This book is based on historical fact, but is a fictionalized account of the last two Anglo-Saxon kings who ruled up to the invasion of William "The Conqueror" (or "The Bastard" as he was also known)."Yawn!" You might say...but you'd be wrong! It is a fascinating glimpse into medieval England when "English" names included those like "Aethelred," "Aelfgifu" and "Aedric."Did you know that Queen Emma was the first woman who was crowned queen twice? Once to an ineffectual Anglo-Saxon king, Aethelred, and a second time to the Danish (a.k.a. "viking") king Cnut. She was the mother of a third king and great aunt to William the Conqueror.In fact, it was through her that William the Conqueror made his claims to England!I warn you, though, that this will be a book like The Titanic! You'll want to read ONLY so far and then you'll want to put it down and pretend that they all lived happily ever after...Having said that, I'll bet you won't be able to! Another harrowing yet deeply satisfying reading experience from this eminently talented author. Picking up quite close to where The Forever Queen leaves off, Hollick draws her readers into the complicated, hostile relationship between Harold and Swegn, Godwine's two eldest sons. Swegn is an unsavory character who causes all manner of grief for his family, and Harold is a warm, intelligent, sensible, and all-around nice guy who will eventually have the crown of England thrust upon him--and we all know how it will end for him. William of Normandy is an interesting, rather detestable character who, although he had absolutely no right to the English throne, changed the course of English history, and the author's afterword discusses the fact that all of the information we now have about that decisive battle of Hastings was provided by the Norman invaders, so we don't know what was real and what was invented. She also points out that "although William had himself crowned king, and while most of the male English aristocracy were replaced by Normans, the ordinary English--the Saxons--remained English. England was ruled by Normans but never became Norman--if that had happened, we would be speaking French, not English." A glorious set of books, for anyone who loves English history and can drop out of responsibility for a little while. Highly recommended.
Do You like book I Am The Chosen King (2011)?
I have enjoyed this book a lot, but now I think Harold is just about to P--- me off....
—SH100
Great story, but all the editing mistakes are REALLY distracting!
—Linzee
This was published in the UK as "Harold the King"
—jayjeezy
