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A review by daemonad
1066: What Fates Impose by G.K. Holloway
3.0
1066 What Fates Impose retells the events that escalated in the infamous battle of Hastings. I would recommend it to novices who want to learn about Norman conquest, but also to history enthusiasts who want to find out more about all the key characters without getting tangled in a dry academic text.
This book tells the history behind the Norman conquest and England during the reign of Edward the Confessor in a straightforward manner without digging deeply into the characters, culture and the land. We are given clear reasons why William decides to invade England and we are shown that the Godwinsons were a power hungry family no different from other ruling families. Despite the superficial rendering of the characters, it is clear from the onset that the author favors Harold, and to be honest so do I. It took me a long time to read the last fifty pages because I knew what tragedy would befall our hero Harold Godwinson. I use the term hero loosely because Harold too is driven by ambition, after all like William, he was not of royal blood and as such had no right to the crown. Further, the Anglo-Saxons didn’t come to England in peace, they too were invaders.
When we try to dig deeper into the past and wear the skin of our long gone ancestors, walk the land that has been altered beyond recognition, we imagine and in that sense all historical fiction is just that a fiction, retold in our language and printed on our paper (or digitized) - and yet - when it is done well I can immerse myself in this long gone time even if it’s someone else’s idea of that time and mourn the deaths of the men long gone. There are moments when Mr. Holloway tries to get below the surface and he shows us this world poignantly through the eyes of dying Taillefer, or we experience it with shudders when it is shown to us through the deeds of Ralph Pomeroy, a cold blooded psychopath, or right at the beginning we are shown William in his deathbed and of course when we see Harold walking among his sleeping troops at the dawn of the battle. These, however, are only brief moments in the 21 years that the book covers. Often we are simply told of the events and people in most simplistic way. It made me wonder if it was a deliberate attempt to mirror the style of medieval chroniclers who were more preoccupied with telling than showing.
I also wished that there were notes at the end of the book where the author could have listed historical facts, legends and historical accounts that were written hundred years later. We could also learn this way what happened to some of the characters. Oddly we only learn what happens to Pomeroy. Perhaps Mr Holloway wanted to stir passion in the reader about the injustice of it all. At the beginning of the book we learn what William goes through on his deathbed, but since this is based on accounts written 100 years later it does not lighten the burden of Harold’s tragedy. Though perhaps for some it may conjure pity for William who ironically was the most developed character in the book.
This book tells the history behind the Norman conquest and England during the reign of Edward the Confessor in a straightforward manner without digging deeply into the characters, culture and the land. We are given clear reasons why William decides to invade England and we are shown that the Godwinsons were a power hungry family no different from other ruling families. Despite the superficial rendering of the characters, it is clear from the onset that the author favors Harold, and to be honest so do I. It took me a long time to read the last fifty pages because I knew what tragedy would befall our hero Harold Godwinson. I use the term hero loosely because Harold too is driven by ambition, after all like William, he was not of royal blood and as such had no right to the crown. Further, the Anglo-Saxons didn’t come to England in peace, they too were invaders.
When we try to dig deeper into the past and wear the skin of our long gone ancestors, walk the land that has been altered beyond recognition, we imagine and in that sense all historical fiction is just that a fiction, retold in our language and printed on our paper (or digitized) - and yet - when it is done well I can immerse myself in this long gone time even if it’s someone else’s idea of that time and mourn the deaths of the men long gone. There are moments when Mr. Holloway tries to get below the surface and he shows us this world poignantly through the eyes of dying Taillefer, or we experience it with shudders when it is shown to us through the deeds of Ralph Pomeroy, a cold blooded psychopath, or right at the beginning we are shown William in his deathbed and of course when we see Harold walking among his sleeping troops at the dawn of the battle. These, however, are only brief moments in the 21 years that the book covers. Often we are simply told of the events and people in most simplistic way. It made me wonder if it was a deliberate attempt to mirror the style of medieval chroniclers who were more preoccupied with telling than showing.
I also wished that there were notes at the end of the book where the author could have listed historical facts, legends and historical accounts that were written hundred years later. We could also learn this way what happened to some of the characters. Oddly we only learn what happens to Pomeroy. Perhaps Mr Holloway wanted to stir passion in the reader about the injustice of it all. At the beginning of the book we learn what William goes through on his deathbed, but since this is based on accounts written 100 years later it does not lighten the burden of Harold’s tragedy. Though perhaps for some it may conjure pity for William who ironically was the most developed character in the book.