The Norman Conquest - Hardcover

Morris, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0091931452 ISBN 13: 9780091931452

Publisher: Hutchinson, 2012

Synopsis

An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This riveting book explains why the Norman Conquest was the single most important event in English history.

Assessing the original evidence at every turn, Marc Morris goes beyond the familiar outline to explain why England was at once so powerful and yet so vulnerable to William the Conqueror's attack. Why the Normans, in some respects less sophisticated, possessed the military cutting edge. How William's hopes of a united Anglo-Norman realm unravelled, dashed by English rebellions, Viking invasions and the insatiable demands of his fellow conquerors. This is a tale of powerful drama, repression and seismic social change: the Battle of Hastings itself and the violent 'Harrying of the North'; the sudden introduction of castles and the wholesale rebuilding of every major church; the total destruction of an ancient ruling class. Language, law, architecture, even attitudes towards life itself were altered forever by the coming of the Normans.

Marc Morris, author of the bestselling biography of Edward I, A Great and Terrible King, approaches the Conquest with the same passion, verve and scrupulous concern for historical accuracy. This is the definitive account for our times of an extraordinary story, a pivotal moment in the shaping of the English nation.

About this title

Review:

Almost everything you know about 1066 is wrong. And there s no better historian to put you right than the wonderful Marc Morris. His new book grips not only as a work of narrative history but also as a sleuthing exercise ... Morris has captured the triumph and the tragedy of this tumultuous era with verve, insight and a rollicking narrative. --Mail on Sunday

Stimulating ... Marc Morris s new book is an exciting arrival ... a strong and often gripping story, developed with enormous verve, a clear sense of direction and considerable confidence ... This is an attractive volume which offers a good, detailed introduction to the subject --BBC History Magazine

Marc Morris s lively new book retells the story of the Norman invasion with vim, vigour and narrative urgency ... Throughout this tale, the politics are complex, and the evidence patchy. Rather than gloss over this, Morris invites the reader to consider it all with him. Where gaps in historical knowledge exist, Morris prefers to chew them over in the text, rather than relegating them to footnotes and presenting an oversimplified account ... To do all this while keeping a firm grip on the thrust and style of a popular history demonstrates the sure hand that the author demonstrated in his previous book, a very good modern biography of Edward 1 --Evening Standard

Book Description:

1066: the stuff of legend

About this edition

• Publisher: Hutchinson
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0091931452
• ISBN 13: 9780091931452
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464