Elton Martyn grew up in County Clare within earshot of ruined tower houses, an upbringing he credits with a lifelong fascination for the moment when dynastic ambition and ordinary soldiery collide on the battlefield. He studied history before turning to independent research into the confessional wars of early modern Europe, spending several years tracing the campaigns of the Thirty Years' War across German archives and battlefield sites. He has a particular interest in the intersection of military history and forensic archaeology, and follows conflict-archaeology excavations across Central Europe with the enthusiasm most readers reserve for detective fiction. The King's Last Field is his account of the campaign and the single day that, in his view, did more than any other to determine the war's tragic, protracted course. He continues to write narrative history from Ireland.