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katiescho741's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars.
This is a really good introduction to the period of history around the Norman Conquest. I mostly liked the writing style and the focus on the Norman kings was done well. There are a lot of people with the same name though, so it got a bit of a muddle to keep track of all the Henrys, Matildas and Williams!
The chapters on the White Ship, and the ones about how medieval people viewed the sea, were the most interesting. I never learnt much about the Norman kings in school, but they seem like a bit of a crazy bunch! So much partying, drinking, sex, cheating, torture, violence.
I know this is non-fiction, so the focus is on facts, but I wish there had been a bit more about the "What If" aspect of the story of The White Ship. We see how things went when it sank, but what if it hadn't? Or what if Aetheling had survived?
The book dipped in interest for me in the later sections about the Anarchy and Stephen's reign in general, but that could have been because I already knew a bit about Henry II's rise to the throne.
Overall, an interesting read if you like your Medieval history.
This is a really good introduction to the period of history around the Norman Conquest. I mostly liked the writing style and the focus on the Norman kings was done well. There are a lot of people with the same name though, so it got a bit of a muddle to keep track of all the Henrys, Matildas and Williams!
The chapters on the White Ship, and the ones about how medieval people viewed the sea, were the most interesting. I never learnt much about the Norman kings in school, but they seem like a bit of a crazy bunch! So much partying, drinking, sex, cheating, torture, violence.
I know this is non-fiction, so the focus is on facts, but I wish there had been a bit more about the "What If" aspect of the story of The White Ship. We see how things went when it sank, but what if it hadn't? Or what if Aetheling had survived?
The book dipped in interest for me in the later sections about the Anarchy and Stephen's reign in general, but that could have been because I already knew a bit about Henry II's rise to the throne.
Overall, an interesting read if you like your Medieval history.
xaviersbookmark68's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
I have learnt a lot from this book about The White Ship sinking, I think perhaps that I won't retain a lot of the details as this book is full of them and I would need to study them in detail. However I did enjoy reading it and it enlighten me about a period in history I knew very little about. I think this is one only for history buffs
mafm22's review against another edition
3.0
The back cover blurb is pretty overdone.
If the ship didn’t sink, more or less the same drama would have happened, only the details would have differed.
But was worth the time spent reading it.
Not that different to the accursed kings books.
Actually, going to say three stars. The accursed kings is more fun.
If the ship didn’t sink, more or less the same drama would have happened, only the details would have differed.
But was worth the time spent reading it.
Not that different to the accursed kings books.
Actually, going to say three stars. The accursed kings is more fun.