When I took up this book to start reading about the life of Henry II – and it’s a lovely object in itself: just look at that cover – I have to admit to being slightly discombobulated by the sheer number of Mathildas and volume of family trees and maps with arrows. It didn’t help that Certain People appeared to give the same name to their illegitimate and legitimate sons! But Gold’s careful hold on her material and confident narration meant that it wasn’t as challenging to pick through this now little-known reign as I feared.
Structuring the book into five “acts” (The Bargain, Triumph, Pariah, Rebellion, Nemesis) means that Gold takes us on a vaguely chronological journey, but because of the complexities of lands held, battles fought, marriages forged and families created, she does have to skip back and forth a bit, referring to the Great Revolt of 1173-74 before she describes it fully. In addition, there’s such a wealth of detailed information to share that she sometimes has to divert into a long discussion of the Jews in England, the creation of a more modern legal system, the relationship between the Saxon and Norman kings and their archbishops, etc. … it’s to her credit that these are well-signposted, headed and created and not confusing.
Read the rest of my review on the Shiny New Books website here.
I read this one last month, so it’s nice to see it up there now.
In other booky news, I’ve finished the rather odd “Peking Picnic” by Ann Bridge and hope to review it tomorrow, and I’ve started Diana Tutton’s rather marvellous “Guard Your Daughters”. I might get 20BooksOfSummer done after all.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 16, 2018 @ 20:08:06
Nice review on Shiny Liz – I know nothing about Henry 2! And I look forward to your review of Peking Picnic, which I have but haven’t read. And yes – isn’t Guard Your Daughters great?
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Liz Dexter
Aug 17, 2018 @ 05:43:29
Thank you! It was funny: when I asked various friends about what they knew of Henry II there were quite a few blank faces that echoed mine. Eleanor of Aquitaine and Thomas a Becket were the main things. But now we know lots!
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heavenali
Aug 16, 2018 @ 20:39:38
Great review, I do like a bit of English history and that sounds fascinating and really well done.
Guard your Daughters is a joy. I must re-read it one day.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 17, 2018 @ 05:44:28
Thank you. Yes, it was very well done, really good modern work of history. I really want to just sit and read and READ Guard Your Daughters but haven’t had the time. Might grab a chunk of time for it today. So wonderful!
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