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169 reviews for:
The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream
Charles Spencer
3.89 AVERAGE
169 reviews for:
The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream
Charles Spencer
3.89 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
slow-paced
The White Ship by Charles Spencer is a truly thorough novel. It looks back at William the Conqueror establishing himself as sovereign, and then pitches forward through the successive battles and strife before settling upon Henry I, his son, thus setting the scene for the title of the book. I found it a very gripping read; sometimes historical novels are, to put it as kindly as one can, rather dry, but this one was absorbing and fascinating, and did a thorough job at showing how Henry I worked so hard to establish peace and consolidate power only for it all to be undone in one fatal, catastrophic accident.
There were quite a lot of names, many of them the same or similar, which may confuse or overwhelm the average reader, but the detail and fleshing out of the innerworkings of the marriages and loyalties performed by the author should help to alleviate misgivings in anyone wary of picking up historical books.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There were quite a lot of names, many of them the same or similar, which may confuse or overwhelm the average reader, but the detail and fleshing out of the innerworkings of the marriages and loyalties performed by the author should help to alleviate misgivings in anyone wary of picking up historical books.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
informative
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
This is an easy read, a lot of the information is already known, but it's good to have the wider repercussions of the incident explained. There was some jumping from year to year which if you're not paying full attention can throw you off a little - or it did me anyway. Ultimately, a very enjoyable book
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, War
Minor: Death, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Eminently readable with a compulsive narrative pull, this is a very entertaining history book. It does cover quite a bit of time so some topics are brushed over fairly quickly but Spencer gets his point across well. Really enjoyed this.
I was disappointed with this. The title says the "The White Ship" quite clearly on the cover, yet besides a brief prologue it is half-way through this book before we even get to the White Ship! Instead it was Anglo-Norman history. I understand the need for context but did Charles Spencer have to go all the way back to Rollo! Even when we get to the White Ship I felt like he was talking about everything but it! I found it hard at times to see the link between the content of the book and its title. If this had been presented as general Anglo-Norman History (including The White Ship) I would be more forgiving!
challenging
informative
slow-paced