Flambard's Confession

by Marilyn Durham

Set at a time of great violence, danger, loyalty and deceit, FLAMBARD'S CONFESSION is a novel at the heart of which is William II, son of William the Conqueror, and his chaplain, Ranulph Flambard. Ranulph was born the son of a poor priest and a woman rumoured to be a witch, and yet rose to become a priest - and the most infamous prince of tax collectors. This fascinating novel weaves the thin threads of history into a vibrant tapestry of adventure centred upon the dramatic lives of two notorious men at the centre of power. Amazon description

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

775 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1982

About the author

Marilyn Durham, née Marilyn Wall, born September 8, 1930, is an American author of fiction. Her best-known novel is her first, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, which was made into a film of the same name.

Reviews

[Michael Gruber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marilyn Durham was an Ohio housewife who liked to read westerns. One evening, she put down her book and told her husband, "I can do better than this." Unlike nearly all the people who say this, and whose self-published mysteries and vampire tales clog the servers, she really could do better, a lot better. Her first book was The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, a novel that IMO bears comparison with other genre expanding novels like Lonesome Dove and Blood Meridian. It was made into a mediocre film with Burt Reynolds, but that shouldn't dissuade one from reading the book. She wrote another western and then, remarkably, she wrote a enormous novel of nearly 800 pages about a man who rises from obscurity in the service of William the conqueror and his horrible son, William Rufus, to become bishop of Lincoln and the builder of the great cathedral there. It is one of the best historical novels I've ever read, far better than Follett's efforts in this zone, and comparable to Wolf Hall in its psychological acuity and ability to convey the reality of ancient lives. The book came out in 1982 and vanished without a trace. My guess is that her publisher wanted another Cat Dancing and were not prepared for a massive historical novel about an obscure period in English history and dumped the book. She never wrote anything else as far as I know, and I would not have read this either had I not been so impressed by Cat Dancing that I wanted t read everything she wrote, and had the used book store I went to not had this book on a shelf. I don't know how available this book is today, but if you are a fan of dense historical fiction--Mary Renault and Dorothy Dennett are comparable writers--it's worth the search.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and well researched novel. Any fan of Sharon Kay Penman will appreciate and enjoy this precursor.

[Debbie toyoshima · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the setting, in the 11th century. Kings and kingdoms and the battles that were waged. Flambart tells his lifes story of events. He is close to the King and has become his Priest. Though Flambart is far from perfect, and is constantly reminded of it through his fellow priests. I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't go in to much more detail. I did get lost in all the legalistic matters of War, and the language of the 11th century kept me guessing "what does this mean"? er go 4 stars. Though it was funny and had me laughing, then had me crying, and confussed. I would have to go back and read pages again just to understand what was happening. Mostly my fault for reading while I'm falling asleep. All in all it was a good read and well worth the time put into it.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating way to get into a historical novel used by Marilyn Durham. And, then when she gets into it it is a great read. Those folks who like historical novels will love this one because it is so interesting. The main character lives and breaths on the pages of the book.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'" and soon to be released "Wesley's Wars"

[Linda Nemec · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hard slog through a very long book, but worth it. Great way to learn more about history and politics during the time of William II and told through the voice of Ranulph Flambard, the infamous tax collector and advisor.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not read completely, but due at library. Maybe someday I'll finish. Interesting, but tooooo long; could have been cut down about half. We didn't need every second of Flambard's life. Book finally got painful to read and became a slog; I was sinking deeper in the quicksand...

[Stephen Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book.