Book Review: To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick

To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick
Book 5 in the William Marshall series & Book 2 in the Bigod series

ARC, Paperback, 544 pages

Sourcebooks Landmark

March 1, 2011

★★★★★

Genre: Medieval Historical Fiction

Source: Received from publisher for review

The adored and spirited daughter of England’s greatest knight, Mahelt Marshal lives a privileged life. But when her beloved father falls foul of the volatile and dangerous King John, her world is shattered. The king takes her brothers hostage and Mahelt’s planned marriage to Hugh Bigod, son of the Earl of Norfolk, takes place sooner than she expected. Mahelt and Hugh come to care for each other deeply, but Hugh’s strict father clashes with the rebellious Mahelt. When more harsh demands from King John threaten to tear the couple’s lives apart, Mahelt finds herself facing her worst fears alone, not knowing if she—or her marriage—will survive. 

A brilliant story of a vibrant woman in a tyrant’s world, To Defy a King is another impeccably researched masterpiece from a beloved author.

After reading four of Elizabeth Chadwick’s books I don’t think that there is anything she can do wrong in writing this genre. The characters are wonderful – fleshed out, individual, not stereotypical and graceful. The blend of action scenes and emotional scenes are well balanced. You come away from each of these books wanting more!

To Defy a King is no exception to the above. Even though most of the characters and many of the major events have been present in some way in several of her other books, Elizabeth Chadwick has a way of making them feel fresh and new each time. This is a wonderful quality because you still feel like the characters are familiar but you are getting a new take on them and their world. A perfect case in point – my feelings toward Roger Bigod are very different in To Defy a King than in For the King’s Favor. In King’s Favor, I loved Roger – I thought his romance with Ida was sweet and he was determined to preserve what was his. In To Defy a King I found that his character frustrated me because he seemed to have lost part of what I had loved about him – his connection with his wife. I also loved getting to see more of the Marshall brood – still from an insider perspective, from Mehelt, but she becomes a little of an estranged insider. It was also wonderful to see more of William Longspee – I enjoyed getting to see him grow up in King’s Favor and now we get to see more of his interaction with his half-brothers and how he grows into a man.

Elizabeth Chadwick really knows how to make believable relationships between her characters. I really loved watching the development of the relationship between Mehelt and Hugh. She was a very young girl when they first met and he was several years older. Seeing what they think of each other as time goes on was interesting. The way their relationship unfolds felt so true - even in regard to modern relationships, although we don’t get married quite so young. There is love, passion, frustration, anger, forgiveness, and acceptance.

The author is phenomenal at creating vivid scenes for the reader. When you are reading you will be completely swallowed up by the world and feel that you are right there too. The smells, sounds and visual stimuli are front and center in her writing.

I don’t think I can put in writing how much I enjoy reading these books. These characters are not just people created in an imagination; they feel like flesh and blood.  This book is now my second favorite of the 4 - but I don't think anything will top The Greatest Knight for me.  I’m not sure what the next USA release will be, I think Lady of the English comes out in September, but regardless of what it is I can’t wait to read it!

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

You can also watch the book trailer below.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers: 

• Bookworm’s Dinner
• The Burton Book Review

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Elizabeth Chadwick

Elizabeth Chadwick has written many wonderful novels, among those in the William Marshall and Bigod series’ are:

A Place Beyond Courage (Marshall Book 1)
[My Review]


The Greatest Knight (Marshall Book 2)
[My Review]

The Scarlet Lion (Marshall Book 3)
[My Review]

For the King’s Favor (Marshall Book 4; Bigod Book 1)
AKA. A Time For Singing
[My Review]

My reviews of other Chadwick novels:

• Shadows and Strongholds
• The Lady of the English
• The Summer Queen

Find Elizabeth Chadwick: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blogs


 
Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court 

Book Review: For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick

For the King’s Favor by Elizabeth Chadwick

AKA – The Time of Singing (UK version)
Book 4 in the William Marshall Series

ARC, Paperback, 544 pages

Sourcebooks Landmark

August 5, 2010

★★★★★

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from Publisher for Review

When Roger Bigod arrives at King Henry II’s court to settle a bitter inheritance dispute, he becomes enchanted with Ida de Tosney, young mistress to the powerful king. A victim of Henry’s seduction and the mother of his son, Ida sees in Roger a chance to begin a new life. But Ida pays an agonizing price when she leaves the king, and as Roger’s importance grows and he gains and earldom, their marriage comes under increasing strain. Based on the true story of a royal mistress and the young lord she chose to marry, For the King’s Favor is Elizabeth Chadwick at her best.”

This was another awesome read for me and another fantastic book by Elizabeth Chadwick.

Prior to this, the only other Chadwick books that I have read are The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion – both about William Marshall and his family. For the King’s Favor went right along with these previous two in a way. This book is about Ida de Tosney and Roger Bigod, who were friends with the Marshall’s and would also marry one of their children to one of the Marshall’s children. This was a great next book for me because it built on the stories that I already knew and followed the historical events that I was previously exposed to, but I had the opportunity to look at from a different perspective. It was great to see William Marshall pop in from time to time or hear Roger talk about things that were happening to William that I had see in depth in the previous books. It was like visiting an old friend that I had sorely missed since March when I read The Scarlet Lion.

I really enjoyed the way this story was constructed – you would bounce back and forth between Roger’s story and Ida’s story – especially before they were married. You would get to see Ida’s life at Henry II’s court and then Roger trying to save the lands that were his from his thieving step-mother and step-brothers. After they were married the stories unified some but there were times when they were apart and you would again get to see the different sides to the story. One of the most intriguing characters for me in this story was actually young William Longspee, son of Ida and Henry. There were a few times when he would get to tell his story and it was fascinating to see how he saw the world. He mostly learned about his mother through the stories of others, so it was interesting to see how the opinions of people can really shape how someone sees you. I also really liked the dynamic that grew between him and Roger. There is one scene toward the end of the book that really brings most of the characters of the story together that I found was just an awesome culmination (but I won’t give it away – when you read it you will know exactly what I’m talking about).

I loved this book for all the same reasons that I enjoyed The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion. It is actually really hard for me to differentiate how I feel about these books – but I loved them all!

I can’t wait to read her other books that tie into the Marshall-Bigod stories – A Place Beyond Courage (UK release - about William Marshall’s father) and To Defy a King (about William’s daughter, Mahelt, and Roger’s son, Hugh).

You can read an excerpt from this book (well, actually from the printing of The Time For Singing, but it's virtually the same).  Also, below is the book trailer:

 

 

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Rundpinne
• Devourer of Books

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barenes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Elizabeth Chadwick:

Elizabeth Chadwick has written many wonderful novels, among those in the William Marshall series are:

A Place Beyond Courage (Book 1)
[My Review]

The Greatest Knight (Book 2)
[My Review]

The Scarlet Lion (Book 3)
[My Review]

To Defy a King (Book 5)
[My Review]

You can find a complete list of Chadwick novels here.

I have also reviewed the following other novels by Elizabeth Chadwick:

• Shadows and Strongholds
• Lady of the English
• The Summer Queen

Find Elizabeth Chadwick: Website | Blog | Twitter |Facebook

 

 

 

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

Book 3 in the William Marshall series

ARC, Paperback, 576 pages

Sourcebooks Landmark

March 1, 2010

★★★★☆

Genre: Medieval Historical Fiction

Source: Received from Sourcebooks for Review as a part of HFBRT March event

The Legend of the Greatest Knight Lives On

William Marshal’s skill with sword and loyalty to his word have earned him the company of kings, the lands of a magnate, and the hand of Isabelle de Clare, one of England’s wealthiest heiresses. But he is thrust back into the chaos of court when King Richard dies. Vindictive King John clashes with William, claims the family lands for the Crown—and takes two of the Marshal sons hostage. The conflict between obeying his king and rebelling over the royal injustices threatens the very heart of William and Isabelle’s family. Fiercely intelligent and courageous, fearing for the man and marriage that light her life, Isabelle plunges with her husband down a precarious path that will lead William to more power than he ever expected.

The Scarlet Lion picks up shortly after The Greatest Knight leaves off. I would HIGHLY recommend that you read The Greatest Knight first! I am so glad that I found time to squeeze The Greatest Knight in. If you don’t, you will lose out on so much back-story that makes you really care about the characters and you learn the motives for many of the things that occur in this story. I have heard several people make this complaint, so I wanted to warn you right off of the top.

The Scarlet Lion takes place mostly in Ireland and England. I had not read anything set in Ireland, so it was very interesting to see some of this Irish history. For much of the story, William and Isabelle are in different countries and you see them living separate lives. When they are together, it is for a very short period of time and usually revolves around the marriage bed. One of the things that I miss from the previous book is the unity between William and Isabelle. They were able to build off of each other and make each other stronger – here there is more conflict. I really did find myself enjoying two of their children – John and Mahelt. I’m excited that Mahelt will be featured in an upcoming book, To Defy a King.

While I LOVED The Greatest Knight (you can find my review here), I didn’t enjoy The Scarlet Lion quite as much. I still really enjoyed it, but it was lacking the action and tourney excitement of the previous. This story was more character driven and less action driven – so it was a little slow going at times. One of the strengths of Chadwick’s writing is her ability to make you feel for the characters. As the story came toward the end I found myself in going back and forth between being choked up and crying – definitely a hanky novel!

Overall, an enjoyable Chadwick read and I can’t wait to get my hands on some more. For those of you who read this book first and found it hard to get into, do yourself a favor and pick up The Greatest Knight, you won’t regret it!

Read an excerpt here of The Scarlet Lion.

 

Here is a book trailer that I found -

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Historically Obsessed
• Devourer of Books
  

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Elizabeth Chadwick:

Elizabeth Chadwick has written many wonderful novels, among those in the William Marshall series are:

 

A Place Beyond Courage (Book 1)

[My Review]

 

The Greatest Knight (Book 2)

[My Review]

 

For the King's Favor (Book 4)
AKA - A Time For Singing
[My Review]

To Defy A King (Book 5)

[My Review]

You can find a complete list of Chadwick novels here.

I have also reviewed the following other novels by Elizabeth Chadwick:

• Shadows and Strongholds

• The Lady of the English

• The Summer Queen

Find Elizabeth Chadwick: Website | Blog | Twitter |Facebook

Other HFBRT events today:

Origins and Ten Commandments of Medieval Knighthood at All Things Royal

 

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Caught on Tape: William Marshall

William Marshall, one of the greatest knights on the 12th and 13th centuries is going to be having an amazing year in 2010. In fiction, The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick is being released in March. In film, Robin Hood and Ironclad are coming out, both featuring Marshall prominently. With this looking to be Marshall’s year, why not take a look at what movies William Marshal has been in?

King John (1984)

“Assuming the throne after the death of his brother Richard I, King John (Leonard Rossiter) finds his rule threatened by his own family. His nephew Arthur's quest for power, fueled by Arthur's mother, Constance (Claire Bloom), gathers support from King Philip of France. As battle lines are drawn, the stage is set for John's destiny. Directed by David Giles, this staging is part of a BBC series of Shakespeare's complete works.” (from Netflix)

This is the tale, as told by Shakespeare – produced by BBC. William Marshall is only referred to as Earl of Pembroke – but the story that is told follows the lines of The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick. William is portrayed by Robert Brown. I was unable to find a clip of this movie, but I did find a clip of a stage performance.



The Lion in Winter (1968) and (2003)

“In this stylish costume drama, England's King Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and his
dysfunctional family gather on Christmas Eve to decide who will inherit the throne. Henry fancies youngest son John (Nigel Terry), but his iron-willed spouse (Katharine Hepburn) thinks the crown should go to eldest son Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins, in his film debut). What ensues is a bitter battle of wills that strains every family bond of love and trust.” (from Netflix 1968 film)

“In winter of 1183, as King Henry II (Patrick Stewart) and his family prepare to celebrate Christmas, Henry also prepares to announce the succession of his throne to one of his three sons -- none of whom is exactly qualified for the job. Disagreements with his wife, Eleanor (Glenn Close), over the subject quickly escalate and throw the family into turmoil. Andrei Konchalovsky remakes the 1968 version starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn.” (from Netflix 2003 film)

William Marshall appears in a small role in both – played by Nigel Stock in the 1968 version and by Clive Wood in the 2003 version.



Robin Hood (2010)

“The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore. Beginning after the Death of King Richard at the Siege of Chalus Chabrol, the film follows Robin on his rise to infamy among the English Barons and the newly crowned King John. Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is not Robin Hood as you have seen him before, rather the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.“ (from IMDB)

The upcoming Robin Hood movie features Marshall in a prominent role. As it has yet to come out yet, we will just have to wait and see what comes of it. I will likely see this when it comes to theatres. Marshall will be played by William Hurt.  You can check out my review of the movie here.



Ironclad (2010)

“It is the year 1215 and the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta, a noble, seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebel's momentous struggle for justice and freedom.” (from IMDB)

Another upcoming movie this year about William Marshall. I found out about this one from a comment on my post about Robin Hood and William Marshall. I haven’t heard much about this one at all. Marshall will be played by James Purefoy.



The first 2 movies can be found on Netflix, the second two are yet to be released. Have you seen King John or The Lion in Winter? What did you think of them? Are you planning on seeing either Robin Hood or Ironclad?

Also today at HFBRT:

Allie's Book Review at Hist-Fic Chick
Marie's Book Review at The Burton Review

And don't forget the GIVEAWAY!





Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

Why I Write About William Marshal - Guest Post by Elizabeth Chadwick

Today is the kick-off day of the HFBRT March event featuring The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick. On this first day, I have the honor of hosting this amazing author on my blog with a great guest post. Hope you all enjoy her post as much as I did!

Why I Write About William Marshall

Guest Post by Elizabeth Chadwick, Author of 

The Scarlet Lion

My interest in the Medieval period began when I was eight years old and living in Scotland. At that time, the method of teaching was to write the lesson down on the blackboard and everyone copy the words into exercise books. But this particular year, the teacher, Mrs Robinson had a different way of doing things. Sure, we still had to copy from the blackboard, but as a reward, at the end of the lesson, the dressing up box came out. Mrs Robinson would choose pupils to be historical characters from the work we’d just written and we would act out little stage plays at the front of the classroom, clad in our toy crowns and cloaks. I loved this part of the lesson, especially when I was selected to be one of the actors. As it happened, the medieval period fell into Mrs Robinson’s tutorial year and when we moved on, it was to a different era and back to the blackboard with no more fun and games. So, I owe the first seeds of my love affair with the Middle Ages to Mrs Robinson because she fixed it in my mind.

The next staging post was a TV programme that aired when I was fifteen. It was called Desert Crusader and starred Thibaud, a gorgeous French knight in flowing white robes, who had adventures in the Holy Land in the twelfth century. I fell hard for him and was inspired to write my own story about the crusader lands. You can read the full tale here on my blog and see just why I fell in love! I was so impressed that I was inspired to begin writing a novel (still in my drawer unpublished!). It was at this stage that I was bitten by the bug and realised I wanted to write historical fiction for a living. Since I knew nothing about the Middles Ages or the Middle East at that time, I began researching because I wanted my story to feel as real as possible. The more I researched, the more interested and then fascinated I became and the more I wanted to make this period of history my home. Decades later I’m still addicted to the research and the more I do the more I realise how little I actually know – and the more I want to find out!

My interest in William Marshal was piqued while I was writing a novel titled The Champion where I came across William as the greatest jouster of his day. As I continued to write about the twelfth and early thirteenth century, his name kept cropping up and I realised that if I had the confidence to move from imaginary protagonists into telling stories about people who actually lived, William would be a fantastic subject for a novel. I dipped my toe in the water by writing about a Medieval outlaw called Fulke FitzWarin who was a contemporary of William Marshal. Lords of the White Castle was the result – a novel that was short listed for the UK’s best Romantic Novel of the Year Award. This gave me the confidence to forge ahead and continue writing about real protagonists. William was a man of such strength and integrity that he would have been great whenever he lived. He crammed so much into an amazing life that Hollywood couldn’t make it up. He was nearly hanged as a child when he was taken hostage. He saved the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was a champion jouster and much in demand as a battle commander. Indeed, he was the only man ever to unhorse Richard the Lionheart. He travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East before returning to serve the Angevin kings and marry a great heiress, twenty years his junior.

In between begetting and raising ten children, he was responsible in part for the drafting of Magna Carta and after King John died, he became regent of England and managed to set an ailing country back on its feet. He always kept his word – and he loved his wife. That he should have been forgotten by history is a deep oversight in my estimation. His story is not only fantastic in terms of a subject to write about from my viewpoint, but I think it also deserves to be known. We’re short of heroes today with William’s kind of integrity.

Thanks so much Elizabeth for taking the time to write this great post. It has been great having you here.  You can visit Elizabeth at her website for more information about her and her works.

Other HFBRT events today:

Book Review by Arleigh at Historical-Fiction.com

Special Edition Sundays Art: Edmund Leighton by Lizzy at Historically Obsessed

Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court

William Marshall and… Robin Hood?

As I was reading through The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick, I kept thinking that King Richard and Prince John sounded like the King Richard and Prince John of Robin Hood lore. And guess what? I was right! So I figured that if William Marshall was actively involved with Richard and John, and they were involved in the tale of Robin Hood, maybe the Marshall and Robin would come together at some point? Right again!

I’m sure many of you have seen or heard about the new Robin Hood movie coming out soon staring Russell Crowe. But how many of you knew that William Marshall would be in this movie? I certainly didn’t. William Hurt will be playing William Marshall. Here is the trailer for the movie – I couldn’t tell if Hurt was in it or not, I’m not too familiar with him, but maybe some of you might spot him.



If I wasn’t completely convinced of seeing this movie before, I have to now, just to see how they present William Marshall.




Copyright © 2009-2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick

Book 2 in the William Marshall series

Paperback, 552 pages

Sourcebooks Landmark

September 1, 2009

★★★★½☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Personal Collection

“A penniless young knight with few prospects, William Marshal is plucked from obscurity when he saves the life of Henry II's formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In gratitude, she appoints him tutor to the heir to the throne, the volatile and fickle Prince Henry. But being a royal favorite brings its share of danger and jealousy as well as fame and reward "

The Greatest Knight is the first part of a tale about William Marshal. He begins his life as a lowly hearth knight scrabbling his way up the social hierarchy of the medieval period.

When this book first came out, a bunch of my blog friends were reading this book and raving about it, and I felt left out because I didn’t have the book or have any time to read it. Then, when I heard about the sequel coming out, The Scarlet Lion, I knew I had to read this before I could read the sequel.

I really enjoyed reading about the life of a knight during the medieval period. I had not read anything from this time period so the whole world was very new to me. Chadwick did a phenomenal job at describing all the aspects of this world. I gained an entirely new vocabulary as well (like mesnie!). After reading about the Tudor period for so long – it is a very, very different world – which was very refreshing.

The characters were so well rounded and very real. I loved all of the women in his life – Clara, Isabelle, and Eleanor. Each one brings out a different part of William and contributed to the growth and evolution of his person. Without all of them, he wouldn’t be the same person. William is definitely someone you can admire.

The pages just flew by and before I knew it I was finished with 500+ pages. I luckily have The Scarlet Lion on hand to jump right into, and it feels like I am reading one continuous book. The only complaint I have is that almost each chapter jumps at least 2 years. I found it difficult to remember how much time had passed between events and had to keep flipping back to figure out the year. I will need to become a little more familiar with the layout of France (where many of the events take place), I don’t know the map all that well. Other than that, a fantastic introduction to the medieval period and William Marshal.

If you are interested in this book, why not check out a sample?

Why not check out this video trailer too?

 

Other great reviews of The Greatest Knight:

• The Tome Traveler
• Historical Tapestry

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

 

Also by Elizabeth Chadwick:

 

Elizabeth Chadwick has written many wonderful novels, among those in the William Marshall series are:

 

A Place Beyond Courage (Book 1)

[My Review]

 

The Scarlet Lion (Book 3)

[My Review]

 

For the King's Favor (Book 4)
AKA - A Time for Singing

[My Review]

 

To Defy a King (Book 5)

[My Review]

 

You can find a complete list of Chadwick novels here.

 

I have also reviewed the following other novels by Elizabeth Chadwick:

• Shadows and Strongholds
• The Lady of the English
• The Summer Queen

 

Find Elizabeth Chadwick: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2009 by The Maiden’s Court