jacey | Booklog 79/2019: Elizabeth Chadwick: To Defy a King

This is part of Elizabeth Chadwick's William Marshal cycle of books which concentrates on his daughter, Mahelt. At the age of fourteen she is married to Hugh, eldest son of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. Hugh’s half-brother is William of Salisbury (known as William Longespee), and Longespee's half-brother is King John. Though it's an arranged marriage and Mahelt is too young to consummate it until her fifteenth birthday, she falls for Hugh in a big way, and he for her. There is a ten year age gap, but this is not unusual in this era where girls as young as twelve can be married to much older men.

King John is on the throne, an unreasonable tyrant rapidly losing the sympathy of his nobles. This recounts the road to Magna Carta and beyond, as the nobles of England take drastic steps in the face of John's unpredictable decisions and cruelty. Families are split and there is danger everywhere. Loyalties are deeply divided.

William Marshal is the real historical character, soldier and statesman, who comes to court in the reign of Henry II, and survives thew reigns of all Henry's sons to eventually become regent for his grandson, Henry III. Though a powerful warrior and politician we don't actually see much of him in this book, which is a disappointment as he's a character we've come to love in Chadwick's earlier books. I loved The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion which recount William Marshal's life story. If you want to read about his father try A Place Beyond Courage. I haven't read Templar Silks yet. There's also A Time of Singing which is the story of Ida de Tosney and Roger Bigod, Hugh's father.

To be perfectly honest, though Ms Chadwick's writing is always excellent, I didn't enjoy this as much as the other William Marshal books. There are some fine moments in it, but because of the position of women in that era, Mahelt is largely sidelined by the men. This is, of course historically accurate, but often means that as the central character, although she is a strong-minded woman, she doesn't have much agency. She's acted upon by history, rather than acting, except in small ways.

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