I first read this book, oh gosh, maybe thirty years ago. In fact, it was the very first book I ever ready about the Plantagenets, and one of the first I ever read about the middle ages. What a good choice! His writing style is so smooth (I guess you would call him Popular History) that the book almost reads like a novel. This is a good thing for a history novice. I gobbled up the rest of the series, and I think his interpretations latched into my memory as the definite versions of events. This is the reason I picked him up again; by now I consider myself pretty well versed in the period, and I wanted to see if his books carried the same "punch" they did on the first reading. Amazingly, they do!Volume one starts essentially with the Matilda vs. Stephen civil war, which leads naturally to Henry II; it ends with the death of King John. Even though I have read many books about my favorite king (which interest was launched, I admit, by "The Lion In Winter"), I still found Costain's descriptions entertaining, and at times original to me. For instance, leading up to the death of Becket: "Before the performance of high mass Thomas a Becket preached in the chapter house...He made it clear that he knew the fate in store for him. With great emotion he referred to the death of Alfege, the primate who had been killed by the Danes, and when he said, 'There will soon be another,' people laid their heads in their hands and sobbed. The backs of the monks in the choir shook with the grief which filled them." To be literal, I suppose Costain couldn't have possibly known whether the backs of the monks shook with grief, but such imagery makes a scene stick in the mind of a reader, and his books are full of this kind of writing. I had forgotten that Becket predicted his end in front of so many witnesses, and little details like this appear frequently.Admittedly this account is somewhat general, but I think this is to be expected when reading an overview. For instance, in referring to the squabbles Henry II had with his sons, "There was so much switching of sides and betraying of allies that to recite the whole sequence of events would be repititious and would, moreover, serve no useful purpose." On the other hand, he went into detail describing Henry's last humiliating meeting with King Philip of France, who forced him to agree to a long list of demands. Finally: "He had given in and accepted these debasing terms without a protest. His spirit was so broken, in fact, that he said nothing when Geoffrey ordered his squires to lift him from the saddle and place him in a litter." Off to Chinon and the final humiliation of seeing John's name on the top of the list of conspirators. So I would venture to say that Costain would pick and choose the tastiest tidbits to include, but he tied them all together very cleanly.In the end, it seems he couldn't resist a little moralizing, and essentially concluded that the Norman invasion was a good thing for the country (in the long run). I could have lived without that! However, there are three more books in the series and I have every intention of continuing the story of my favorite dynasty. There are more "facts" I am clinging to that I need to uncover... something about Richard II. But more on that, later!
Originally published in 1949, Thomas Costain's Conquering Family is a history of Henry II and his family. It is the first volume in a series about the Plantagenet Dynasty and is told from a wonderfully British perspective. The work discusses the succession problems created when Henry I's son died in the White Ship crash. He continues through the death of that famously hated king, John. Costain uses his British style to introduce readers to the Plantagenet's with detail and an entertaining voice. For example, in describing Richard the Loinheart: Richard was always the knight, never the king. The author also addresses court rumor and works to help readers distinguish fact and fiction. However, because the book has an older publication date there are a few things that historians have discovered in the past 60 years. It seems history is always coming to light. One example of this is Henry II's illegitimate son, William. New research has discovered William is not Rosamund's son-- the child of one of Henry's other mistresses, Ida. Throughout the work, the author provides useful asides. For example, he gives a good description of Strongbow's conquest of Ireland, the Robin Hood Legend and the life of a villen during the period. These details help paint a picture of the times beyond just what was happening to the Plantagenet dynasty. One aspect that maybe tough for new readers to this period of history are the author's speculations. Every once in while he adds his own opinion of events. I enjoyed his ideas, however, people less well versed in the period my be confused and take his musings as fact. As long as you give the book a close reading, I don't think readers will be confused. I was reading this concurrent with The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones. Jones' book is more recent (2013) but Constain's book is much better, more entertaining and readable. Over and over I found myself wishing I was reading Costain's when I was reading Jones'. Finally, I had the extra treat of listening to Conquering Family on audio and the narrator David Case does a wonderful job. His voice, accent, and timing add a lot to the book!
Do You like book The Conquering Family (1994)?
this one surprised me. it had been on my shelf forever, it had taken me forever to find. old-school historical fiction is no longer in print after all. right off the bat i started wondering why in the world i would like this book. the writing is dry, the style is scholarly english gentleman (who i envision composing this in a huge jane austen like library), a few exclamation points were used, all in all it read more like a textbook than novel. but i "really liked it" as goodreads terms 4 stars and it definitely had me researching the entire plantagenet and tudor line on wikipedia. yes, all of it. it took hours. but im still fascinated.
—cindy
I saw the original edition going for $178.00 on Amazon . . . good thing I still have my original boxed set of 4 vol. I bought from BOTMC years ago! If I'm hard up for cash . . . I can always put mine up for auction . . ;-)
—Dawn (& Ron)
This is a good history, if somewhat lacking in historiography. What I mean by that is that it relates the story of the historical events, and remains accurate to the information of the time, but may delve into speculation and elaboration upon occasion based upon the author's suppositions and conjectures. In this case, only educated opinions are offered up by the author, though they may not be entirely as logical and certain as the author might suggest. Readers should be particularly wary of sentences that contain the words "must have" or "can only" in them....Nonetheless, it makes for an entertaining read, and a nice overview for those looking to get a solid presentation of several generations of English rulers. I'll more than likely be checking out other books in the series, as Costain's description of dynasty and the personalities of royals, as well as those close to them, provides a neat "big picture" of British history.
—Gary Foss
