The Disputed Crown

Norman Quartet #3

by Valerie Anand

This richly and authentically detailed chronicle of the establishment of the rule of William the Conqueror over England traces the struggles of the English people to choose between fealty to the Norman and rebellion.

Genres: Historical Fiction, 11th Century, Historical, Fiction, British Literature

297 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1982

About the author

Born in London, Valerie Anand knew at the age of six that she wanted to be an author. At the age of fifteen, she saw MGM’s film Ivanhoe. She walked into the cinema knowing that she wanted to be a novelist and walked out of it knowing that historical novels were the kind she most wanted to write.

Over the course of her long and distinguished writing career, Valerie has written many works of historical fiction and is well known for the Ursula Blanchard series of Elizabethan mysteries written under the pen name of Fiona Buckley.

Still living in London, Valerie Anand is a frequent visitor to Exmoor, the setting featured in The House of Lanyon.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 1066 and William has conquered England and crowned King, yet there are still those who resist his iron-fisted rule, and long to put a Saxon back on the throne. Brand Woodcutter is determined to join the rebels and keep the oath he made to King Harold's mother, while his daughter Wulfhild desires peace at any cost so that she can continue at her beloved manor Fallowdene. To this end, William gives her in marriage to Norman knight Simon Inconnu (the unknown).

William's wrath at the rebels results in drastic and deadly measures taken on the innocent populace of the north and the nation finally settles into an uneasy peace. Williams brings his nobles from Normandy and parcels out the land and inter-marries the Normans with the Saxons -- including his niece Judith with one of the former rebels, Waltheof of Northumbria. Judith is not a warm and loving wife (to say the least), and weak natured Waltheof is finally drawn into the disastrous Revolt of the Earls.

Anand does a great job of bringing the period and its people to life. William was terrifying (no surprise there), Mabel Talvas was over the top in her ever-poisonous drafts and drop dead (literally) relatives, all leading up to the final twist in Simon's forgotten past that leads to deadly consequences that could leave Wulfhild at the mercy of a brutal Norman lord. My favorite character though was William's niece Judith. Anand had her pegged and must have had a gas writing her character, along with the disdain she held for her weak willed husband, "She had smelt his terror and it pleased her. He was so frightened that he wanted to break down and sob with his head on her lap. But Judith's book-infested lap was no good to him or any man." There were plenty more like that, I wished I'd bookmarked them.

All in all quite entertaining and I highly recommend the series. There were one or two incidents in the book that I couldn't find any factual references on, especially the kidnapping of one of Judith's ladies (although it was jolly good fun). These books are out of print, but if you can find them without spending an arm and a leg and want to read more on the period I do recommend them. 4.5/5 stars. The series in order,

Gildenford
The Norman Pretender
The Disputed Crown
Anand also wrote King of the Wood that I read a couple of years ago and follows these books chronologically as she tells the story of William's son William Rufus.

[Lalla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in a series set in England in the 11th century and tells the story of William the Conqueror and the struggle for power between the invading Normans and the English. Familiar characters from the past books are part of the stories as well as the historical characters and the battlefields that they fought on. The author makes all the characters from the village folk to the royal family come alive in her retelling of this important time in English history.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels like Anand found her footing more and more as the series went on. Dialog felt a little more natural, pacing flowed a little more. This is my first series I've read spanning The Conquest, so will be interesting to see how the assorted sympathies she is seeding with regard to one historical figure versus another compare to the biases from other authors I may read.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book and good series but do not think I will read #4 in the series....

[Sara Giacalone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Increasing my rating to four stars, as I enjoyed it much more on the second reading - after I read the first two books in the series. Together they tell the story of life in England right before and after the Norman Conquest. So far these books are some of the finest I've read on this era.

I found the closing sentence especially satisfying: "They laughed again and walked on companionably, side by side, their sandals whispering on the flagstoned cloister floor, barred with light and shadow, as their two lives, still for a little while lying ahead of them, were barred with day and night."