A FORMER Huddersfield New College student is celebrating the publication of his first novel.
Simon Young , 32, studied at New College for two years during the 1990s and has written AD 500: A Journey Through the Dark Isles of Britain and Ireland.
Simon, who left New College to complete a degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge University, said: "The book itself is a madcap Bill Bryson-style wander around Britain and Ireland in the Dark Ages.
"However, though written as fiction all the facts found there are based on the best research in archaeology and history.
"It's written as a practical survival guide for the use of civilised visitors to these barbaric islands.
"It describes a journey which begins in Cornwall and continues through Wales and Ireland, then across Scotland and eventually down to London and southern Britain."
Simon said his passion for history came from the teachers he had at New College.
He added: "I had some incredibly impressive teachers. I remember especially my history teachers; Mr Greenleaf, Ms Cotton and Ms Harris.
"They shaped me as no one else has and afterwards when I was at Cambridge I often reflected that I preferred my lessons with them!"
* AD 500: A Journey Through the Dark Isles of Britain and Ireland is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, priced £14.99.
