The Outlandish Knight

by Richard Adams

This is the story of three generations of a family. Raymond who joins with the forces massing to challenge Richard of York, his son who remains loyal to the princess whose future is far from secure and Anthony, a man of action, straying toward treason.

Genres: Historical Fiction

249 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Adams was born in Newbury, Berkshire. From 1933 until 1938 he was educated at Bradfield College. In 1938 he went up to Worcester College, Oxford to read Modern History. On 3 September 1939 Neville Chamberlain announced that the United Kingdom was at war with Germany. In 1940 Adams joined the British Army, in which he served until 1946. He received a class B discharge enabling him to return to Worcester to continue his studies for a further two years (1946-48). He took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1948 and of Master of Arts in 1953.

He was a senior civil servant who worked as an Assistant Secretary for the Department of Agriculture, later part of the Department of the Environment, from 1948 to 1974. Since 1974, following publication of his second novel, Shardik, he has been a full-time author.

He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters, Juliet and Rosamund, and they insisted he publish it as a book. It took two years to write and was rejected by thirteen publishers. When Watership Down was finally published, it sold over a million copies in record time in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Watership Down has become a modern classic and won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972. To date, Adams' best-known work has sold over 50 million copies world-wide, earning him more than all his other books put together.

As of 1982, he was President of the RSPCA.

He also contested the 1983 general election, standing as an Independent Conservative in the Spelthorne constituency on a platform of opposition to fox hunting.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my Lord, poor Richard Adams. This is what life after Watership Down has come to? After page 39, though, I realized this book was not going to be even worthwhile continuing. There's just no way. The book might be titled "outlandish," but I had really hoped it wouldn't also be a reflection of the writing and plot itself. As much as I hate to say this about a favorite author, I do not recommend.

The summary of this book is intriguing enough: roaming minstrel falls in love with the wife of a man who is quite high up in the English ruling system, and the two have to run away to avoid his wrath - ultimately leading to war. However, I did not even get to the running away part of this book. I was so mortified by what happened on page 39: Raymond declares his undying love to Allison in less than TWELVE HOURS OF KNOWING HER. True, some very, very unrealistic things happen in book plots, but sometimes the author just makes things make sense. You leave enough of your logic at the door that an unruly plot is forgivable when the characters are endearing, the plot is well developed, and the dialogue isn't a waste of breath. Unfortunately, I simply cannot go on with what Adams has given us here; two out of three of these requirements for a good book have already miserably failed and are beyond repair. I cannot believe that the relationship of these two has any stability or foundation whatsoever, and their dialogue is so juvenile and mundane that I actually feel sorry for them.

I skimmed the next twenty pages or so...predictable, predictable, and more correct predictions. Not worth your time, and it's almost pathetic. Close the cover, move along, and try to remember that Adams has already authored a modern day classic.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of three generations of an English minstrel's family & their part in events in the history of the land. Raymond Godsell is a minstrel traveling to Wales in the service of his master, carrying a letter offering support to Earl Henry, arriving from France, in challenging King Richard's monarchy. He stops the night at the site of a manor house construction & there falls in love with the foreman's wife. They decide to run away together, Raymond being forced to kill her husband in the process. They quickly move on to Wales, meeting another emissary for a lord also carrying a letter of support. Both men deliver their letters to the newly landed Earl & join his forces to fight King Richard. After the battle, Raymond is gravely wounded, his friend & many others in his company are dead. But Richard is also dead & Henry is now king & grateful to his supporters. Raymond is rewarded with a home on an estate & a comfortable living. He & his now wife have a son & Raymond teaches him the skills of a good minstrel. After, his father's death, Raymond's son apprentices to a master minstrel & they are asked to perform for the newly wed younger son of King Henry & his bride, Katherine of Aragon. She is pleased by the young minstrel who sings a song she knows &, after her young husband's untimely death, asks him to become the minstrel of her household. He stays on with Katherine after she marries her brother-in-law, King Henry VIII, & becomes Queen of England. And he remains loyal to her when King Henry takes up with Anne Boleyn & divorces Katherine. After Katherine's death, he finally marries & has a daughter, Honor, who becomes nursery maid to Anthony Babington, who is later in his life accused of treason against Queen Elizabeth for plotting to replace her on the throne with Mary, Queen of Scots. This was a fascinating book full of history & information & giving a personal touch to these momentous events. I enjoyed it very much.

[Violet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little hard for me to rate. It got a two because of the way the author tried to put the English accent in the spelling, not to mention that some of the words were unfamiliar to me. Some of the passages were very dull. In the last section of the book the tells more of Anthony Babington, and very little of Honor, it was like she had a cameo role.

[Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start but interesting overall.

[R. Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of Richard Adams best, but as an Richard Adams fanatic I had to own it, I had to read.