All through his life men were to fear him and find it hard to meet the direct stare he bent upon them. Thus early the French were made aware of the ruthless strength of his will. The truth was he never swerved from his purpose, and would go to any lengths to achieve it.History tells us that William of Normandy was born a bastard, held off multiple assassination attempts, became Duke of Normandy, repelled the French and invaded England to become it's King.This is the same story that Georgette Heyer tells here only it is told very thrillingly indeed.She begins her story with the birth of William and a prophetic dream of his mother who foresees him as a great tree spreading it's branches over both England and Normandy. As others whisper that he is bastard, she calls him king. The story ends with his coronation in London, Christmas 1066 after the bloody, hard fought battle of Hastings.In between these two milestones is a wonderful story of a charismatic, often enigmatic, man of towering self confidence and will. It is told mainly through the eyes of one his closest knights, Raoul de Harcourt. Because of his birth William had to pretty much subdue Normandy to accept his rule. Raoul is an idealistic youth who is sure that William will bring peace and prosperity to Normandy. Because of this he runs away to court to swear service to William. While there he manages to help thwart an assassination plot and is at William's side from that point on.Although I was very familiar with Heyer's writing through her Regency romances and her modern mysteries, this book was a complete revelation. I had always loved her stuff and had always held her as an example of a very elegant and witty writer. But reading this, my respect for her abilities has ratched way up. First the storytelling was excellent. What could have been a dry or even overly romantic catalog of events of a real person's life, instead was an exciting story that sucked me in and never once let me go. This was more a character study than anything. Sure the events were there, but each assassination attempt, each usurpation attempt, each war was a set piece to draw a picture of a superb war strategist, a merciful and very wise ruler, a shrewd judge of character and a person who inspired men to follow him.Second was the language. It was simply luxurious. Heyer used french derivations, archaic words and even the archaic meanings of common words to really create a sense of time and place. Her descriptions of places, people, clothing and food were rich and involved. One passage for a banquet reads:"Gisela began to eat of a Lombardy leach, flourished and served with a sober-sauce, but she did not eat much of it because her quick eye had observed all manner of delicate dishes on the board, and she meant to taste as many as she was able. She glanced around her and wondered aloud whether the Lady Adeline would instruct her in the way to make appulmoy, and whether it were well to put a dash of cubebs in a blank desire. One of the scullions had just brought in a dish of curlews. Gisela finished up what was left on her platter in a hurry. The curlews were served with chaldron, and Gisela was occupied for some time in trying to make up her mind whether this was flavoured with canelle or powder-douce.Third were the scenes of battles. I admit I am not a keen reader of battle descriptions and probably would have tended to skim or skip them. But each battled was prefaced by a strategy session. Invariably William would think of some new, unorthodox strategy that flew in the face of conventional thinking and his advisors and vassals would strongly argue against it.Warfare, as the barons understood it was a matter of chivalry charging to sound of tucket and drum; strategy was of the roughest order: one chose one's ground, one laid ambushes, or made surprise attacks, but while the battle raged there could be nothing to it than hand-to-hand fighting in a tight pack. But the Duke bent over his miniature battlefields, and moved his pawns this way and that, slowly evolving a more intricate way of war than his captains could understand.William is credited with introducing archers as part of war rather than just for sport. And during his first battle with Henry of France, where he allows the French to advance deep into Norman territory, on unfamiliar ground, to a place of swamp land and uncertain footing so that the poachers and farmers could pick off the unwary, speaks of nascent guerilla warfare. To read these scenes and see his strategy come alive and prove its merit to his naysayers is fun and thrilling stuff.And finally, it isn't all war and mayhem. History has by all accounts noted that the marriage of Williams and his wife Matilda was a strong, fruitful and loving one. Indeed, their courtship in this book is quite a stormy and passionate one. And in her way, Matilda is just as implacable and fierce as her husband.Loved this book and am now looking to read more Heyer historicals.
Georgette Heyer's The Conqueror tells the story of the enigmatic William the Conqueror. Written in the mid-1930s, the Conqueror's language is a bit heavy handed at times. But it is clear that Heyer did a lot of research before writing the novel. A prolific romance novelist, the story was light on romance but heavy on the story of how the conquest of England came to be. Heyer's battle scenes are as well done as Sharon Kay Penman's - culminating in an intensely moving and passionately written account of the Battle of Hastings at the end of the novel. The novel is told through the eyes of the fictional Raoul de Harcourt, a noble son from Normandy who becomes a loyal and intimate friend and supporter of William from the early days of his Dukedom. Throughout the novel, William never ceases to be an enigma. The only character that seems real to me is the fictional Raoul. I don't think Heyer fully conveys Williams motivation to establish himself as King of England. While she does a great job of showing how Williams illegitimacy likely motivated him throughout his life, it is unclear why William would undertake his seemingly foolhardy conquest to take the throne from the beloved Saxon Harold Godwineson.Heyer's approach to this novel reminded me of Sharon Kay Penman's approach in When Christ and His Saints Slept (I would say the reverse because Heyer's novel was written earlier, but I read SKP's novel before I read Heyer's novel). Raoul reminded me of SKP's Ranulf both in his role as a storytelling device and in personality. Like Ranulf, Raoul is fiercly loyal but not blind to the faults of the person to whom he binds his loyalty. Raoul also is capable of seeing "both sides" of an issue, like Ranulf. Like Ranulf, he turns down earldoms and gifts, offering his loyalty for the sake of loyalty itself and not for material gain. Finally, both Raoul and Ranulf are separated from their loves due to political divisions. Both SKP and Heyer probably created Raoul/Ranulf because of the gap-filled, spotty history surrounding the main historical figures of the time and the desire to stick with known history while avoiding a history book feel - in this case, William the Conqueror and in SKP's case Empress Matilda and King Stephen.I felt that Heyer was less successful than SKP in bringing the main historical characters to life. As noted above William remained wooden, as did Harold Godwineson, the Duchess (later Queen) Matilda, and other figures. Also, surprisingly for a romance novelist, Heyer does not create a compelling romance in this novel. The romance between Matilda and William is virtually lifeless (except for William's initial infatuation and Matilda's rebuff of his proposals). Similarly, the romance between Raoul and Alfrida is dull. It is hard to see what attracts Raoul to Alfrida beyond her beauty and I found the reunion between Raoul and Alfrida in the last chapter to be dull. I wish the novel had ended a bit earlier.That said, The Conqueror was "pretty good." I would not hesitate to pick up another Georgette Heyer novel. But I'm still on the lookout for an even better take on William the Conqueror. 3.5 stars.
What do You think about The Conqueror (1985)?
This would be a high 3 stars so I just went with a 4. What a fascinating read of William the Conqueror. I would have to say he was a force. I don't believe, and sure did not believe, that there was anything he could not do. Heyer has a nice style of story telling, although there were parts that read like a history book. But, what are you going to do, it is a historical fiction. I always like reading about English history and it is more fun to see how other countries perceived England. They were drab and even dirty in many opinion. There are many battles in the book, but the grandest battle is against England. If nothing the book made me want to study the history of Normandy and William. I always like to know what is truth and what is a good story created by someone. She is a talented author I would have to say.
—Tanja
This was a challenge to read. The formatting and language was dated and I found myself often getting distracted and re-reading paragraphs or just setting it down mid-chapter for a break. That being said I really liked the book. It was definitely slow at times and rife with the sort of gross sexism someone might expect from a Regency romance author from the1920's. I was surprised that there wasn't more story-time for Matilda, William I's wife, even in the chapters that dealt with his proposal, it's related drama and their eventual marriage, because the blurb would lead you to believe that it was a romance. In truth, it was much more of a glossy account of William's successes and the adventures he has with his favorite, Raoul. I was also able to pick out a few historical errors and plot flourishes, but Heyer did a really good job of making the world come alive regardless.
—Nicole
The Conqueror is one of six historical novels written by Georgette Heyer, who is best known for her Regency Romances, and if this is an indication of the other five - then sign me up!Heyer brings us back to 11th Century Normandy and introduces us to William, Duke of Normandy, (a.k.a. William the Bastard) through the eyes of Raoul de Harcourt - a knight in Duke William's retinue.Raoul began his service to the Duke as a young knight and he quickly rose to be one of William's most trusted friends. Loyalty is a running theme throughout the novel - loyalty from a knight to his lord. Raoul may not have agreed with a lot of the tactics used by William, but he trusted and respected his lord enough to comply. Don't get me wrong, Raoul was no pushover - he voiced his opinions when it was warranted, but in the end he knew his role and played the part.Duke William was a very intriguing man - ambitious would be putting it lightly. He valued brain over braun and cunning over might. Once he saw something he wanted, he got it. Doesn't matter how, but he got it. Which leads me into a great scene with William and his future wife, Mathilda....but I'll leave that for you to read! Let's just say it's not a good idea to call William a bastard!One aspect of why I love historical fiction is the educational factor. I know I'm a total dork, but it's true - I've learned so much history through all the historical fiction novels I have read. I take some of it with a grain of salt cause it's historical fiction after all, but for the most part I know a lot more than I did a few years ago. While reading The Conqueror I learned a great deal more about the difference between an Englishman (or Saxon) and a Norman and the Battle of Hastings scene was not put-down-able!I enthusiastically recommend this novel! Heyer's writing is impeccable and her research is without a doubt one of the best. Character development is awesome and dialogue excellent. The Conqueror keeps you enthralled during and wanting more when you're done...which is how every good book should be!Amy says: 5 / 5Soundtrack: Conquest by Whitestripes
—Amy
