Tag: Normans

Book Review: “Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II” by Tracy Borman

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England’s history is centuries old, full of colorful characters and change galore. What truly defines the history of England is the monarchy, which has lasted over a thousand years. Over 40 kings and queens left their distinct marks on the history of this proud island nation. While some could maintain the crown with no issues, others had to fight to earn the crown, and a few even died for the crown. While there has been a plethora of books and novels written about individual monarchs and their impacts on the history of England, only a select few have chosen to take the arduous task of telling the story of the British Monarchy from its origins to the modern-day. One such historian who has chosen the latter is Tracy Borman in her book, “Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II.”

I have been a fan of Tracy Borman and her writing for many years now. She has a way of making history come alive, so when I heard about this book, it was something I knew I wanted to read. I usually don’t read books like this because in the past, I have not been interested in the Stuarts and Hanoverians, but as I have begun to dive more into the Stuarts, I think it was the perfect time to read this book.

Borman begins with a brief introduction to the early kings of England, the Anglo-Saxon kings, to show how different it was from the Norman kings. She has divided the book into sections to highlight the different dynasties; Norman, Plantagenet, Lancaster, York, Tudor, Stuart, Hanoverian, and Windsor. Within each section is a mini-biography of each ruler during that dynasty. While there is not a whole lot of new information, it does give the reader a taste of what each reign was like.

As someone who usually reads about the Normans, Plantagenets, and Tudors, it was a nice review of the basic facts of the kings and queens during this span of history. Reading about the Stuarts, Hanoverians, and Windsors was something different for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me interested in studying the Stuarts and the Windsors, but I am on the fence about the Hanoverians. What is remarkable about the story is that the monarchy of England could have toppled at any point and did for a few years before it was restored, and continues to this day for over a thousand years.

Overall, I found this an interesting introductory read into the different dynasties that have shaped the English monarchy and the history of England. If you want new research about the individual monarchs, this might not be the book for you. However, if you want a great introductory book on the history of the British monarchy, I highly suggest you read, “Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II” by Tracy Borman.

Book Review: “Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd

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FoundationEngland is a nation that is rich in history and conflicts galore. Through the centuries, England has seen so much change. Many of us know the stories of the medieval and the Tudor kings and queens of England, covered in numerous books, but Peter Ackroyd has taken this concept a step forward. Ackroyd embarked on an epic quest to chronicle the history of England from its prehistoric origins to the modern age. In “Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors,” Peter Ackroyd begins his epic journey into the past to explore the origins of English history.

This book is one that I have seen every time I go to a bookstore and look at the history nonfiction section. I have heard great things about Ackroyd and this series, however, I have yet to read any of his books. It was always an intriguing book to me, but it was one that I never read until now.

Ackroyd has decided to begin his book with one of the most ancient sites in all of England, Stonehenge, explaining that before the first stone was set in Stonehenge, the origins of England were centuries old. We travel through the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and into Roman Britain before we dive into the time of the Anglo-Saxons and the Viking invasions. There is a lot of history to cover in less than a hundred pages, but Ackroyd can get his point across about how much change England went through during that time and that it continued to grow throughout the following centuries.

We see the impact that the Norman Conquest and William the Conqueror’s reign. The fall of the Normans with the death of King Stephen led to the rise of the Plantagenets and the reign of King Henry II. It was the Plantagenets that Ackroyd focuses the bulk of this book on as the dynasty lasted over 300 years and witnessed much change. From the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, and the Wars of the Roses, to the Black Death, rebellions, and religious changes, the Plantagenets saw England through major highs and lows. It was not just the monarchs that Ackroyd highlights in this book, he also examines how normal life changed with each dynasty and through the centuries, which adds a bit of depth to his examination of the past. Ackroyd concludes with the fall of Richard III and the rise of Henry VII and the Tudor dynasty. I wish Ackroyd would have waited until his next book to discuss the reign of Henry VII, but it is a minor qualm in the long run.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable and informative read. This is not only a tale of warring kings but a story of the people of England and what makes England so unique. A story whose origins are centuries old, but are rich and vivid in details. I look forward to seeing how Ackroyd will chronicle the Tudors and the rest of England’s history. If you want a book that explores as much of the beginnings of England’s story through multiple dynasties and dramatic changes, I would suggest you read, “Foundation: The History of England From Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors” by Peter Ackroyd.

Book Review: “Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn’t Take the Throne” by Ashley Mantle

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UncrownedA life of luxury from birth, destined to be crowned King or Queen of England. This is what we often think life must have been like for royal heirs who reached the ultimate destination of a crown and a throne. However, the stories of those who failed to reach the throne are mired in tragedy and heartache. The question of royal succession in England is a complex issue, especially when the heir to the throne dies unexpectedly, leaving doubts on whether a dynasty will survive through blood or dissolve in conflict. How did the deaths of these potential rulers radically transform the fabric of English history as a whole and what can their lives tell us about what kind of rulers they might have been? Ashley Mantle hopes to answer all of these questions and more in his latest book, “Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn’t Take the Throne.”

I would like to thank Amberley Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. The description of this book caught my attention. I wanted to see what heirs Mantle would feature in this book and if he would stay with well-known tales or venture into the realm of the relatively unknown heirs.

To begin his book, Mantle explains that he will be going through over a thousand years of royal succession history for England, which is a lot of history to include in one book. He also explains the difference between heir apparent and heir presumptive, which is key to understanding the complex nature of royal succession. While many of the stories included in this book focus on the male heirs, Mantle does include heiress to the throne like Empress Matilda, the Grey sisters (Lady Jane, Catherine, and Mary), Mary Queen of Scots, and Sophia Electress of Hanover, just to name a few.

Mantle’s deep dive into royal succession begins with Robert II Duke of Normandy, also known as Robert “Curthose”, the son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders; it concludes with Frederick Duke of York and Albany, the son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Each chapter focuses on one of the heirs, in chronological order, with miniature family trees at the beginning to help readers understand how close they were to the throne. This book is full of stories of betrayal, deaths, disappearances, family feuds, and heartache. Some of these heirs were relatively new stories for me, especially the ones more current than the Tudors, which was exciting to discover.

I must say that this task of combining over a thousand years of royal history into a comprehensive book is no easy task, but Mantle does a spectacular job. It was an informative and engaging read that would be perfect for any fan of royal history. If you want a fascinating book about those who were so close to the throne but never ruled, I highly suggest you read, “Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn’t Take the Throne” by Ashley Mantle.

Book Review: “Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England” by Tracy Borman

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MatildaOne of the most critical years in English history was 1066, when William Duke of Normandy invaded England in the Norman Conquest. Known as William the Conqueror, his strength and ruthlessness made him a legend, but William would not have been the Duke or King of England without his equally formidable wife. Matilda of Flanders stood her ground, became the Duchess of Normandy, had a large family with William, and would become the first crowned Queen of England. Although much has been written about William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest, Matilda of Flanders has not received the same attention until now. Tracy Borman has written the first biography dedicated to this remarkable woman entitled, “Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England.”

I enjoyed reading her previous book about Henry VIII and the men who made him, and I wanted to read more books by Tracy Borman. When I heard about this book, it drew me in because I did not know much about Matilda of Flanders and her time, so I wanted to learn more.

Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders and his wife, Adela, was one of the prominent women in 9th-century Europe. Borman shows how Flanders grew from a lawless society to a significant court that drew the attention of the dukedom of Normandy. Normandy was the home of William, the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I and his mistress Herleva. William shocked Europe when he became his father’s heir as Duke of Normandy and chose Matilda as his wife. To say they had a rocky start was an understatement, but Matilda and William had a large family and solidified Normandy as a powerhouse of Europe.

With the death of Edward the Confessor, William and Matilda saw their opportunity to take a bigger prize, the crown of England. While William had the military know-how to win the crown, it was Matilda who was able to help William with his conquest financially and took care of Normandy while he was taking care of his new kingdom. In return, William had Matilda crowned Queen of England.

However, not everything was perfect for William and Matilda. When their eldest son, Robert Curthose, was fed up with not getting the chance to become the Duke of Normandy as was his birthright, he rebelled, and Matilda decided to support her son over her husband. Matilda was not afraid to speak her mind, even if it felt like she was going beyond what was expected of a woman during that time. Matilda’s death in 1083 impacted the rest of William’s reign as King of England as the king mourned for the woman who could stand toe to toe with the great conqueror.

Borman has taken on the arduous task of telling the tale of Matilda of Flanders, and she absolutely smashes it. This biography is engaging and thought-provoking, revealing who Matilda was when you remove the myths surrounding her life. If you want a delightful biography about the first crowned Queen of England, I highly suggest reading “Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England” by Tracy Borman.

Book Review: “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes” by Julia A. Hickey

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61816116When we think about royal relationships from the past, we do not associate them with love; it is more about cementing power. Princes and kings knew how much was at stake, so they tended to have wives for politics and produce legitimate heirs that would inherit their kingdoms. For matters of love and lust, kings and princes would have mistresses, either of noble birth or lower, on the side. These women have been deemed whores and homewreckers but is that a fair assessment of their legacies? Julia A. Hickey takes a closer look at these misunderstood mistresses in her latest book, “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes.”

Thank you, Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley, for sending me a copy of this book. When I saw this title, it intrigued me, and I was hoping to learn something new.

Hickey covers several hundred years in this book, starting around the year 1000 and ending in 1485. We begin with Queen Emma, Aelfgifu, and the confusion of whether Aelfgifu should be considered a mistress. With these Anglo-Saxon and Norman kings of England, we see many relatively hidden mistresses of William I and Henry I (who had quite a few). We then move to the Plantagenets with Henry II, King John, Edward II, Edward III, and Edward IV. Hickey also pays attention to other affairs in different countries, such as King David of Scotland and the Tour de Neste Affair.

Some of these mistresses would be familiar to readers, such as Isabella of Angouleme, Fair Rosamund, Piers Gaveston, Alice Perrers, Katherine Swynford, Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer, Jane Shore, Eleanor Talbot, and Elizabeth Woodville. Many were new to me, including Princess Nest of Wales, whose abduction started a war, Edith Forne Sigulfson, and Elizabeth Wayte. She even included Eleanor of Aquitaine as one of the mistresses mentioned in this book, which I’m afraid I have to disagree with, as most of this stems from the black legend that has tainted her legacy.

I found the information provided in this book rather intriguing, but my one concern about this book was how it was structured. I wish Hickey had sections marked for each king she mentioned in this book so we could distinguish which mistress was associated with which king or prince.

Overall, I found this book enjoyable and informative. It was a bit repetitive, and there were some arguments that I disagreed with. Still, the fact that Hickey could combine nearly 500 years’ worth of history about relatively hidden royal mistresses is quite admirable. Suppose you want a solid introduction to medieval England’s world of royal mistresses. In that case, I recommend you read “Medieval Royal Mistresses: Mischievous Women who Slept with Kings and Princes” by Julia A. Hickey.

Book Review: “Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey” by Sharon Bennett Connolly

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Pen & Sword Book Cover / Jacket artwork

To survive during the reigns of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England, one must understand where their loyalty and trust lied. Did they follow the crown or did they take a risk and follow those who opposed the person who wore the crown? For one family, there was no question who they were loyal to, which was the crown. The Warenne Earls of Surrey served the Kings of England from William the Conqueror to Edward III, gaining titles, prestige, and marriages that would cement their names in history books. They survived some of the most turbulent times in English history even if they did have a few scandals in their illustrious history. In Sharon Bennett Connolly’s latest non-fiction adventure, “Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey ”, she explores this family’s history that spanned over three centuries.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book. I have been a fan of Sharon Bennett Connolly’s books for a while now, so when I heard about this title, I knew I wanted to read it. I was going in a bit blind since I have never heard of the Warenne Earls of Surrey, but that is part of the fun of studying a new aspect of history.

The first Earl of Surrey, William de Warenne began this family’s tradition of royal loyalty as he joined William the Conqueror on his journey to England and fought alongside him to establish Norman rule at the Battle of Hastings. William’s descendants would be involved in some of the most important events of the time, from the crusades to the 1st and 2nd Baron’s Wars and the sealing of the Magna Carta. At some points, the earls would briefly switch sides if they thought the king was not in the best interest of the country, but they remained at the heart of English politics and worked hard to help guide the king and the country to become stronger.

What made the Warennes a tour de force when it came to noble families was their ability to marry well, except for the final earl and his scandalous relationships. The second earl desired to marry into the royal family, which did not happen, but his daughter, Ada de Warenne would marry William the Lion, King of Scotland. One of the daughters of Hamlin and Isabel de Warenne would be the mistress of King John and would give birth to his illegitimate son Richard of Chilham. The only woman of the family who inherited the earldom of Surrey, Isabel de Warenne, was married twice and so both of her husbands, William of Blois and Hamelin of Anjou, are considered the 4th earl of Surrey.

Connolly does a wonderful job explaining each story in de Warenne’s long history, including the minor branches of the family. I was able to understand the difference between family members who shared the same first name, (like William, John, and Isabel) but I know that others might have struggled with this aspect. I think it would have been helpful if Connolly had included either a family tree or a list of family members of the de Warennes at the beginning of this book to help readers who did struggle.

I found this particular title fascinating. The de Warennes were a family that proved loyalty to the crown and good marriages went a long way to cement one’s legacy in medieval England. Connolly proved that she has a passion for bringing obscure noble families to the spotlight through her impeccable research. If you want a nonfiction book of a noble family full of loyalty, love, and action, you should check out “Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey” by Sharon Bennett Connolly.

Book Review: “English Collusion and the Norman Conquest” by Arthur C. Wright

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51352100 (1)The Norman Conquest of 1066 was one of the most important dates in English and world history. It signaled the start of the Norman influence in England with Duke William, also known as William the Conqueror, becoming King of England. But does William I deserve the reputation that is attributed to him in history, or should we be careful with how we view him because his story is told by the avaricious Church? How much help did William and the Normans receive from their English counterparts? Can we call this event a “conquest”? Who was to blame for the “Harrowing of the North”? These questions and more are discussed in Arthur C. Wright’s latest book, “English Collusion and the Norman Conquest”.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. When it comes to studying the Norman Conquest, I am a bit of a novice, so I was excited to read another book about this time.

I found this book rather difficult to understand. Wright writes in a style where he is having a conversation to experts, while at the same time saying that every historian has it wrong and he knows exactly what happened. This rubbed me the wrong way. If he had proved his point, I might have found his argument compelling, but he just came off as an angry rambler in the first half of this book. I really wanted to understand what he was trying to say, but I did not see his evidence for English collusion. Instead, he spent a lot of time arguing that feudalism is a myth, which was quite bizarre.

I think the second part of his book was stronger than the first half. It explored the life, commerce, and education of the average citizen. I think if Wright had reorganized his chapters, this book might have been a bit easier to comprehend. Wright tends to focus on after the conquest, without specifying dates, but it is hard to see where the English collusion comes into play. Another problem that I did have is when he tried to insert more modern sayings, ideas, and characters into the conversation. It felt out of place and rather distracting.

I do believe that Wright is knowledgeable when it comes to the subject of the Norman Conquest and England in the years that followed. Unfortunately, his writing style makes it difficult to understand what message he is trying to get across with this particular book. It was readable, but the focus was a bit off and it was hard to figure out his target audience. If you are familiar with the Norman Conquest and would like a challenge, check out “English Collusion and the Norman Conquest” by Arthur C. Wright. It was not my cup of tea, but that does not mean it is a bad book. Someone else might enjoy it.

Book Review: “The Peasants’ Revolting…Crimes” by Terry Deary

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47135242In history, we tend to look at people based on their class. There are the upper class (royalty and nobility), the middle class, and the underclasses (peasants). Most of the focus tends to be on the deeds of the upper and middle classes, yet the underclasses had there own struggles, some of which resulted in them committing crimes. What was life like for the criminals of the underclasses? What type of crimes did they commit and what sort of punishments did they suffer once they were caught? Terry Deary decided to explore the crimes of the British peasants throughout history, in his own humorous way, in his latest book, “The Peasants’ Revolting….Crimes”.

I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. The description sounded really intriguing and I had never read a book by Terry Deary, so I decided to give it a try.

For those who are not familiar with Terry Deary, he is the author of a popular UK book series for kids about history called, “Horrible Histories”, a funny look at the past to get kids interested in historical figures. I will admit that I had heard people mention “Horrible Histories” and the video series, but I was not sure what to expect when it came to Deary’s writing style. I don’t normally read humourous history books because I love diving large biographies that contain minute details of the lives of historical figures, but I found myself enjoying this entertaining, yet rather unusual, history book.

This book was a delight to dive into. Deary breaks down his book by exploring the underclasses, from the nefarious Normans and the terrible Tudors to the vivacious Victorians and everyone in between. He included tales of arsonists, murderers, pirates, hooligans, beggars, rioters, and more to give readers a full view of crimes committed by those who were part of the underclasses. The topics that Deary discusses in this book can be rather dark and macabre, but it doesn’t have a dark tone to it. Instead, Deary infuses his own sense of humor that makes reading about these horrific crimes enjoyable. There were points while I was reading that I actually laughed out loud, but other points the humor did fall flat for me because it dealt with elements of living in the UK that I didn’t understand.

Deary does jump around a lot when it comes to the chronological order of this book, which did bother me a tad bit because I do prefer reading a historical book in chronological order. Yet Deary does get away with this since it is a book that acts like a comedy sketch instead of a serious study in the crimes of the underclasses. What I did wish Deary would have included in his book is a list of resources on the crimes that he mentioned so that those who were curious could look into the trials themselves, to help promote independent historical studies of the subjects.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Deary combined the study of history with humor to create a light-hearted and fun experience for anyone interested in history. Every once in awhile, it is good to take a break from serious historical studies and read something for fun. If you want a nice, casual read that explores the lives and crimes of peasants, I highly recommend you read, “The Peasants’ Revolting…Crimes” by Terry Deary.