A Novel Investigation into Medieval Britain

Date published: 26 October 2010

Founder of Bury-based GB Science & Technology Ltd, Dr Margaret Beardsley, has been taking time out from her engineering activities to launch her latest novel, Albion Regained.

The professional engineer, who began writing seven years ago, has just completed the third book in her series of medieval crime novels. The books have sprung out of a fascination with the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and are set in Britain in the years preceding the Black Death.

Margaret’s day job typically comprises of failure investigations and expert witness work. Based in Tottington, she is frequently called upon to travel throughout the UK and abroad to diagnose incidents in the construction, oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Margaret has travelled as far afield as Russia, South America and the Middle and Far East with her work.

Commenting on her latest novel, Margaret said: “The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are a fascinating period in England’s history. The people living in England at that time were faced with adversity on an almost unimaginable scale, having to contend with disease, flood and famine. Despite this, from my research, I have discovered that their hardships did not deter them from entertaining themselves with music, sports and remarkably tall tales. It is their spirit and humour cast against a dark background of crime and misfortune that I have tried to capture in my novels.”

The first in the Albion series of novels, Albion Unbounded, was published in 2008, with the second, Albion Afflicted, following shortly after.