Gatty's Tale Kevin Crossley-Holland (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £12.99) Spawned by the Arthur trilogy, this is a masterful celebration of the medieval world, following the adventures, or more likely misadventures, of a feisty field girl beloved of previous Arthurian disciples. This time she is on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a road fraught with danger but also a journey of discovery for the impulsive Gatty. Crossley-Holland stitches a tapestry of 13th-century art that will long adorn the walls of imaginative minds.

A Prayer for the Damned Peter Tremayne (Headline, £19.99) oFrom Rome (Queen of the Night by Paul Doherty) to Russia (the Boris Akunin novels), detective books have covered many periods of history, none more successfully than Tremayne with his much-admired series set in 7th-century Ireland. Indeed, the village of Cashel, whence Sister Fidelma glides forth to deal with the latest collection of murders, is as familiar as one's home town. As always, Tremayne maintains pace and excitement in his monastic sleuthing.

Innocent Traitor Alison Weir (Hutchinson, £12.99) oBack to non-fiction and Weir's passion for the violent Tudor era matches her creative prose. Anne Boleyn surely did not deserve to lay her fiery head on the executioner's block. But if comparison is invited, the most infamous Tudor murder was that of the young Lady Jane Grey, queen for just nine days. She was a pawn in a power struggle after Henry VIII's son Edward died - scintillating material for Weir.

Four Days in June Iain Gale (HarperCollins, £12.99) oIt is always good to welcome a new historical writer, especially when the subject is the battle of Waterloo. Gale takes five protagonists who fought on that uncertain battlefield and through their experiences relives the four crucial days that changed the politcal face of Europe. Knife-edge realism mingles with strategy, glory and tragedy in Gale's artistic narrative, burning the pages with unforgettable gallantry.