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A review by catherine_t
The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I's Dream by Charles Spencer
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
In November 1120, a ship sank off the coast of Normandy, just outside the port of Barfleur, in the English Channel. Aboard was William Æthling, King Henry I's only legitimate son and heir to the throne of England, along with many other nobles of the kingdom. All drowned (except one very lucky butcher who'd been aboard to try to get payment owing). This disaster changed the course of English history, leading directly to what later writers would dub "The Anarchy" and the Plantagenet dynasty ruling England for the next 300 years.
Charles Spencer takes readers through the years leading up to the White Ship disaster, beginning with the Norman Conquest, and then shows how the sinking of the White Ship resulted in a terrible civil war that saw loyalties shift and change like tides.
Spencer has a lovely conversational style of writing that keeps one reading. It's like listening to a knowledgeable friend chat about a subject he knows well. Highly recommended.
Charles Spencer takes readers through the years leading up to the White Ship disaster, beginning with the Norman Conquest, and then shows how the sinking of the White Ship resulted in a terrible civil war that saw loyalties shift and change like tides.
Spencer has a lovely conversational style of writing that keeps one reading. It's like listening to a knowledgeable friend chat about a subject he knows well. Highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and War