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Book Review: “The Norman Conquest” by Marc Morris

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Norman Conquest Book Cover

I have several books written by Marc Morris on my “to read” shelf and hadn’t managed to read any of them until now. In my quest to read French history this summer I picked up this book. The subject is all the more interesting because it combines French history with English history and what could be better than that? Another reason I was interested is I’ve always wondered how William Duke of Normandy prepared for the conquest. What actually went into the planning of the expedition?

I have to start out by saying Morris’ writing style is really tremendous. His prose is fluid and easily understandable. He has closely studied all the conflicting sources and made comparisons to arrive at this own conclusions. This is historical detective work at its best.

The early chapters cover the period of Anglo-Saxon history before William arrives. Here we meet Aethelred the Unready, Queen of Emma of Normandy, King Cnut, Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot, Edward the Confessor, Queen Edith of Wessex and the powerful Earl Godwine and King Harold. These historical characters are so compelling I just can’t read enough about them. Morris sets up the scene here for the big battle.

My search for William’s preparation plans has been fulfilled. Morris goes into great detail on how William persuaded the Pope to back his mission, how he gathered an army of followers with promises of great rewards, his search for a naval flotilla to take the army to England and how he provisioned the troops. Morris also describes how King Harold kept vigil awaiting the invasion, then stood down only being forced to gather his army again to fight against an invasion by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and his own brother Tostig Godwineson. Three weeks later William invaded and King Harold was defeated at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066.

Based on what little information there is on Hastings, Morris does an excellent job of describing the battle itself. The rest of the book recounts the reign of the Conqueror and how it affected England on a political and social level. Morris tells of the rebellions William had to suppress in England and in Normandy along with the dysfunctional dynamics of his own family. Morris is very fair in describing the good points and the bad points of William’s personality and style of medieval government and how devastating and transformative his conquest was on Anglo-Saxon England.

I really enjoyed the description of how William ordered the Domesday Survey in England, how writing it was accomplished and what the purpose of the survey entailed. This was new information for me and very informative. I cannot recommend this book enough. And now I must read more of Morris’ work!

Book Review: “Golden Age Ladies” by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

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Golden Age ladies book cover

The subtitle of this book is “Women Who Shaped the Courts of Henry VIII and Francis I”. Since I’m interested in women and Tudor and French history, I had to read it! England and France have a significantly entwined history. The book doesn’t disappoint as it has a panoply of women, explaining how their stories are all interrelated.

All the important women of these two courts make an appearance. Soberton gives us a list of characters for France and England along with genealogical tables. Interestingly, she starts out with Louise of Savoy, mother of King Francis I who learned statecraft from the formidable Anne de Beaujeu. Now here is a woman who witnessed so much history. The devoted mother of King Francis and his sister Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, Louise virtually ran the government of France while her son whiled away his time pursuing pleasures such as the hunt, women and warfare. Louise’s shining moment came when the Ladies Peace of Cambrai was negotiated in 1529 between her and her sister-in-law Margaret of Savoy, Regent of the Netherlands. The two women single-handedly brokered peace between France and the Habsburg Empire and Louise secured the release of her grandsons who had been held hostage. A marriage between King Francis and the Holy Roman Emperor’s sister Eleanor was part of the Ladies Peace. Her sad story is also included here.

Along with Louise and her daughter, we meet Queen Anne of Brittany and Claude de Valois and her many daughters, some of whom died and some who became Queen’s themselves, such as Madeleine de Valois. Interwoven with the lives of these French women are those from the court of King Henry VIII of England. Henry’s sister Mary married King Louis XII of France. Although she was queen for a few months, she went on to make a love match with her brother’s best friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

Soberton gives us a description of the grand summit of The Field of the Cloth of Gold where Queen Catherine of Aragon met Queen Claude. Of course Anne Boleyn plays a significant role in the book as she spent time with Margaret of Savoy at her court in Mechelen and also worked as a lady-in-waiting for Queen Claude. In fact, Soberton gives us an economical description of all of Henry’s wives.

Soberton gives us many descriptions and small glimpses of personal moments in these women’s lives. This is what I liked best about the book. She has obviously done her research. There are photographs and a nice select bibliography if you are interested in more information. I found this book fun to read and enjoyed all the interconnecting stories. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: “Paris: The Secret History” by Andrew Hussey

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Paris the Secret History book cover

This title really intrigued me. Paris is a magnetic city just in its own right. To imagine there was a secret history was too tempting to pass up. In my ongoing effort to refresh my French history knowledge before my trip to France, I began reading.

Hussey mentions in the introduction his intention in writing this book is to emulate the work of Peter Ackroyd’s “London: A Biography”. Ackroyd’s book is splendid so this was a good sign. The first chapter covers Prehistory to the year 987 AD. I found this section most interesting. Paris was started basically on the small, swampy islands in the Seine. He talks about how the city, then known as Lutetia, was inhabited by the Franks and the Romans. The Romans built a wall around the city and it became a trading center. Next, in this chapter and in every one after, Hussey gives small tidbits of history that might not be as well known by the average reader, the so-called secrets of the city. One of the highlights in this first chapter is the death by beheading of St. Denis on Montmartre, making the name of the hill self-explanatory.

In the medieval section, Hussey give us a colorful array of characters, talking about the ordinary people. Sections include, lovers and scholars, students and streetfighters, poets, saints and thieves. In fact, the entire book is filled with details about average everyday people down to the present day. The history of Paris is filled with robbers, gypsies, drunkards, beggars as well as the nobility, merchants and the bourgeoisie. There’s a lot of information on artists, writers, poets and students and how they shaped the politics of the city over the millennia. If social history is your cup of tea, you will enjoy this aspect of the book.

Hussey obviously knows and loves the city well. He gives us details about many of the neighborhoods, even down to who and what kind of people lived on certain streets. The book has many drawings, maps and photos showing us the boundaries of the city over the years. One of the first things that struck me as I began reading this book is that it is really well written. Everything he writes is very clear with no grammatical or typographical errors. It was just a joy to read. If you are interested in French history and Paris in particular, I can heartily recommend this book.

Book Review: “Jane the Quene” by Janet Wertman

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Jane the Queen book cover

There are many readers who enjoy historical fiction from the Tudor era. I used to be one of them and have many fond memories of reading the delightful books of Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts. Due to the constraints of historical research, I haven’t read any fiction for years. But I thought I would make an exception for my friend Janet Wertman and read the first book of her Seymour Saga.

What a delight this book is! Wertman’s premise is that Jane Seymour was the plain sister in the family and all she really wanted was to get married. The story opens with Jane working as a lady-in-waiting for Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII and the Queen are about to go on summer progress. Jane is sent to the family home of Wulfhall to oversee the preparations for the King’s visit. While Henry VIII is there, he and Jane have a moment in the garden and that’s where Jane’s romance begins.

Jane’s prospects improve from that moment on. Wertman includes all the iconic moments in Jane’s life. There’s the day Anne Boleyn caught Henry with Jane in his lap and the famous scene where Henry tries to give Jane a bag of coins and a letter. Jane refuses the gifts with great aplomb. I love Wertman’s dialogue throughout the book. All the famous characters from the Tudor court are here: Jane’s brothers Edward and Tom, her sister-in-law Anne Seymour, her sister Elizabeth, Thomas Cromwell, Ralph Sadler, the notorious Anne Boleyn and of course, Henry VIII in all his royal splendor.

The scenes of the birth of Jane’s son Edward and her death as written are very vivid and moving. There’s a lot of insight into what Jane, Edward Seymour, King Henry and Thomas Cromwell are thinking, their behavior and their motivations. This book took me back to those Jean Plaidy days. I think any reader would enjoy the book and highly recommend it. I’ll be looking forward to the rest of the Seymour Saga from Janet.

Book Review: “Paris, 1200” by John W. Baldwin

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Paris 1200 book cover

I love French medieval history so this book looked like it was right up my alley. John W. Baldwin is Charles Homer Haskins Professor Emeritus of History at Johns Hopkins University and has written many books on French history. This particular book was originally published in French in 2006. It was so popular, Stanford University Press decided to publish it in English in 2010.

Using sources only for the years 1190 to 1210 gives Baldwin a laser like focus on this seminal year. Construction of Notre Dame and the great wall of King Philip Augustus was underway. Pope Innocent III put the royal domains under interdict in January because the king had tried to put aside his lawful wife, Ingeborg of Denmark. This uncomfortable state of affairs for the ordinary people lasted for nine months. The churches were closed, no weddings or burials were performed, no mass was celebrated and no confession was allowed. King Philip made an important treaty with King John of England and the students of Paris threatened to go on general strike to protest infringements of their rights.

Baldwin gives us an interesting perspective on certain personalities of this time period such as the bourgeoisie who played a role in the king’s government, the working poor, the prostitutes, the king, Pierre the Chanter who directed the choir of Notre Dame and other women of the city. He tells us how the city was provisioned, who the merchants were, the use of currency and credit, and how trade was imperative to the economy of the city and France. There is an important chapter on the government of Philip Augustus. Before he went on Crusade, he set up a bureaucracy to rule in his absence and to collect taxes which was very successful.

Other sections of the book deal with the church, clergy and religious life and on the operation of the schools in the city. The details Baldwin gives on the schools is fascinating. He has gleaned from the documents who the teachers were, the subject matter they taught and what books they used. He even tells us who the students were, how they lived and especially how they got into a lot of trouble.

A final chapter deals with everyday life of the people of Paris. Baldwin gives details about the festivals people celebrated, how they worshiped at Christmas, the tournaments of the aristocracy, the joys of marriage, entertainment such as jongleurs and music, how the people spoke and swore and the art of love. All of this is very intriguing and really gives a feel for how people lived in the era.

There are some great photos in the book. Included are miniatures from illuminated manuscripts depicting everyday life and how the clergy lived and worshiped. There are photos of Notre Dame and a diagram of its choir. There is a map of Paris from 1200 and other maps and tables. I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: “Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty” by Lacey Baldwin Smith

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Lacey Baldwin Smith's Mask of Royalty book cover

When I was a history major in college, probably in my senior year, I took my first psychology course. Psychology turned out to be a fascinating subject and made me think about how it could be applied to history. The thought of a course in psycho-history crossed my mind but unfortunately my school didn’t offer such a course! Little did I know at the time Lacey Baldwin Smith was writing his seminal work on King Henry VIII and that is was a masterful psycho-history biography.

Many people had recommended this book to me and it was gripping from the very first chapter. Smith begins with the dying king secluded in his chamber and describes the loyal servants around him and their behavior. As many Tudor history fans know, there may have been some shenanigans during the king’s fateful final illness, especially regarding his will. Smith explains that Henry had his full faculties up until the end, perhaps blissfully ignoring the fact he was dying. But we do know there were changes made to the will and it wasn’t signed by the king’s hand but with a dry stamp. All this is very intriguing.

The book then goes into flashback so to speak to around the time Henry married Catherine Howard and most of the book recounts the years from 1540 until his death in 1547. Smith explains how Henry was given an in-depth humanist education but he certainly wasn’t the most intelligent man at court. What he was good at was remembering many minute details of all the business of governing of the realm. There are many records with Henry’s own notes written by hand that still exist to this day.

There is a most interesting chapter regarding Henry and his thinking as Supreme Head of the Church in England. Henry’s conscience was responsible for the spiritual life of all his subjects. Smith gives us a most interesting insight into what a precarious position this was for Henry and how this affected his view of the church in his kingdom. Smith examines some of the foreign policy of Henry in the later years recounting the delicate dance of power between the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King François I of France.

Woven throughout Smith’s narration is how Henry’s psychological perspective and views of his place in the world influenced his reign. His insights go a long way in explaining why he did what he did in making decisions, marrying so many times and executing valuable servants. I found all of Smith’s arguments to be very absorbing and they gave me a deep understanding of not just Henry but the mindset of Tudor England overall. I couldn’t put this book down and was sad when I finished it. I can’t recommend it enough. Any reader will definitely have a better understanding of the standout king and his reign.

Book Review: “The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: A Tudor Tragedy” by Leanda de Lisle

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The Sisters Who Would Be Queen book cover

Several years ago I read a fascinating biography of Lady Jane Grey, known as the Nine Days Queen. It was written by Eric Ives and the subtitle of the book was “A Tudor Mystery”. So little is known about Jane who was a key personality in the Tudor era. I knew even less about Jane’s sisters Katherine and Mary. So when I found this book I was intrigued.

Since Ives has written a complete work on Jane, this book doesn’t really give much additional information about her. However, the information on Katherine and Mary here gives a complete picture of their lives. All these women were technically in line to inherit the throne of England based on the will of King Henry VIII and then the revisions made by King Edward VI. Edward really put these women in the spotlight, essentially putting their lives in danger, especially Jane.

Jane was used as pawn by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Just before King Edward died, Northumberland married Jane to his own son Guildford. When Edward finally died, Northumberland had Jane and his son proclaimed Queen and King. This state of affairs only lasted about ten days, until Edward’s sister Princess Mary proclaimed herself Queen and forced Jane and Guildford to become prisoners in the Tower. Jane was beheaded a few months later.

Katherine’s story is for me the most fascinating. She managed to marry a Seymour in secret without the Queen’s permission. Even more interesting, she managed to have a son. After this, Queen Elizabeth I had Katherine held prisoner in the Tower along with her husband. They were allowed to see each other while incarcerated and Katherine managed to have another son! This led to the couple being separated and Katherine died an unfortunate death a few years later. De Lisle discloses in this book that there is a first-hand account of Katherine’s death and as it’s written here, it’s very emotional reading.

The last sister Mary managed to live the most conventional life of the three women but that’s putting it mildly. She was born deformed and was a very small person. But this probably saved her life because she wasn’t seen as a serious threat to the throne because of it. She married without the Queen’s permission like her sister and was also separated from her husband. He eventually died and Mary was able to carve out a living for herself as a comfortable widow.

All this makes for a fascinating story and de Lisle does a good job here recounting the lives of the three women. I have to admit her grammar and syntax drove me a little batty and sometimes she had me wondering if I was reading historical fiction or not. But it’s a pleasant book and I would recommend it if you are interested in the subject.

Book Review: “French Musketeer 1622-1775” by René Chartrand

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French Musketeers book cover

Who doesn’t love the Musketeers? Ever since the French writer Alexandre Dumas, père wrote his series of historical novels in the 19th Century, people have followed the adventures of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis and their intrepid valets in books and movies. But were these men just characters in a book or did they really exist? Did the Musketeers really duel and fight amongst themselves? Did they actually fight in wars? And what were their uniforms really like? What sort of equipment was issued to them?

This book from Osprey Publishing answers this and many more questions. Chartrand gives an overall history of the various units of the Musketeers. They fought on horseback and on foot in numerous wars as well as fulfilling their duty as bodyguards for the King. The chief ministers of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin had their own companies of Musketeers. Chartrand says there were many instances of duels being fought between the Kings’ and the Cardinals’ Musketeers. So the duel scenes in the stories have a basis in fact.

There is a chapter in the book regarding the fighting of the Musketeers in sieges, battles and wars. They also performed secret missions for the king. The book is filled with colorful illustrations by Graham Turner as well as copies of various prints and paintings depicting Musketeers from the different eras of their existence. A great deal of the book explains the costume and the equipment of the soldiers and how it changed over time. Also included are a chronology, a list of ranks, a glossary of terms and a bibliography.

The information I found most interesting is the historical basis for the characters in Dumas’ novels. Dumas found a copy of a book which was the basis for all of his stories. It was published in 1700 and called “Memoirs of Mr. D’Artagnan, Captain-Lieutenant of the First Company of the King’s Musketeers, concerning a quantity of private and secret events that occurred during the reign of Louis the Great”, written by Gatien de Courtiz de Sandras. Sandras had been a King’s Musketeer for eighteen years. Chartrand explains that Dumas’ characters of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis are actually based on real men who served in some form or another as Musketeers or soldiers in other units. Sandras may have met the “real” D’Artagnan at some point so his memoirs possibly contain some actual facts of his life. Of course Dumas used artistic license and fictionalized many aspects of their lives.

I distinctly remember seeing the movie version of “The Three Musketeers” from 1973. My college library had a fabulous collection of most of Dumas’ work in old volumes that had been bound in new covers. I read every book I could get my hands on, devouring them. Not only are they entertaining reading but they give the basic outline of French history during the Renaissance and early modern period. So reading this book was a lot of fun and brought back good memories and I enjoyed the illustrations.

Book Review: “Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile” by Julia Fox

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Sister Queens book cover

In the never-ending quest to discover if Juana of Castile was really mad or not, I picked up a copy of this book to read. Having read plenty of biographies of Katherine of Aragon, I wasn’t as interested in this part of the story but Fox does present Katherine in a slightly different light which is always refreshing. But I have to confess, as I was reading the beginning of this book I became a little annoyed. It’s not really a serious biography of these two women at all.

My recent reading has been of more thoughtful biographies and analyses of history such as Bethany Aram’s “Juana the Mad” so Fox’s book seemed on the simplistic side. It reads more like historical fiction. However, that being said, the deeper I got into the book, the better I liked it. There are some great descriptions of certain events in Tudor history with some wonderful detail, essentially bringing the events to life. The recounting of the death of Katherine is really moving.

There could have been a lot more about Juana in this book but I understand why there isn’t. Juana’s time in public life was short having spent the majority of her later years in custody. And we don’t really know that much about how she actually felt or what is accurate according to the chroniclers who wrote according to their own personal agendas. I think Fox is more than fair to Juana in being somewhat neutral and not describing her as a raging lunatic.

After saying all this, I’m still going to recommend this book because Katherine and Juana are still captivating historical characters. Tudor history lovers will find it interesting and those who want to learn a little more about the sisters’ upbringing in Spain and basic facts about Juana will enjoy it.

Book Review: “Louis XI: The Universal Spider” by Paul Murray Kendall

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Louis XI book cover

King Louis XI of France has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve been researching his daughter Anne de Beaujeu who was de facto King of France after the death of her father when she acted as regent for her teenage brother King Charles VIII. She’s a very interesting character, a formidable woman who was very much like her father.

Some time ago I was browsing the used book section of biographies at our locally owned bookstore and just by chance there was a copy of this book on the shelf. I knew nothing about Louis other than he was called “The Spider King” and wove webs of diplomacy around Europe during his reign. So I said, okay, I’ll bite as the price was good. Admittedly the book stayed on my shelf for several years before an interest in Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy arose. Margaret’s husband, Charles the Bold, was the sworn enemy of Louis XI. I needed to know more.

Imagine my delight when I started reading this book! I couldn’t put it down. Louis rebelled against his father, King Charles VII at the age of sixteen and was at odds with him until the day Charles died. The Battle of Montlhéry and the defection of the Count of Maine at the critical point of the battle was riveting. The siege of Beauvais and the bravery of the heroine Jeanne Hachette caught my attention. Louis’ marriage to Margaret Stewart was a disaster. Louis conspired with Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and Queen Margaret of Anjou to restore King Henry VI to the English throne. It’s impossible to make this stuff up.

Kendall relied completely on primary sources, some of which had just become available when he wrote the book and he quotes them liberally. He poured over the sources with a fine toothed comb and really gives us an in depth view of Louis’ character. Admittedly Kendall is an apologist for Louis who had a bit of a bad reputation while he lived and well after he died. But it didn’t matter. With taking this into account, the history of his reign is fantastic reading in and of itself. Louis appears to have had a great sense of humor and the way Kendall describes him makes me wish I could have met him.

Paul Murray Kendall was Professor of English Literature at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and spent several years in Europe doing research for his books. He was the editor of “Dispatches with Related Documents of Milanese Ambassadors in France and Burgundy, 1450-1483, Vol. I and Vol. II: 1450-1460”. A good deal of his biography of Louis came from these works as the Milanese ambassadors lived at Louis’ court. It took Kendall thirteen years to write this book and it was originally published in 1971. Kendall died in 1973. The volume I purchased was a republished paperback edition issued in 2001, the thirtieth anniversary of its original publication.

This edition has a nice section of pictures along with several appendices. These include a genealogical table and a list of rulers and principal lords which is a sort of cast of characters for the time period. There is a preface written by Kendall’s daughter. If anyone choses to read this book, be sure to read the notes. Kendall admits he didn’t have space in the narrative for some of this information so he left it for the notes. I believe this book is out of print but it may be available from a re-seller or in a campus or public library. I highly recommend it if you can find a copy.