Knight Crusader (Puffin Books) [Paperback]

Ronald Welch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 1977 | Series: Puffin Books

Seventeen-year-old Philip learns the skills of a knight in his father's castle in 12th-century Jerusalem. Bravely surviving Saracen attack, he joins Richard the Lionhearted in the Third Crusade before returning to England to claim his ancestral estate.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Puffin Books (April 28, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140309209
• ISBN-13: 978-0140309201
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #757,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action and Depth, February 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knight Crusader (New Oxford library) (Hardcover)

Ronald Welch is without doubt the best historical novelist I have encountered. While his books clearly aim at a younger audience, they stand up well against much "adult" fiction. Knight Crusader tells the story of a young knight of Outremere, the name of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. It is quite amazing how much you learn of the times, and the characterisations of the people are brief but rich. Sir Philip D'Aubigny takes part in the disastrous Second Crusade, and the victorious Third, and finally travels to Wales where he takes over the family estate of Llanstephan. In fact, this book lays the foundation for a long series of books which follows the lives of his descendants, through their various ages.

As a child I read everything I could find by Ronald Welch, and in many ways my love of history is due to his books. I now treasure the select few (out of print) books of his I own, and buy up any more I can find... alas that they are so few and far between. Amazon.com hardly lists any of them. I wonder why not? "For the King" - English Civil War; "Captain of Foot" - Napoleonics; "Nicholas Carey" - Crimea; "Son of York" - War of the Roses; "Mohawk Valley" - American settlement, and Quebec campaign; "The Gauntlet" -currently reprinted in England, but not listed on Amazon.com, (but is listed in their UK site)! Where are these books?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly Brilliant, November 13, 2000

By 

Tamsin (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knight Crusader (New Oxford library) (Hardcover)

This book is amazing. The vivid imagery that Ronald Welch communicates has stuck in my mind for years. I've read this book many times and I'm sure I will read it many more times. The descriptions of life in Outremer at the time of the Third Crusade is masterfully portrayed and the characters are individual and you get a real feeling of knowing them. I swear when the main characters are riding through the desert on their way to the battle of Hattin and they are near dehydration i always feel thirsty and hot, they way its described is so real! I really recommend this book, i was lucky to get it for about 20c at a second hand book auction but I would pay far more for it! If something ever happened to my treasured and tattered copy I would go to the ends of the earth if necessary to obtain another! Well, well, worth the effort of getting it, but for everyone's sake I say they should just get Ronald Welch's books back into print. Knight Crusader is a thrilling read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the pen of an extraordinary storyteller..., June 7, 2001

By 

Pauline Smith (Riyadh Saudi Arabia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knight Crusader (New Oxford library) (Hardcover)

Comes the tale of a young man, growing up in the brief lull between the 1st and 2nd Crusades. The rich imagery, and unparallelled storytelling abilities of Ronald Welch are shown in their full glory, in this story which takes us through the horrors of the disastrous 2nd Crusade. It explores the courage of a man growing to adulthood in the shadow of slavery. Share the triumph of the 3rd Crusade, and join Philip on his journey home at last to misty England, where challenges of a different sort await. If you haven't read this book - I feel deeply sorry for you. It's an essential read for every history enthusiast.