The White Company (Books of Wonder) [Hardcover]

Arthur Conan Doyle (Author), N. C. Wyeth (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Books of Wonder

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. But his favorite of all his books was this sweeping historical adventure set in the Middle Ages.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite the enduring popularity of the Holmes and Watson mysteries, Conan Doyle considered these two knight-in-armor stories to be his finest work. When published in 1891, The White Company became Britain's best-selling book since Ivanhoe, surpassing A Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island, and other literary giants. Oddly, this is the first time the two have ever been collected in a single volume. This dual edition contains an introduction by George MacDonald Fraser.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

This book is in Electronic Paperback© Format. If you view this book on any of the computer systems below, it will look like a book. Simple to run, no program to install. Just put the CD in your CDROM drive and start reading. The simple easy to use interface is child tested at pre-school levels.

Windows 3.11, Windows/95, Windows/98, OS/2, MacIntosh PPC OS 8.1 or higher, and Linux with Windows Emulation.

Includes Quiet Vision's Dynamic Index. the abilty to build a index for any set of characters or words.

Each book is either read aloud by a actor or (for Window/95-98-ME and MacIntosh systems) by an electronic voice. For the electronic voice to work you must have TTS software installed. The Apple distributed TTS for MacIntosh: an SAPI compliant TTS for Windows.

If your CD does not have the electronic voice in it (must be version 4.10 or higher) you can download a free update from Quiet Vision. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 362 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (May 20, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688078176
• ISBN-13: 978-0688078171
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chivalry Still Breathes, September 13, 2003

By 

Carmon Friedrich (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The White Company (Books of Wonder) (Hardcover)

Chivalry may be on life support, but it's still breathing in the words of Arthur Conan Doyle's The White Company. Although he is well known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, Doyle was most proud of creating the noble knight, Sir Nigel Loring of the White Company.

This book is set in the tumultuous days of the 14th century, when the political struggles among England, France and Spain, and the Crusades in the Holy Land, created instablity for peasant and noble alike. There are many heroes in the tale of knights and battles, but young Alleyne Edricson is the main protagonist. Sheltered in an abbey, where the orphaned lad was educated per his noble father's wishes, Alleyne is unwillingly shoved into the world for a period of a year, where he must decide whether he wishes to make his way there or return to a monastic life.

It doesn't take long for Alleyne to meet with adventure. He is shocked to find the world is a rough and tumble place. But his straightforward and naive approach to life helps him out of some scrapes and endears him to some colorful characters who become his bosom companions. Together, they join the service of Sir Nigel, who is an unlikely hero with his bald head, bad eyesight and scrawny stature. That is, until he is able to prove himself in "some small feat of arms," which is his favorite pastime. He is always victorious in these exhibitions of his knightly prowess, and he always has a kind word for the vanquished, his noble opponent. His motivation is always to defend the honor of his "lovely" wife, for whom he cherishes the greatest tenderness, although others wonder if this is due to his poor vision rather than any attractiveness on his lady's part.

There are many satisfying battles and cliffhangers in this book. Sir Nigel plunges headlong into any opportunity for a fight. Alleyne becomes his squire and follows him to France, to fight for their Prince, Edward III, who wants to restore the vanquished king of Spain. Alleyne becomes adept at sword fighting and exhibits as much bravery as his lord. He is also motivated by the love of a lady, Sir Nigel's lovely daughter, Maude.

I read this book aloud to my children, and we shared many moments of laughter as we followed the warriors from England to France. I struggled a bit with the French pronunciation of names and places (how do you pronounce "Blois"?), but it was a very funny and exciting book, and I'm glad we were able to read it together. Doyle was an expert on this time period as his mother read him many chivalric tales as a boy, exciting his interest in medieval times, which continued into his adulthood. The descriptions of weaponry, customs, religious life, clothing, historical events and geography permeate the story without detracting from it. There are numerous stirring and gory events (including pirates, hangings, peasant uprisings and decapitations...yuck), which will have readers on the edge of their seats. Of course, the illustrations by N.C. Wyeth added to our enjoyment.

There is another book about Sir Nigel, a prequel to The White Company, called Sir Nigel, which we will have to read soon. He has become one of our favorite literary characters.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never drags-lots of excitement- great YA or even older book, April 28, 2006

By 

Glenn Yates (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The White Company (Books of Wonder) (Hardcover)

I can't remember how I happened on this book- probably Amazon herded me to it- but I'm quite glad. I'm more of a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but I found this as enjoyable as The Black Arrow or Robin Hood or any other medieval book that I've read, and I'd never even heard of it before. The protagonist is a young man raised at the monastery who joins a band of rough but good hearted archers and follows their exploits as they head to war in France and Spain. The old agnostic (Doyle) weaves in more respect for the Catholic church than one usually sees from so-called church leaders today, combined with some common sense insights of true morality. For Doyle chivalry not only is not dead, it'll cut off the head of anyone who says otherwise. In other words, a man's word was worth something, and a man's actions were worth even more. Lots of swordplay, a little (very little) romance, some interesting and well developed characters, and an undercurrent of humor. Not as clever as the Holmes books, but a lot more action, and one learns a little English history at the same time. I'd highly, highly recommend it for kids, or anyone really, and I am amazed that it's fallen through the cracks to this point- at least for me.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping adventure from a Master Novelist, May 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The White Company (Books of Wonder) (Hardcover)

I cannot tell you how much fun this book is...you will have to read it yourself. This is the kind of book that you must immerse yourself in. Give yourself the time to just sink into Conan Doyle's world. It is easy to do, because Conan Doyle had a gift for imagery. The book is so complete. It shows both the beauty and the barbarity of the times with complete harmony. It is also downright funny at times. I have found myself laughing out loud while reading this book, largely because of the language used. Yes, the language is sometimes hard to follow, but who wouldn't laugh at "I have been cozened and bejaped!"? I think the author does this on purpose because it IS funny. It is interesting to compare The White Company with Crichton's recent novel "Timeline", set in the same era. Both authors worked to bring the flavor of that time to the reader, but with vastly different aims and results. Anyway, give yourself a break and escape into another world. Go to battle with Hordle John, Sam Aylward, and Alleyne! Then go sample another of Conan Doyle's little known gems and read of the outrageous exploits of Brigadier Gerard!