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Thursday 17 March 2022

My Coffee Pot Guest Today: Elizabeth R. Andersen - The Two Daggers Series


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"Henri stood as tall as Rogier, green-eyed, and brown-skinned, and seventeen years old.  The other young nobles of Acre chafed that Henri had riches, status, and the favor of every woman who crossed his path, and the city leadership rolled their eyes at his aloof attitude towards his civic duties as a member of the noble class.  Aware of his good looks, he frequently wore a mocking smile that enraged every older man in his presence with its implied insolence.  He was the kind of youth that filled men with the desire to hit him in the face, even if he committed no crime."

 ~ The Scribe

We have all met someone like Henri of Maron, the main point of view character in The Two Daggers series.  Proud, arrogant, and indulged with everything he's ever wanted, he has wealth, good looks, and high social status.  Why would anyone want to read a book about someone this obnoxious?  I certainly would not…unless I suspected that he would learn to find his humanity as the series progressed, and not the easy way, either.

The Two Daggers series is about personal journeys.  The four primary characters live their lives on the pages, and we follow them as they experience loss, achievements, change of heart, and revenge.  And all of this happens before the trials of war even begin.  But let me back up a bit.

Book one in the series is about the months leading up to the demise of the city of Acre in the 13th century, which is located in present-day Israel.  A quick internet search will reveal the gruesome details.  The city was besieged and then utterly devastated by the Islamic Mamluk army, who were trying to eliminate the threat of the Crusaders joining forces with the Mongol troops in the north.  The sultan leading the attack did not want to give the Christians a way to regain a foothold in the Levant, so he had his soldiers fill the harbor at Acre with debris and pull down as many buildings as possible.  The siege marked the end of the Christian crusades in the Levant and the beginning of some deep soul searching in the West.

When the city fell, thousands were left homeless.  The wealthiest citizens were able to get out early on ships, but the poor were heartlessly abandoned to face the attacking army.  Most who escaped sailed to the nearby island of Cyprus, and from there, some continued to their ancestral homes in Frankish territories, Francia, the Italian peninsula, or beyond.  Others were less fortunate and remained in Cyprus, living in the streets, their eyes always turned toward the east, where their city smoldered for weeks.  The Cypriot village of Famagusta swelled after Acre fell, transforming into a metropolis in order to accommodate the crowds of refugees.  In the middle of all this, I've placed three teenagers and one Mamluk amir.

Everything about the four main characters seems completely unrelated, but they are all tied together by their common search for themselves as they come of age in a socially complicated time in the Middle East.  We journey with Emre as he is kidnapped, enslaved, runs away, and becomes enslaved again.  We are with Henri of Maron as he makes disastrous decisions that have severe consequences for himself and his family.  We watch with apprehension as Sidika learns to find her courage in a society that will not allow her to use her immense talents.  And we follow Yusuf as he walks alongside his leaders, following orders unquestioningly until the actions of those around him cause him to question his beliefs and his friendships.

The Scribe ends on a steep cliffhanger but picks up immediately where it left off in book two, The Land of God, which details the actual Siege of Acre and the moment when this place, spiritually significant for the three Abrahamic religions, consolidates.  The series is planned for five books, during which time the characters attempt to put their lives together after the end of the crusades.  Journeying by sea and on land, by horse and camel, on foot and sometimes against their will, their paths all crisscross together, and they leave their marks (and scars) on each other.  If you choose to follow Henri, Emre, Sidika, and Yusuf on this adventure through Medieval Palestine, buckle up; it is an emotional, often gritty journey, but well worth the trip to see how people lived their lives before the Renaissance.  

The Scribe
(The Two Daggers, Book 1)
By Elizabeth R. Andersen

All Henri of Maron wanted was to stay with his family on his country estate, surrounded by lemon groves and safety. But in 13th century Palestine, when noble-born boys are raised to fight for the Holy Land, young Henri will be sent to live and train among men who hate him for what he is: a French nobleman of an Arab mother. Robbed of his humanity and steeped in cruelty, his encounters with a slave soldier, a former pickpocket, and a kindly scribe will force Henri to confront his own beliefs and behaviors. Will Henri maintain the status quo in order to fit into a society that doesn’t want him, or will fate intervene first?

The first book in The Two Daggers series, The Scribe takes readers on a sweeping adventure through the years and months that lead up to the infamous Siege of Acre in 1291 CE and delves into the psyches of three young people caught up in the wave of history.
The Land of God
(The Two Daggers, Book 2)
By Elizabeth R. Andersen

Pain. His sister’s screams. And a beautiful face in the jeering crowd. When Henri of Maron woke, he had only a few memories of his brutal flogging, but he knew the world had changed. He had changed.

Now, as he grapples with the fallout from his disastrous decisions, war with the Mamluk army looms closer. To convince the city leaders to take the threat seriously, Henri and the grand master of the Templars must rely on unlikely allies and bold risks to avoid a siege.

Meanwhile, Sidika is trying to find a way to put her life back together. When she is forced to flee her home, her chance encounters with a handsome amir and a strangely familiar old woman will have consequences for her future.

The Land of God weaves the real historical figures with rich, complex characters and an edge-of-seat plot. Readers who enjoyed the Brethren series by Robyn Young and The Physician by Noah Gordon will appreciate this immersive tale set in the Middle East in the Middle Ages.

Trigger warnings:
Torture, violence, sexual assault, sexual content.


"The Two Daggers" series is available at AmazonApple BooksKobo, and Barnes & Noble.  
For more information, visit www.elizabethrandersen.com


(The Scribe, Book 1)


(The Land of God, Book 2)
Amazon AU: 



About the Author

Elizabeth R. Andersen's debut novel, The Scribe, launched in July of 2021. Although she spent many years of her life as a journalist, independent fashion designer, and overworked tech employee, there have always been two consistent loves in her life: writing and history. She finally decided to do something about this and put them both together. 

Elizabeth lives in the Seattle area with her long-suffering husband and young son. On the weekends she usually hikes in the stunning Cascade mountains to hide from people and dream up new plotlines and characters. Elizabeth is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

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