The Winter Mantle

by Elizabeth Chadwick

Overview

Normandy 1067---William may have conquered England, but it is a conquest of a different kind that one English earl has in mind.

Fresh from his defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy has returned home in triumph, accompanied by the English nobles he cannot trust to leave behind. For Waltheof of Huntington, however, rebellion is not at the forefront of his thoughts. From the moment he catches sight of Judith, daughter of the King's formidable sister, he knows he has found his future wife.

When Waltheof saves Judith's life, it is clear that the attraction is mutual. But marriage has little to do with love in medieval Europe. When William refuses to let the couple wed, Waltheof joins forces with his fellow rebels in an uprising against the King. William brutally crushes the rebellion, but realizes that Waltheof cannot be ignored. Marrying him to his niece, he decides, is the perfect way to keep him in check.

But is the match between the Saxon earl and Norman lady made in heaven or hell? As their children grow, Waltheof and Judith must choose between their feelings for each other and older loyalties. At the same time, the reputation of Waltheof's Norman acquaintance Simon de Senlis continues to flourish. The son of William's chamberlain, he shares a special bond with Waltheof, who rescued him from being trampled by a horse when he was a squire. Now Simon enjoys the confidence of both the King and the rebel earl. And when tension between the two ignites once more, it is Simon who is set to reap the reward.

Based on an astonishing true story of honor, treachery, and love, The Winter Mantle is historical fiction at its very best, reaching from the turbulent reign of William the conqueror to the high drama of the Crusades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466845688
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/21/2013
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	155,791
File size:	572 KB

About the Author

Elizabeth Chadwick lives in Nottingham with her husband and two sons. She is a member of Regia Anglorum, an early medieval reenactment society with the emphasis on accurately re-creating the past. She also tutors in the skill of writing historical and romantic fiction. She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt, her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Award in 1998 for The Champion. Her last novel, Lords of the White Castle, is the winner of the WordWeaving Award of Excellence. The Winter Mantle is her twelfth novel.

Elizabeth Chadwick lives in Nottingham with her husband and two sons. She is a member of Regia Anglorum, an early medieval reenactment society, and tutors in writing historical and romantic fiction. She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt, her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Award in 1998 for The Champion. Her novel Lords of the White Castle won the WordWeaving Award of Excellence, and The Falcons of Montabard, her thirteenth novel, was shortlisted for the U.K.'s Parker Romantic Novel of the Year Award for 2004.

Editorial Reviews

In 1067, the Earl of Huntington, along with other English aristocrats, has been compelled to go to France by his new liege, William the Conqueror. There the young nobleman becomes enraptured by William’s niece, Lady Judith. To marry her, he must promise lifetime allegiance to the new king, a promise he later finds difficult to keep when a plot is hatched to overthrow the French. Christopher Scott gives adequate voice to the male characters in this epic, but his women are frustratingly without dimension. Scott’s nasal and dour tone, combined with the poor characterizations, make this historical fiction come off as a bodice ripper. A judicious abridgment might make the story more enjoyable. R.F. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

OCT/NOV 03 - AudioFile