Synopsis
Harold of Wessex becomes the reluctant leader of the opposition to William the Conqueror, while he fights to hold on to his common-law wife, Lady Edith of Nazeing
Reviews
Prolific Godwin (Return to Nottingham) tells the tragic story of Harold of Wessex, the earl who overcame his scruples to succeed Edward the Confessor as king but reigned for only a year before he was cut down at the Battle of Hastings. Threatened by civil strife and Norman invasion, the English court of the mid-11th century is a treacherous place where loyalties are tested and trusts routinely betrayed. Harold's noble family mirrors England's fractiousness: Harold sends one beloved brother into exile and kills another. Yet the most poignant relationship in the novel is between Harold and his common-law wife, Edith, whom he loves deeply and, according to church law, can never marry. Godwin skillfully uses multiple voices to tell his story?Edward, William and Harold's brothers, father and sister all get a chance to speak. Most engaging among them is that of sharp-witted, resilient Edith. Some readers may wish that Godwin continued to place Edith at the center of the story. Instead, she fades into the background as the novel focuses increasingly on military and political entanglements and Harold's difficult choices between love and country, happiness and power.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Enthusiastic prequel to Godwin's Sherwood (1991) and Robin and the King (1993), which drastically revised the Robin Hood story. Focusing on the Norman invasion of England, this one tells of quietly contented Harold and his common-law wife, Edith, whom the Church has forbidden him to marry. The two avoid court politics until Harold has to fight to defend the throne. Following the exile and return to power of his father, Godwine, he inherits two earldoms; after the deaths of his older brother and Edward, King of the English, he becomes king himself in 1066. Edward, who was half Norman and yet fully Norman in character, hadnt understood that his people longed for their own nation and laws--something that Harold has learned well from his father. Harold finds, also, that he must marry Lady Aldyth, whose husband's death he caused, and make her queen as an act of political alliance, even though he loves only Edith. He turns back a Danish invasion at Stamford Bridge, but on the fateful day of the Battle of Hastings, when William defeats him, Edith is with Harold. Despite Godwin's high heart for this material, the style of his 16th novel remains a steady plod with a satisfied smile. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
As young Harold of Wessex comes of age under the rule of King Edward, he envisions a united England, and with the support of Lady Edith of Nazeing, his distant cousin and common-law wife, he stands up for his beliefs. In the end, Harold gains the support of the council of lords and the grudging respect of the king, so that when King Edward dies without an heir, the council chooses Harold to wear the crown and resist the claims of William the Conqueror. Since his marriage to Edith was never recognized by the church, Harold is forced to marry to ensure the throne's succession. Still, it is Edith who stands unwavering at his side on that last bitter day at Hastings in 1066, and it is Edith he loves for more than 20 years. Godwin brings Harold and Edith powerfully to life as lovers fated to be swept up in the turmoil of a changing England, in this enthralling prequel to Sherwood (1992) and Robin and the King (1994). Melanie Duncan
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