. Artillery blasted down narrow streets, cavalry charged across the plazas and infantry slaughtered each other in the narrow alleys. The Peninsular War had begun.
The Sieges of Gerona 1808 / 1809
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 15. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 26,760. Language: English. Published: October 5, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Weapons
At Gerona in 1808 the French for the first time ran into a Spanish army that neither ran away nor surrendered. The epic defence of Gerona lasted for over a year and saw the French throw everything that they had at the old walls around the city. The Spanish fought back gallantly, using their bare hands when they ran out of ammunition.
The Battle of Talavera 1809
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 14. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 37,160. Language: English. Published: September 4, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Pictorial
At Talavera a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) tried to link up with a Spanish army under General Cuesta to ambush a French corps under Marshal Victor. But things went wrong and the British had to fight their way to safety.
The Battle of Cardigan / Crug Mawr (1136)
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 13. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 4,530. Language: English. Published: August 19, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
The sweeping victory of the Welsh at Cardigan (Crug Mawr) was historic. It not only put the victor, Owain Gwynedd in a position to rule Wales free of English domination, it also marked the arrival on the battlefields of Europe of a new, deadly and uniquely Welsh weapon. The longbow had arrived.
The Battle of Wimbledon (568) - A Bretwalda Battle
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 12. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 7,080. Language: British English. Published: July 14, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Middle ages, Nonfiction » History » European » Europe / Great Britain
In the chaos that engulfed Britain after the “Age of Arthur”, one battle stands out. This was a key battle fought in the heart of the Dark Ages for control of southern Britain that pitched the King of Kent against the leader of the Romano-Britons. The victory won here decided the fate of Britain for a generation.
The Fall of Denmark (1940) - part of the Bretwalda Battles series
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 11. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 9,410. Language: English. Published: June 19, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / World War II
In 1940 Hitler’s Germany launched an unprovoked attack on little Denmark. The campaign was meticulously planned and over in hours. It saw the first ever use of paratroops in war, the first German amphibious landings of the war and the threat of terror bombing of cities and towns.
The Battle of Kabul (1879) - part of the Bretwalda Battles series
Series: Bretwalda Battles, Book 10. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 5,590. Language: English. Published: June 19, 2012 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Military » Military / Pictorial
With British & American troops again in Afghanistan, this book looks back to a previous conflict when Islamic fundamentalists again sought to overthrow the government of Afghanistan and British troops went in to pacify the area.
on the Trail of the Real St George
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 20,780. Language: English. Published: September 8, 2010 by Bretwalda Books. Categories: Nonfiction » History » Biography
Dragon-slayer, English hero, martyr, warrior, soldier and saint — St George has been all these things. But who was the real St George? This fascinating book draws on the most recent academic research into folklore and legends to put together an accurate account of St George’s original life story, and how he has developed in folklore and legend to become what he is today.

Oliver Hayes' tag cloud

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