Harold the King

✍ Scribed by Helen Hollick

• Publisher: Heinemann
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 486 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 190623681X

✦ Synopsis

This story is set in the England of 1044. As dawn breaks over a summer's landscape, Harold Godwinesson is riding east. One of seven sons of the noble Godwime family, he is newly created Earl of East Anglia. But marrying for love sets him against his family and his King. In France, William, the bastard son of a duke, is hungry for power. A charismatic leader, he care nothing for the hypocrisy of court, only his next victory. Matched by his determined wife Mathilda, he casts his eyes towards England. King Edward is alternately influenced and angered by his powerful mother, the Dowager Queen Emma. Manipulated into a marriage of convenience with Harolds sister, he is at the mercy of his nobles - an he lacks an heir.

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Review

"A novel of enormous emotional power... Helen Hollick is a fabulous writer of historical fiction." - Elizabeth Chadwick "Helen Hollick has it all! She tells a great story, gets her history right and writes consistently readable books!" - Bernard Cornwell "If only all historical fiction could be this good." - Historical Novels Review "An epic re-telling of the Norman Conquest." - The Lady "Don't miss Helen Hollick's colourful recreation of the events leading up to the Norman Conquest in Harold the King." - Daily Mail "Hollick's enormous cast and meticulous research combine to create a convincing account of the destructive reign of the hapless Edward and the internecine warfare that weakens England as William prepares to invade. Thanks to Hollick's masterful storytelling, Harold's nobility and heroism enthrall to the point of engendering hope for a different ending to the famous battle of 1066." - Publisher's Weekly What the readers say - "The genius of Hollick's writing is her rare ability to combine accurate historical fact with damned good storytelling." "One thing for certain, reading a historical novel by Helen Hollick will leave you feeling satisfied if a little sad that the novel has ended. Even though you basically know the ending before you start the novel, it is in the telling of the story in between that will captivate you and keep you reading." "I felt I was kidnapped by this story of the Saxon England. When I couldn't read the book, I thought about it during the day, I researched what I didn't know online and when sleeping, I dreamed about the characters. I think it will not be an exaggeration when I say that Helen cast a spell on me."

About the Author

Helen Hollick lives in London with her husband and adult daughter. In between researching the background information for her historical novels, and her pirate series about Jesamiah Acorne, she spends most of her time helping her daughter, who is a semi-professional show jumper, as chief groom and general run-around. She has a university diploma in early medieval history and a passion for pirates.