The Conquerors: The Pageant of England -
by Thomas B. Costain (1949, Doubleday). Do read at
least to the end of Chapter VI for a delightfully piquant
suggestion of real motivation. Do NOT get *The Conquering
Family: A History of the Plantagenets* (1962, reprinted 1994),
which is a shortened version and doesn't get going until Maud's
son, Henry II.
If your local library does not have this book, in the U.S.A.
you can go to the library desk and say, "Interlibrary
Loan, please." The library will borrow the book from
another library and lend it to you, for the cost of the
postage. Do other countries' library system have this? (Suggested
by Pogo)
When Christ and His Saints Slept - by
Sharon Kay Penman. Beginning in 1135,with the
death of King Henry I, it is the story of the conflict between
King Stephen and the Empress Maud and continues through the
early years of the reign of Henry II, Maud's son. It is
amazingly accurate historicallly, and I have found it
interesting to reread the "Cadfael Chronicles" in
time sequence as I go along. It gives a more complete
understanding of what is happening in England at the time. (Suggested
by Alice
Gardner-Boreta)
The Story of the English Language
- by Mario Pei (1967). This book's first few chapters
describe how Old English came to be, how it mutated, and what
happened to it when William and his hordes came to stay.
The stories of Sister Fidelma - by
Peter Tremayne (alias Peter Berresford Ellis). These
set of books are based on the life of Sister Fidelma who is a
seventh century nun of the community of St. Brigid of Kildare
and are historical mysteries along the same lines as the
Cadfael series. The current known book titles are
