Product Description

Based on fact, this is the story of William Marshal, the greatest knight of the Middle Ages, unsurpassed in the tourneys, adeptly manoeuvring through the colourful, dangerous world of Angevin politics to become one of the most powerful magnates of the realm and eventually regent of England. From minor beginnings and a narrow escape from death in childhood, William Marshal steadily rises through the ranks to become tutor in arms to the son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. A champion on the tourney field, William must face the danger and petty jealousy targeting a royal favourite. Dogged by scandal, banished from court, his services are nevertheless sought throughout Europe and when William's honour is vindicated, he returns to court and wins greater acclaim and power than before. A crusader and the only knight ever to unhorse the legendary Richard Coeur de Lion, William's courage and steadfastness are rewarded by the hand in marriage of Anglo-Irish heiress Isobel de Clare, 19 years old, the grandaughter of kings and his equal in every way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5758 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Review
'The best writer of mediaeval fiction currently around' Historirical Novel Review 'Elizabeth Chadwick knows exactly how to write convincing and compelling historical fiction' Marina Oliver

TIMES
`Robert Powell's narration . . . makes Elizabeth Chadwick's THE
GREATEST KNIGHT enthralling'

About the Author
Elizabeth Chadwick lives near Nottingham with her husband, two sons and assorted animals including cats, dog and guinea pigs. She is the author of 15 historical novels, four of which have been shortlisted for awards. Go to the author's website at www.elizabethchadwick.com

Customer Reviews

A page-turning insight into medieval character
A writer who only gets better with each book has now written a compelling novel about a charismatic and complex medieval knight whose life sheds light on a fascinating period in English history.

Chadwick writes novels that are steeped in accurate history but she never lectures the reader; never gives you facts just because she knows them. What she does is to illustrate through action and dialogue the truth of medieval life. Readers absorb historical fact by enjoying her storytelling and her characters, and finish her books with a greater understanding of the medieval world and mindset. Marshal was clearly a tough soldier and an astute politician. This novel also shows him to be honourable and caring: a man appreciative of the joys a loving wife and children can bring: a complicated and attractive mix of tough and tender. He is a man it's easy to fall for: I ached to know him.

William Marshal lived through tumultuous times, and this novel successfully weaves fiction with fact to bring to vivid life the precarious lifestyle and character of a man born with no advantages who used his physical and mental skills to live a rollercoaster of a life. His story would fill a thousand pages, and Chadwick has wisely chosen to tell just part of it in this novel. We leave him when he thinks his life in the public arena is coming to a close ... but there is promise that Chadwick might tell the 2nd part of his life in another novel, from the point of view of his intelligent wife, Isabelle. I can't wait.

THE GREATEST KNIGHT is an apt title: William Marshal led one of the most event-filled lives of all our medieval knights, yet is little known now. This book should change that. If, like me, you want to see his stone effigy and that of two of his 3 sons, visit the Temple Church in the City of London. It's hard to find, but the atmosphere in the old apse, with the stone effigies on the floor, is electric. My head was full of the novel when I visited and I'm sure I could feel his presence. But that was the skill of the author whose novel I had only just finished.

A rich tapestry of medieval life: from rags to riches- the life and times of William Marshal
The life of William Marshall is well known and the mere facts can be easily checked in his entry in the Complete Peerage. Re-creating the life of medieval personalities and medieval life in general is not easy and I very often find the medium of a novel the most helpful in this respect. Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Greatest Knight: The Story of William Marshal" is one of the very best I have read in so far. Her description of the life and times of William Marshal at the royal court of the Plantagenet is simply superb. The reader will be drawn into the story with page one and will only let go with the last page. Elizabeth Chadwick gives us a rich tapestry of medieval life and tells the story of the remarkable William Marshal kind of rags to riches story in a lively, colourful, sympathetic and intriguing way. She manages to re-created kings, queens, merchants or simple squires equally good and convincing. Fact and fiction mix in such a convincing manner. It is a mere pleasure to read this book and one can only recommend it.

William Marshal : man of honour
Ms Chadwick's novels entertain and educate. William Marshal comes alive through this novel and, for those of us who are not medieval scholars, some interesting knowledge of medieval life is gained along the way.

I enjoy Ms Chadwick's seamless blend of fact and fiction. The facts underpin a great story: the fiction enables a real man to emerge from the shadows of time. Balancing the two effectively is no mean feat.

Few real heroes have so engaged my attention in recent years, and Ms Chadwick herself is rapidly making the transition from 'good' author to 'great' author.

I want more!

Highly recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith