Agincourt is one of the epic battles of history. It was fought by two badly matched armies that met in atrocious conditions on St Crispin's Day 1415, resulting in an extraordinary victory long celebrated in England, even before Shakespeare immortalized it in Henry V.

This battle has been heralded as the triumph of the longbow against the armored knight, and of the common man against the feudal aristocrat, but those are history's myths. Nicholas Hook, an English archer born to trouble, becomes an outlaw and finds refuge across the Channel as part of an English mercenary force.

The Siege of Soissons shocks all of Europe and propels Nick back to England, where he joins the archer company of the doughty Sir John Cornwaille, a leader of Henry V's army. Despite sickness and the unexpected French defiance at Harfleur reducing it to near-shambolic condition, Henry stubbornly refuses to accept defeat.

Amidst appalling weather, Henry leads his shrunken force to what appears to be inevitable disaster. Azincourt culminates in a vivid, convincing, and compelling battle scene, seen from several points of view on both the English and French sides. Bernard Cornwell masterfully depicts the reality behind the myths, bringing to life what it must have been like to fight at Agincourt.