Wessex in classical heraldry and is found on a number of church windows in derived shields such as the Arms of the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey, which was founded by the king). At its greatest extent Wessex encompassed the modern areas of Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset and Wiltshire, as well as the western half of Berkshire and the eastern hilly flank of Somerset. This covers an area of about . The English author Thomas Hardy used a fictionalised Wessex as a setting for many of his novels, adopting his friend William Barnes' term "Wessex" for
David Conway (author) David Conway (author) David Conway (born 1963) is an Irish author and former musician. He was the original vocalist of the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, which he formed in 1983 with guitarist Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. In 1987, during their minor underground success, Conway left the band and was replaced by Bilinda Butcher. Since 1991, Conway has written four novels, including 2009's "Tokyo Gothic" and 2010's "Celebrity Bedlam", published numerous short stories and contributed his writing to a selection of comic books. His writings are published by Radical Robot Books—his own publishing company—and Double Dragon