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The Plantagenets #1
A Pride of Kings
King Stephen of Blois nearly hanged him.
King Henry II died in his arms.
Young King Henry falsely accused him of treachery.
King Richard bestowed upon him the highest honors.
King John betrayed him.
King Henry II died in his arms.
Young King Henry falsely accused him of treachery.
King Richard bestowed upon him the highest honors.
King John betrayed him.
Landless and penniless, William Marshall became the most celebrated knight in all of Europe, his prowess on the tourney fields enabling him to rise to power and serve five kings of England. Throughout their reigns, through both fortune and disfavor, William Marshall never swerved in his loyalty to the quarrelsome, unpredictable, autocratic brood of Henry II, founder of the great Plantagenet dynasty.
A Pride of Kings
is the first of The Plantagenets, a series of historical novels which tell the story of the Plantagenet monarchs through the eyes of the men and women who served them, loved them, or betrayed them, and in so doing, helped shape the events of English history.
215 pages
First published March 1, 1978
273 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Juliet Dymoke
34 books25 followersJuliet Dymoke was born at Enfield in Middlesex and educated at a boarding school in the country. During the war she worked for The Canadian Army Medical Records and at that time married Hugo de Schanschieff who was then serving as an air gunner in he Royal Air Force.
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
It was while her husband was away in the R.A.F. that Juliet Dymoke turned her attention to writing and also to work on scripts for various films companies. She has published several books for children but counts historical novels with "more fact than fiction" as her particular field. She has travelled all over the British Isles in the course of her research, as she makes a special point of authenticity. Among her main interests are music, television drama and "anything to do with the countryside".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 13, 2025
Historical fiction taking place during medieval times during the reign of King Henry II. The mmc is a knight from the court. This is a time period I enjoy so I liked spending more time with these historical figures. I didn't really get anything new from the story. This is the start of a 7 book series which I may try to continue to see if it gets better.
April 27, 2018
A recent find, first in Juliet Dymoke's The Plantagenet series.
I do have one concern, how in the world did they squeeze William Marshall life into 215 pages? And it's not teeny tiny font.
I do have one concern, how in the world did they squeeze William Marshall life into 215 pages? And it's not teeny tiny font.
April 8, 2019
ETA: the formatting of this book left much to be desired. For example, the paragraphs were not indented, merely a new line of text. Also the grammatical errors probably would have been resolved with another edit.
I've never read a book focusing on this period of English history and found this book was interesting. I must admit to knowing just the basics going into this story, but this book seemed to be well researched. The political situation was very volatile, given the many years this book covered and also the sometimes loose adherence to succession precedence at the time, but it still read like a bedtime story in tone- a mellow historical lesson with a smattering of anecdotes/dialogue to lend a personal feel. For someone who doesn't find the medieval period completely fascinating, I'm glad for the broad strokes of history instead of a laser focus on the minutiae.
I admired William, the H of this story, though I could have done without references to his visits to ladies of the night. There weren't any explicit details, but that's still my preference. I'm glad this book didn't focus on romance since that part of William Marshal's life wasn't very developed. Even still, what we saw of his life with his wife was very sweet.
Overall a worthwhile historical read about an admirable knight. The content was clean in that there weren't any explicit details or very graphic violence. The MCs were compelling and I enjoyed the third person narrative. The ending also left the reader with a very satisfied feeling which isn't always the case when the story is based on the life of an actual person.
I've never read a book focusing on this period of English history and found this book was interesting. I must admit to knowing just the basics going into this story, but this book seemed to be well researched. The political situation was very volatile, given the many years this book covered and also the sometimes loose adherence to succession precedence at the time, but it still read like a bedtime story in tone- a mellow historical lesson with a smattering of anecdotes/dialogue to lend a personal feel. For someone who doesn't find the medieval period completely fascinating, I'm glad for the broad strokes of history instead of a laser focus on the minutiae.
I admired William, the H of this story, though I could have done without references to his visits to ladies of the night. There weren't any explicit details, but that's still my preference. I'm glad this book didn't focus on romance since that part of William Marshal's life wasn't very developed. Even still, what we saw of his life with his wife was very sweet.
Overall a worthwhile historical read about an admirable knight. The content was clean in that there weren't any explicit details or very graphic violence. The MCs were compelling and I enjoyed the third person narrative. The ending also left the reader with a very satisfied feeling which isn't always the case when the story is based on the life of an actual person.
July 30, 2018
Good read
The book is historical fiction but stays pretty true to historical facts. Worth reading. The author keeps the story moving along in her retelling.
The book is historical fiction but stays pretty true to historical facts. Worth reading. The author keeps the story moving along in her retelling.
September 27, 2018
I felt like the timeline was rushed. You flip a few pages and ten years have gone by.
June 14, 2020
Uncourageously on the fence with this one. Despite being light in word-count, A Pride of Kings spans nearly all of William Marshal's life. I don't think this itself is a flaw. Yes, the events in the novel progress very quickly, but to me it reads more like a old tale than it does a novel: a consecutive collection of major scenes from Marshal's life. As if you were reading the story of Tristan or Oedipus. Then again, I'm probably giving this novel too much credit by using those analogies.
My issue with this book may not even be an objective issue, as I'm sure this kind of novel has its readership. That being said, the sappy and cringingly perfect romance between William and Isabel was way too much for me. My distaste with this wasn't the thirty-year age gap, as that wasn't majorly uncommon. But, knowing what I know about the setting of the novel and men's priorities and ambitions therein, it seems way too implausible that William married Isabel purely out of love. Nope, sorry.
Not a huge deal, but there were also a lot of historical inaccuracies in the novel. For example, the ages of the Plantagenet children were changed (Eleanor was younger than Joanna). Also, the weapons and armor used in this novel were anachronistic. Again, not a deal-breaker, but it made me laugh a little.
I may read more novels in this series, all the while keeping in mind the flaws that arose in this one.
My issue with this book may not even be an objective issue, as I'm sure this kind of novel has its readership. That being said, the sappy and cringingly perfect romance between William and Isabel was way too much for me. My distaste with this wasn't the thirty-year age gap, as that wasn't majorly uncommon. But, knowing what I know about the setting of the novel and men's priorities and ambitions therein, it seems way too implausible that William married Isabel purely out of love. Nope, sorry.
Not a huge deal, but there were also a lot of historical inaccuracies in the novel. For example, the ages of the Plantagenet children were changed (Eleanor was younger than Joanna). Also, the weapons and armor used in this novel were anachronistic. Again, not a deal-breaker, but it made me laugh a little.
I may read more novels in this series, all the while keeping in mind the flaws that arose in this one.
February 4, 2019
Good tale of a loyal knight
I’ve read a few books about William Marshall and this was a good tale of his long life. There were a few things that bothered me in it. For one, the author says Eleanor has no grandchildren other than the two by son Geoffrey, who died: Arthur and Eleanor of Brittany. But earlier, she says daughter Mathilda has children. And that’s true.
Someone else pointed out that the physical presentation of the story was disturbing. The paragraphs weren’t indented, so sometimes it was difficult to tell if it was a new paragraph. I also thought at times the story jumped ahead to a new period but didn’t tell the reader what year it was, just let the reader guess that the timeline had jumped ahead. Subheads would have set these apart.
But I enjoyed the book otherwise. It was interesting to read and I wanted to pick up my iPad and continue reading it every night. I’ve always thought William Marshall was a man who made good at his second chance in life. We all should be so lucky.
I’ve read a few books about William Marshall and this was a good tale of his long life. There were a few things that bothered me in it. For one, the author says Eleanor has no grandchildren other than the two by son Geoffrey, who died: Arthur and Eleanor of Brittany. But earlier, she says daughter Mathilda has children. And that’s true.
Someone else pointed out that the physical presentation of the story was disturbing. The paragraphs weren’t indented, so sometimes it was difficult to tell if it was a new paragraph. I also thought at times the story jumped ahead to a new period but didn’t tell the reader what year it was, just let the reader guess that the timeline had jumped ahead. Subheads would have set these apart.
But I enjoyed the book otherwise. It was interesting to read and I wanted to pick up my iPad and continue reading it every night. I’ve always thought William Marshall was a man who made good at his second chance in life. We all should be so lucky.
November 12, 2018
Sorry to say I did not like it....I found all the names and characters overwhelming. I had a hard time remembering who was who. I had read book on the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as one on Richard the Lionhearted so I was somewhat familiar with the timeline and background, nevertheless I still found it somewhat confusing. Eleanor and Richard’s lives were fascinating and It’s the reason I kept on reading this book. Had I not had that knowledge I would have put this book down after the first 50pages.
November 9, 2024
I did not finish this book. I really wanted to read about William Marshall, but this book isn’t it.
Every scene is nothing but dialogue. Very wooden dialogue. There is very little description of characters or environments. There are no action scenes, just people speaking exposition at each other.
The main character doesn’t have much of an inner life. His relationships to all the other characters remain really vague, to the point where I couldn’t really figure out whose side he was on in the major conflicts.
I can’t recommend reading this book.
Every scene is nothing but dialogue. Very wooden dialogue. There is very little description of characters or environments. There are no action scenes, just people speaking exposition at each other.
The main character doesn’t have much of an inner life. His relationships to all the other characters remain really vague, to the point where I couldn’t really figure out whose side he was on in the major conflicts.
I can’t recommend reading this book.
February 3, 2022
Very poor. A man who served 5 kings in a very colourful and exciting period of english history covered in a little over 200 pages?! I wrongly thought this trilogy of books all covered William Marshal but he resides just in this first book. All through I felt like I was reading the Prologue. Sorry Juliet but in future I will read the wikipedia page of your protagonists as it will take me longer and entertain me more.
September 17, 2019
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this book on William Marshall. I only knew a little about him from other I about other people. This is the first story that was centered around him. He was a great and most loyal knight even when it was difficult to do so. I look forward to the other books in the series.
I enjoyed this book on William Marshall. I only knew a little about him from other I about other people. This is the first story that was centered around him. He was a great and most loyal knight even when it was difficult to do so. I look forward to the other books in the series.
September 23, 2021
I'd give it a -1 if possible. An insipid and totally unresearched version of history. Did this woman read even one reputable non-fiction book about the time period? Did Not Finish as it wasn't worth the time.
September 28, 2023
If you take the whole story with a huge grain of salt, it's ok. In fact, you could say that for the whole series, although the grammatical, spelling and formatting mistakes become more annoying as time goes on.
November 29, 2024
This was a new author to me and I’m already adding her to my favorites. I’m glad this is the first of a series so I can binge on this whole line. I really loved learning more about William Marshall and what a noble knight he was. It was a fast listen with a great narrator, too!
May 25, 2017
I really liked this novel. I will definitely continue on with the rest of the series.
July 16, 2017
Enjoyable
Having read many other books that included the Marshals, uninstalling of the story had an easy familiarity. The Marshal family achieved a pervasive integrity.
Having read many other books that included the Marshals, uninstalling of the story had an easy familiarity. The Marshal family achieved a pervasive integrity.
August 23, 2017
Good
Slow at starting but then the story picked up! Would recommend for anyone who likes historical fiction or an interesting tale!
Slow at starting but then the story picked up! Would recommend for anyone who likes historical fiction or an interesting tale!
May 13, 2019
Fascinating
I loved this book. I didn't know really anything about William Marshall before reading this so the wealth of information and history was amazing.
I loved this book. I didn't know really anything about William Marshall before reading this so the wealth of information and history was amazing.
June 30, 2019
Historical adventure
I enjoyed viewing that tumultuous history through the eyes of William Marshal. He must have been very intelligent and gifted in statesmanship.
I enjoyed viewing that tumultuous history through the eyes of William Marshal. He must have been very intelligent and gifted in statesmanship.
August 15, 2019
Light historical reading
Easy to read and entertaining while learning a little English history . . . . . . . . .
Easy to read and entertaining while learning a little English history . . . . . . . . .
January 17, 2017
Well told history
Although this book is historical fiction, I liked the fact that it was true to history as Of am acquainted with it. The storyline of William Marshall and his long and loyal association with Henry and his sons was well told. Although I have read several versions of Marshalls life, my interest did not flag and this remarkable man came to life again o. These pages.
If you enjoy historical fiction well written, this book is for you!
Although this book is historical fiction, I liked the fact that it was true to history as Of am acquainted with it. The storyline of William Marshall and his long and loyal association with Henry and his sons was well told. Although I have read several versions of Marshalls life, my interest did not flag and this remarkable man came to life again o. These pages.
If you enjoy historical fiction well written, this book is for you!
March 13, 2021
Audiobook
August 2, 2016
An enjoyable read following the life and times of William Marshall
I liked the style of the writing in this book. Historical events told in a way that was easy to follow. The differing characters of the first Plantagenet kings are keenly drawn. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
I liked the style of the writing in this book. Historical events told in a way that was easy to follow. The differing characters of the first Plantagenet kings are keenly drawn. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Read
March 22, 2016This was a more compact version of events centered around William Marshal and the kings he served. It went pretty fast, in my opinion. then again, I have read many books on the Plantagenets so was very familiar with the historical events and the role Marshal played.
June 6, 2016
I got this on Kindle and found it shorter than expected. It was a very long life to fit into a couple of hundred pages!
However, despite the numerous typos generated in the conversion to ebook, it was a light and enjoyable read. I'll definitely be moving on to book 2!
However, despite the numerous typos generated in the conversion to ebook, it was a light and enjoyable read. I'll definitely be moving on to book 2!
November 12, 2016
Dense with historical fact and literary license Pride is the story of five Plantagenet kings told through the eyes of William the Marshall. Despite the format problems - which are distracting - a decent read.
February 6, 2018
Good Book Read in a Day
It was well written, I felt like I could visualize the characters and events as they occurred. It was as if history came alive. I would reccomend this book to anyone who love history!!!
It was well written, I felt like I could visualize the characters and events as they occurred. It was as if history came alive. I would reccomend this book to anyone who love history!!!
March 25, 2013
Importance of loyalty. Maybe disadvantages of loyalty. Is your son is important or your king which you hate?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews