Customer Reviews

Wife to the Bastard

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book years ago, but it's stuck in my mind ever since, so it was a delight to see it available again. The book is well written and the characters are vivid, their motivations clear, their actions consistent with their stories. The book covers the marriage of William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda, from before 1066 through the later years of their marriage when their children were tearing the family and the country apart. It's a somewhat sad book but a great way to introduce yourself to the events and personalities of the era. It's also well written so the prose is a pleasure to read. If you like historical fiction, this is an excellent addition to your must-read list.

I like this book. I probably would have given it 5 stars except for one thing -- I wonder if it was ever edited. And if it was, fire the editor.

I admit I am a stickler for correct grammar when reading a book. This book has many errors, such as "be little" instead of "belittle," etc. Otherwise, if this does not bother you, get this book. It is very interesting.

I have read many books on William the Conqueror but this is my first book on his wife. I enjoyed it.

This book started out interesting, with her getting pregnant and having to hide the birth of her child, but it went downhill from there. The writing was so boring, or the writing style, or the subject, or all of the above, that I ended up not even caring about what happened to the character and had to force myself to finish the book to see what all the fuss was about. I didn't get a good feel for the character or for the lives of the other people in this book. It was so dull, all I remember is her having a lot of children and how her husband wasn't the nicest of people. Otherwise, I found my self reading the Wikipedia entry for Matilda, that was more interesting than this book was! I don't think I will try to read another book by this author again.

This is the story of Matilda of Flanders, wife to William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England. This is the second book I've read concerning both of these two very important people; the other being Bastard King by Jean Plaidy. I had to compare the two, and I find that while Lewis' book is a bit more detailed, it lacked in comparison to Plaidy for me.

I'll start with what I don't like. I didn't like that through the whole book it seemed like Matilda was fed up with William from the get go. Though there isn't much on her I always was under the impression that Matilda did have some real sort of affection for William. Here I felt like she just tolerated him because she had to, like he was an annoying child who's loveable at the same time. Maybe it was because of how the book started off, which it didn't really have to, but it was annoying for me throughout the whole story. I felt like it detracted from it. I'll also say that I felt like her use of detail went into the monotonous also. I felt Lewis repeated herself quite a bit when it wasn't needed and dragged the book out longer than was necessary in some parts.

Now on to what I liked. I did like that I got a better feel for their daily lives as opposed to Plaidy's novel. I felt like I got to know what it was really like living in Norman Normandy and England. I also like that I got to know their children Robert Curthouse, Richard and William Rufus(though, like Matilda, I detested him from jump street.)

Overall this is a good book if you like more detail. I will say that I felt like there were a lot of typos in my copy, like it was a first draft in some places. I also was confused on some of the dates(though some of it is partially my fault.) Once you get past that the book is pretty good.

Very good book. Enjoyed it. If your interested in the Queens of England you will like this book.

Always on the lookout for different writers, I was excited about reading this book. Unfortunately, the story line did not fulfill the promise of being about Matilda. Instead it was more of the same about William, and not as well written as I had hoped.