Conqueror

About “Conqueror”

The novel is the second in an alternate-history series by Stephen Baxter. It takes place three centuries after the fall of Rome, as foretold by The Prophecy. A young girl, the last member of the family that received The Prophecy, lives in secrecy among monks on the isle of Lindisfarne. She disguises herself as a boy but is discovered when Vikings destroy the final copies of the scroll. The prophecy remains in her memory. When William of Normandy, later known as the Conqueror, rises to power, the fate of the land again depends on the prophecy's words. As time passes, the memory of the prophecy fades, and the girl struggles to understand her heritage before all knowledge of the future is lost.