What do you think?
Rate this book
William the Conqueror
This highly factual biography gives an extremely concise and full appraisal of the events that preceded the Norman conquest, the conquest itself, and the years of unrest that followed it.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1959
5 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Thomas B. Costain
128 books186 followersCostain was born in Brantford, Ontario to John Herbert Costain and Mary Schultz. He attended high school there at the Brantford Collegiate Institute. Before graduating from high school he had written four novels, one of which was a 70,000 word romance about Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange. These early novels were rejected by publishers.
His first writing success came in 1902 when the Brantford Courier accepted a mystery story from him, and he became a reporter there (for five dollars a week). He was an editor at the Guelph Daily Mercury between 1908 and 1910. He married Ida Randolph Spragge (1888–1975) in York, Ontario on January 12, 1910. The couple had two children, Molly (Mrs. Howard Haycraft) and Dora (Mrs. Henry Darlington Steinmetz). Also in 1910, Costain joined the Maclean Publishing Group where he edited three trade journals. Beginning in 1914, he was a staff writer for and, from 1917, editor of Toronto-based Maclean's magazine. His success there brought him to the attention of The Saturday Evening Post in New York City where he was fiction editor for fourteen years.
In 1920 he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He also worked for Doubleday Books as an editor 1939-1946. He was the head of 20th Century Fox’s bureau of literary development (story department) from 1934 to 1942.
In 1940, he wrote four short novels but was “enough of an editor not to send them out”. He next planned to write six books in a series he called “The Stepchildren of History”. He would write about six interesting but unknown historical figures. For his first, he wrote about the seventeenth-century pirate John Ward aka Jack Ward. In 1942, he realized his longtime dream when this first novel For My Great Folly was published, and it became a bestseller with over 132,000 copies sold. The New York Times reviewer stated at the end of the review "there will be no romantic-adventure lover left unsatisfied." In January 1946 he "retired" to spend the rest of his life writing, at a rate of about 3,000 words a day.
Raised as a Baptist, he was reported in the 1953 Current Biography to be an attendant of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was described as a handsome, tall, broad-shouldered man with a pink and white complexion, clear blue eyes, and a slight Canadian accent. He was white-haired by the time he began to write novels. He loved animals and could not even kill a bug (but he also loved bridge, and he did not extend the same policy to his partners). He also loved movies and the theatre (he met his future wife when she was performing Ruth in the The Pirates of Penzance).
Costain's work is a mixture of commercial history (such as The White and The Gold, a history of New France to around 1720) and fiction that relies heavily on historic events (one review stated it was hard to tell where history leaves off and apocrypha begins). His most popular novel was The Black Rose (1945), centred in the time and actions of Bayan of the Baarin also known as Bayan of the Hundred Eyes. Costain noted in his foreword that he initially intended the book to be about Bayan and Edward I, but became caught up in the legend of Thomas a Becket's parents: an English knight married to an Eastern girl. The book was a selection of the Literary Guild with a first printing of 650,000 copies and sold over two million copies in its first year.
His research led him to believe that Richard III was a great monarch tarred by conspiracies, after his death, with the murder of the princes in the tower. Costain supported his theories with documentation, suggesting that the real murderer was Henry VII.
Costain died in 1965 at his New York City home of a heart attack at the age of 80. He is buried in the Farringdon Independent Church Cemetery in Brantford.
His first writing success came in 1902 when the Brantford Courier accepted a mystery story from him, and he became a reporter there (for five dollars a week). He was an editor at the Guelph Daily Mercury between 1908 and 1910. He married Ida Randolph Spragge (1888–1975) in York, Ontario on January 12, 1910. The couple had two children, Molly (Mrs. Howard Haycraft) and Dora (Mrs. Henry Darlington Steinmetz). Also in 1910, Costain joined the Maclean Publishing Group where he edited three trade journals. Beginning in 1914, he was a staff writer for and, from 1917, editor of Toronto-based Maclean's magazine. His success there brought him to the attention of The Saturday Evening Post in New York City where he was fiction editor for fourteen years.
In 1920 he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He also worked for Doubleday Books as an editor 1939-1946. He was the head of 20th Century Fox’s bureau of literary development (story department) from 1934 to 1942.
In 1940, he wrote four short novels but was “enough of an editor not to send them out”. He next planned to write six books in a series he called “The Stepchildren of History”. He would write about six interesting but unknown historical figures. For his first, he wrote about the seventeenth-century pirate John Ward aka Jack Ward. In 1942, he realized his longtime dream when this first novel For My Great Folly was published, and it became a bestseller with over 132,000 copies sold. The New York Times reviewer stated at the end of the review "there will be no romantic-adventure lover left unsatisfied." In January 1946 he "retired" to spend the rest of his life writing, at a rate of about 3,000 words a day.
Raised as a Baptist, he was reported in the 1953 Current Biography to be an attendant of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was described as a handsome, tall, broad-shouldered man with a pink and white complexion, clear blue eyes, and a slight Canadian accent. He was white-haired by the time he began to write novels. He loved animals and could not even kill a bug (but he also loved bridge, and he did not extend the same policy to his partners). He also loved movies and the theatre (he met his future wife when she was performing Ruth in the The Pirates of Penzance).
Costain's work is a mixture of commercial history (such as The White and The Gold, a history of New France to around 1720) and fiction that relies heavily on historic events (one review stated it was hard to tell where history leaves off and apocrypha begins). His most popular novel was The Black Rose (1945), centred in the time and actions of Bayan of the Baarin also known as Bayan of the Hundred Eyes. Costain noted in his foreword that he initially intended the book to be about Bayan and Edward I, but became caught up in the legend of Thomas a Becket's parents: an English knight married to an Eastern girl. The book was a selection of the Literary Guild with a first printing of 650,000 copies and sold over two million copies in its first year.
His research led him to believe that Richard III was a great monarch tarred by conspiracies, after his death, with the murder of the princes in the tower. Costain supported his theories with documentation, suggesting that the real murderer was Henry VII.
Costain died in 1965 at his New York City home of a heart attack at the age of 80. He is buried in the Farringdon Independent Church Cemetery in Brantford.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 19, 2023
George Slocombe was a British journalist who also wrote several history books as well. In 1959 he wrote this excellent biography of William the Conqueror.
William the First, William the Bastard, Duke William of Normandy, of the myriad titles his most famous one is William the Conqueror. William lived from 1028 till 1087. The bastard son of Duke Robert I of Normandy and a rather mysterious mother, the young William faced a great deal of tragedy and conflict. The violently troublesome Norman nobles were a constant source of tension and danger. When William's father died on a trip to Jerusalem, the nobles conspired to either seize control of William's inheritance or gain control of William. Instead, the young William showed himself to be a ruthless and skilled warrior and leader.
Slocombe puts forth the reason why Edward the Confessor likely did promise the throne to William. This would lead to William's invasion of 1066. Slocombe also explains the Norman campaigns in England and the great Harrowing of the North. William's reign will end as it began-in battle.
Slocombe is able to show all sides of William. A man who is at once ruthless but fair. Pious but capable of supreme violence. A King who cared about his kingdom but had no issue with killing those who opposed him.
The writing style is quite good and the story is very engaging. I learned a few interesting tidbits as well (always a joy when reading a history book)
William the First, William the Bastard, Duke William of Normandy, of the myriad titles his most famous one is William the Conqueror. William lived from 1028 till 1087. The bastard son of Duke Robert I of Normandy and a rather mysterious mother, the young William faced a great deal of tragedy and conflict. The violently troublesome Norman nobles were a constant source of tension and danger. When William's father died on a trip to Jerusalem, the nobles conspired to either seize control of William's inheritance or gain control of William. Instead, the young William showed himself to be a ruthless and skilled warrior and leader.
Slocombe puts forth the reason why Edward the Confessor likely did promise the throne to William. This would lead to William's invasion of 1066. Slocombe also explains the Norman campaigns in England and the great Harrowing of the North. William's reign will end as it began-in battle.
Slocombe is able to show all sides of William. A man who is at once ruthless but fair. Pious but capable of supreme violence. A King who cared about his kingdom but had no issue with killing those who opposed him.
The writing style is quite good and the story is very engaging. I learned a few interesting tidbits as well (always a joy when reading a history book)
December 9, 2016
As I was talking to my mom about reading the Narnia books to my son, she mentioned that she has a few children's books that we might want to look through. There, on her shelf, was an extensive collection of Random House historical biographies for children from the 1950s.
These books had been my mother's when she was a child, then enjoyed by me, and I picked out a few to share with a third generation - our first was William the Conqueror.
At five, my son is perhaps a little young for this series, but he followed along in his own age-appropriate way. The battle scenes, which enthralled me as an 8-10 year old, we're a little too intense. There are also a few authorial asides (particularly with regards to gender roles) that made me uncomfortable enough to turn into Teachable Moments.
But, for the most part, this book holds up. The vocabulary is a bit challenging, and the narrative voice doesn't lend itself well to out-loud reading, but it's a great introduction to historical concepts. And while I can't vouch for the accuracy of all the historical facts, the book lays an excellent foundation for helping kids to get a feel for a time period and a familiarity with essential names.
The writing style can be very repetitive, and seemed to have trouble deciding whether it wanted to show or to tell. It's unfortunate because the book, on the whole, is great fun.
These books had been my mother's when she was a child, then enjoyed by me, and I picked out a few to share with a third generation - our first was William the Conqueror.
At five, my son is perhaps a little young for this series, but he followed along in his own age-appropriate way. The battle scenes, which enthralled me as an 8-10 year old, we're a little too intense. There are also a few authorial asides (particularly with regards to gender roles) that made me uncomfortable enough to turn into Teachable Moments.
But, for the most part, this book holds up. The vocabulary is a bit challenging, and the narrative voice doesn't lend itself well to out-loud reading, but it's a great introduction to historical concepts. And while I can't vouch for the accuracy of all the historical facts, the book lays an excellent foundation for helping kids to get a feel for a time period and a familiarity with essential names.
The writing style can be very repetitive, and seemed to have trouble deciding whether it wanted to show or to tell. It's unfortunate because the book, on the whole, is great fun.
February 7, 2021
The Landmark Books series was a staple of public libraries throughout the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Geared towards elementary and middle-school students, they provided accessible and entertaining accounts of a range of historical topics. While the books initially focused on American subjects, a spinoff series, “World Landmark Books,” took on everything from the pharaohs to the Korean War. For a generation of readers, they served as their introduction to the subject – and quite possibly the only book they might ever read about it.
For the rest of my review, click on the link:
https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2021/...
For the rest of my review, click on the link:
https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2021/...
May 25, 2021
Another landmark book. This one went more in depth for the life of William. Very interesting to learn about his out of wedlock birth. How he had to fight constantly to get the kingdom and keep it. Fascinating story.
May 30, 2019
My seven year old enjoyed this book. I thought it was just okay and had questionable historical accuracy in the details.
May 13, 2025
The best thing I can say about this book is that even though we had read about the Norman Conquest already in a couple of books, as we read this book we became invested in the outcome. I think my kids (aged 9-14) are still mad that Harold lost. I am sure they won’t quickly forget what 1066 means and who William and the Normans were.
I’m not a critic, but I enjoyed Costain’s writing style. It was informative but he definitely had opinions about things, and that made it feel like a living book to me.
I’m not a critic, but I enjoyed Costain’s writing style. It was informative but he definitely had opinions about things, and that made it feel like a living book to me.
June 22, 2008
This is a very straightforward biography of William the Conqueror. I read this when I was twenty-two and was very proud of myself, not being someone with much of a background in history. I've always been a reader of short stories and novels. But I was determined to read this biography. The flyleaf copy (reproduced in Goodreads' summary, which I put there, Goodreads Librarian that I am) makes it sound as if this book is worshipful of William. My impression was that Slocombe, recognizing the Conqueror as a Prime Mover in history, was, nevertheless, appalled at the brutality the man showed. For example, when Slocombe tells us that William once ordered the cutting off of one hand and one foot of each of his prisoners, he tells the reader he finds this abominable. This book tells a good story, but it is not cozy. Slocombe doesn't bother with excess analysis. This book appears to be out of print. I find this a real shame.
If you Google George Slocombe, you'll find he was acquainted with James Joyce and that Joyce told him he was the ONLY English critic to have reviewed POMES PENYEACH. If Joyce said something like that to an Englishman, it meant he liked him. Slocombe's book on William the Conqueror is written in flawlees, economical prose. If you can find a copy, get it.
If you Google George Slocombe, you'll find he was acquainted with James Joyce and that Joyce told him he was the ONLY English critic to have reviewed POMES PENYEACH. If Joyce said something like that to an Englishman, it meant he liked him. Slocombe's book on William the Conqueror is written in flawlees, economical prose. If you can find a copy, get it.
Read
February 1, 2023One of the more interesting differences between the biographies of William the Conqueror and those of his predecessors is the greater percentage of them that have been written by non-historians. This is probably due to a combination of factors, namely the greater amount of material available about William and his epochal role in English history. One of the consequences of this is not just a greater number of books about William’s life but a greater diversity of approaches as well in terms of recounting it.
For the rest of my review, click on the link:
https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2021/...
For the rest of my review, click on the link:
https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2021/...
November 6, 2011
My favorite book of all time!
April 13, 2025
I picked this book off our shelf of Landmarks for bedtime reading. I’d say it’s appropriate for late elementary to middle school reading, and a good supplement for any homeschool students who’ve been fed a diet of English history through “Our Island Story” and the like. The story of Harold Godwinson and Duke William of Normandy is fleshed out with engaging writing and further detail.
March 19, 2020
Written for kids, but still very interesting. At times, however, it seemed the author was trying to paint this Norman, war-mongering, tyrant in a good light.
In another multiverse, it was Harold Hardrada that fought William the Norman.
In another multiverse, it was Harold Hardrada that fought William the Norman.
February 25, 2021
A fine account of the subject. Read this and you'll be able to competently discuss Will the Conqueror at your next cocktail party.
July 18, 2024
Neat little book. I appreciate the author telling history as a story, rather than a grocery list style recounting of one event after another.
November 26, 2025
I read this to the children. It was good. Pretty critical of W the I.
September 18, 2020
Costain is at his best when writing history. I enjoy his novels, but absolutely love when he just writes history. This is a great book for anyone interested in an easy and quick read about William the Conqueror. My absolutely favorite chapter in this book is about Heraward the Wake. If you don't know anything about him, you are missing out. Costain claims that he was likely an inspiration for Robin Hood.
August 16, 2013
on the morning of october 14th, 1066, chill winds swept up from the sea. the 2 armies were facing each other.a battle cry echoed from the English ranks "no normans!" from the English there came a cry "dieu aide!' (french)
September 13, 2013
I liked it. It tells about battles he fought and his childhood.
December 22, 2015
This book is about William, but the chapter on Hereward the Wake steals the show.
March 12, 2016
This book is not readily available, and that is a shame. It is a comprehensive yet easy to read book that tells the story of one of the most influential people of the Middle Ages.
July 16, 2016
this book was too short with not enough information to get a good sense of who William the Conqueror was.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews