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The Conquest Elizabeth Chadwick 9780312154974 Books

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The Conquest Elizabeth Chadwick 9780312154974 Books

The story begins in 1065 (and continues through 1088), as Ailith, wife to Goldwin the Armorer, watches her younger teenage brothers serve the new English King Harold Godwinson as his bodyguards. Her husband makes them the Danish war axes, which they wield. But a storm is gathering as the Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy both seek to rule England. Rolf de Brize, a Norman horse breeder prepares his duke for war.

When the Conquest comes (Chadwick vividly describes the Battle of Hastings), Ailith’s life is deeply affected. As she says to the married Rolf, who has more than a passing interest in her, “My brothers, my baby, my husband. What more is there to take?” Well there is more as she experiences betrayal that shakes her very world. I was deeply affected by it and reaching for the Kleenex box with nearly every scene.

Chadwick has created a compelling story that portrays the difference between a marriage of convenience and a marriage of the heart, personal stories set against the tumultuous events during and after the Conquest. Ailith is a wonderful heroine any woman can identify with and love. She is strong yet vulnerable to the man she loves though she never really possesses all of him. Rolf is a man who, while mature in many ways, takes his pleasure wherever he wants without regard to the consequences. He has two women—his insipid Norman wife and Ailith, his English mistress—and dozens more besides. He sees too late what his betrayal has cost Ailith and their child. And hence I must warn historical romance lovers that the story of Ailith’s love for Rolf, which takes up most of the book, does not end well. Yet there is another story that follows, that of Ailith’s daughter Julitta, which will give you the happy ending you are looking for.

Julitta, is a wonderful wild young woman with a spirit only a man of strong character could appreciate. And she finds him when she is only five—Benedict. Like her mother before her, Julitta is forced by circumstances and the whims of others to accept less than her heart’s desire, which I have to say, pained me greatly.

The saga begins the year before the Conquest and continues for two decades as Chadwick weaves an intricate tale of the consequences of loyalties, the harsh revenge of William the Conqueror when the English do not bend to his well, lives disrupted and lost and a new legacy forged from the clash of two cultures. The characters are wonderfully drawn and the emotions powerful. The well written story reflects Chadwick’s considerable research into the period.

The book kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning and has haunted my dreams since. Chadwick is a master of historical storytelling and she pulled my heartstrings on this one. It’s a worthy story though at times a sad one.


Tags : The Conquest [Elizabeth Chadwick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Grieving over the deaths of her husband and infant son, Saxon widow Ailith finds solace with Norman warrior Rolf de Brize,Elizabeth Chadwick,The Conquest,St Martins Pr,0312154976,Romance - Historical - General,Great Britain;History;William I, 1066-1087;Fiction.,Historical fiction.,Love stories.,ENGLISH LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,FICTION Romance Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Coming of Age,Fiction-Romance,GENERAL,General Adult,Great Britain,Great BritainBritish Isles,Historical fiction,History,Love stories,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical,William I, 1066-1087

The Conquest Elizabeth Chadwick 9780312154974 Books Reviews

This is another of Elizabeth Chadwick's earlier books (published in 1996). I thoroughly enjoyed this two-generation tale of Normans and Saxons in 11th Century England and the characters portrayed in this book. I am a great fan of this author and have read most of her books. I have enjoyed gaining a better understanding of those Mediaeval times with her style of writing - a mixture of fiction and history. Elizabeth Chadwick's work just got better and better with time.
England, 1065-1088. Ailith, a young married Saxon woman, had no idea how much her life would change when William, the Duke of Normandy, conquers England. At first, she meets her Norman neighbors, Aubert and Felice de Remy, and befriends them. But neither she nor her husband knows that Aubert is William's spy. Then when the war begins and William becomes the new king, tragedy befalls Ailith. Her newborn baby dies, followed by her husband, and her world falls apart. She wants to end her life, but Rolf de Brize, a handsome and womanizing warrior and buyer/breeder of warhorses, stops her. He is attracted to the voluptuous blonde and wants her at all cost, which is why he saves her from the unwanted advances of a sleazy suitor and offers her a job at his new English estate. She keeps her distance, but he will have her, and he won't let a small matter like his marriage to a noble lady stop him from having the woman he has desired the most...

Years later, past mistakes and tragedies fall on young and spirited Julitta. Having grown up working as a maid at a bathhouse (brothel) with her mother, she has known a great deal of hardships. When she finds her way back to her father and stepfamily, Julitta is also reacquainted with Benedict de Remy, her childhood love. Benedict had been betrothed to Gisele, Rolf's legitimate daughter, when he was still a child and he has to fulfill his contractual obligations. But his feelings for Julitta grow as he spends more time with her. Julitta will learn about star-crossed love, growing up a woman and the unfairness of an arranged marriage before she even turns fifteen.

Wow. That is all I can say about this book. So many people have praised Elizabeth Chadwick and how wonderful her medieval-set novels are. They said that she knew her medieval history, and that she makes the time period come alive. They also say that you are transported to the time period and see the scenes in your head as though it were a film. Well, it is true. I read one of her novels once. I think it was Lords of the White Castle, and thought it was wonderful. But that was years ago and I forgot about this author for a while. The Conquest is a beautiful historical read. It has a great backdrop of the Norman Conquest, but it also tells a wonderful and bittersweet story with lots of romance, adventure, tragedy and intrigue. You will love these characters. Ailith is a tragic heroine that I will remember for a long time, and Rolf, though flawed and at times insufferable, is also a great character. The story of Ailith and Rolf enthralled me more than Julitta and Benedict's, but only because it is so sad. I cannot recommend The Conquest enough. I will definitely read Chadwick's other novels, even if they have to be shipped from the UK.
The story begins in 1065 (and continues through 1088), as Ailith, wife to Goldwin the Armorer, watches her younger teenage brothers serve the new English King Harold Godwinson as his bodyguards. Her husband makes them the Danish war axes, which they wield. But a storm is gathering as the Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy both seek to rule England. Rolf de Brize, a Norman horse breeder prepares his duke for war.

When the Conquest comes (Chadwick vividly describes the Battle of Hastings), Ailith’s life is deeply affected. As she says to the married Rolf, who has more than a passing interest in her, “My brothers, my baby, my husband. What more is there to take?” Well there is more as she experiences betrayal that shakes her very world. I was deeply affected by it and reaching for the Kleenex box with nearly every scene.

Chadwick has created a compelling story that portrays the difference between a marriage of convenience and a marriage of the heart, personal stories set against the tumultuous events during and after the Conquest. Ailith is a wonderful heroine any woman can identify with and love. She is strong yet vulnerable to the man she loves though she never really possesses all of him. Rolf is a man who, while mature in many ways, takes his pleasure wherever he wants without regard to the consequences. He has two women—his insipid Norman wife and Ailith, his English mistress—and dozens more besides. He sees too late what his betrayal has cost Ailith and their child. And hence I must warn historical romance lovers that the story of Ailith’s love for Rolf, which takes up most of the book, does not end well. Yet there is another story that follows, that of Ailith’s daughter Julitta, which will give you the happy ending you are looking for.

Julitta, is a wonderful wild young woman with a spirit only a man of strong character could appreciate. And she finds him when she is only five—Benedict. Like her mother before her, Julitta is forced by circumstances and the whims of others to accept less than her heart’s desire, which I have to say, pained me greatly.

The saga begins the year before the Conquest and continues for two decades as Chadwick weaves an intricate tale of the consequences of loyalties, the harsh revenge of William the Conqueror when the English do not bend to his well, lives disrupted and lost and a new legacy forged from the clash of two cultures. The characters are wonderfully drawn and the emotions powerful. The well written story reflects Chadwick’s considerable research into the period.

The book kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning and has haunted my dreams since. Chadwick is a master of historical storytelling and she pulled my heartstrings on this one. It’s a worthy story though at times a sad one.