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| About the Book |
Two men. One crown. The story of the events that led to the year 1066, the most famous date in English History.
England, 1044. Harold Godwinesson, a young, respected earl, falls in love with an ordinary but beautiful woman. In Normandy, William, the bastard son of a duke, falls in love with power.
In 1066 England falls vulnerable to the fate of these two men: one, chosen to be a king, the other, determined to take, by force, what he desires.
Risking his life to defend his kingdom from foreign invasion, Harold II led his army into the great Battle of Hastings in October 1066 with all the honour and dignity that history remembers of its fallen heroes.
In this beautifully crafted tale, Helen Hollick sets aside the propaganda of the Norman Conquest and brings to life the English version of the story of the man who was the last Anglo-Saxon king, revealing his tender love, determination and proud loyalty, all to be shattered by the desire for a crown – by one who had no right to wear it.
“Hollick constructs a magnificent epic in this unabashedly pro-Saxon recounting of a turning point in English history. Thanks to masterful storytelling, Harold's nobility and heroism enthral to the point of engendering hope for a different ending to the famous battle of 1066.” Publishers Weekly
“Whether the events described actually happened is unimportant, that the reader feels instinctively that they could have happened is the sign of a superior novel. This is a fabulous read and one to be recommended unreservedly – even to committed ‘Williamites’. If only all historical fiction could be this good." Historical Novel Society Reviews
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| Read An Excerpt |
Harold watched almost dispassionately as the tidal wave of men rolled forward again. The front line of cavalry and infantry were protected with high-held shields; archers were placed at the rear. Slower on this occasion, not tiring themselves, respecting the disrupted state of the ground, the slope of the hill and their own exhaustion, the Normans trundled nearer. It would take a while for them to reach the top – could something be done to slow them more?
“He is a formidable man.” Harold admitted to his personal bodyguard. “And a rare one, for he uses his brain to seek solutions to a problem. Pass word that we will at last require our archers – set them to the front – but they are to be ready to step back as soon as the line is approached. The shield wall must be held!”
The abuse hurled by the English
was as searing as any barbed arrow,
but words could not maim or
injure, unlike the hail of missiles that was propelled
downwards. Arrows first, then
anything that could be thrown. Clods of turf, severed limbs, dead men’s boots. The head of a horse, even apple cores and empty ale skins.
Anything, everything to deflect the attention
of the Norman ranks. A man would duck his head, raise his shield arm at something that flew through the
air from a waiting battle line. It might only be the harmless,
shrivelled core of an apple, but it could be a dagger blade…The Norman advance shook, but only briefly; it
came onwards. The English
reset their shields, braced their legs and shoulders, and waited.
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| Part of the battlefield as it is today |
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| where the English shield wall stood |
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The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries set in the 1970s |
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| The story of the events that led to The Battle of Hastings in 1066 Harold the King (UK edition) I Am The Chosen King (US edition) 1066 Turned Upside Down an anthology of 'What If'' tales |
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| The Forever Queen (US edition) a USA TODAY BESTSELLER A Hollow Crown (UK edition) |
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THE PENDRAGON's BANNER TRILOGY |
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| US editions |
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Historical Stories of Exile by 13 popular authors Cryssa Bazos, Anna Belfrage, Elizabeth Chadwick, Cathie Dunn, J.G. Harlond, Helen Hollick, Loretta Livingstone, Amy Maroney Alison Morton, Charlene Newcomb, Elizabeth St.John, Marian L Thorpe, Annie Whitehead. With an introduction by Deborah Swift |
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| Amazon: FREE ebook! |
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Agh! Boy, did I cry when I read your Harold... (I'm starting to feel a bit teary-eyed just thinking about it)
ReplyDelete_SO_ hard to write it! I had meant to write a few more chapters about the aftermath - couldn't do it.
DeleteFabulous excerpt -- such an immersive depiction of war in Harold's time. I was there!
ReplyDelete