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The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England 1st Edition

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Marc Morris (Author)
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4.3 out of 5 stars 207 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1605986517
ISBN-10: 1605986518
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Pegasus; 1 edition (December 15, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1605986518
  • ISBN-13: 978-1605986517
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (207 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

167 of 177 people found the following review helpful
Good, solid Conquest book
By Cynesige VINE VOICE on May 31, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a good, solid book on the Norman Conquest, covering both the pre- and post-Battle of Hastings periods and concluding with the death of William the Conqueror. The author does an admirable job of making use of the scant, often contradictory source material (which pretty much boils down to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, the Bayeux Tapestry, and a small handful of near-contemporary observers and writers) to tell a balanced, well-considered story about what happened and why.

He leans pro-Norman here and there, but, hey, that's cool. It's a useful counterpoint to the throng of books that take the "Saxon-culture-as-pre feudal-Garden-of-Eden-until-the-Feudal Bad People-showed-up" perspective, a sort of syrupy 19th century Romanticism with which pop historians have been slow to dispense over the last 150 years, despite its preposterousness. As an American of non-English or French heritage, I have no emotional dog in the hunt, and at the risk of costing the author a few book sales, he too has what you might almost call an American perspective on the Conquest: neutral, dispassionate, curious, but ultimately distant: the viewpoint of an observer, not an heir. Most of the book is spent trying to suss out what really happened before and after the Battle of Hastings by assessing, comparing, and reading between the lines of the original sources. This is definitely a core strength of the book, more useful and probably closer to the real history than you'll find in some of the less-well-sourced, more speculative Conquest books out there, of which there are many.

It isn't a ground-breaking book. Morris presents no new theory on, say, whether cavalry or a Papal blessing or the previous month's Norwegian invasion was the decisive game-changer at the Battle of Hastings.Read more ›
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44 of 47 people found the following review helpful
The Norman Conquest
By H. P. on July 5, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
Any writer attempting to author a history of an early medieval event such as the Norman Conquest faces an immediate and near-dehibilitating problem--a dearth of reliable sources. Most of what was written about the Conquest was only written much later. What wasn't is highly biased. Morris, more familiar with later medieval history, freely laments this in intro. His protestations done, he does a much more than commendable job not only sorting through those sources but doing so in view of the reader and without scuttling the narrative.

Morris' challenge is doubled by the need to fill a pretty long book with only a relatively short period of English history. Norman Conquest begins with the birth of Edward the Confessor and ends with the death of William the Conqueror, plus a short final chapter covering his sons and sketching the early years of the Plantagenet dynasty (the Conquest itself, from setting sail to the Battle of Hastings, only takes up a small portion of the book). As such, it would make a good prequel to Dan Jones' recent history of the Plantagenets.

The context vis-a-vis the situation of England prior to the Conquest provided by Morris is valuable for two reasons. One, it allows a contrast with the situation of England after the Conquest so the reader can see just how great a change the Conquest wrought. Two, it shows just how precarious the situation of England was. It was destabilized by the ongoing threat of Viking invasion (including an invasion successfully repelled shortly before the Norman invasion), and Harold Godwine had only a tenuous claim to be Edward the Confessor's heir.

A fraction of the men that later fought at Towton fought at Hastings, but it was still a huge battle by the standards of its day.Read more ›
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Now That's How You Write History!
By Dana Keish on October 17, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
Author Marc Morris takes a new look at the events surrounding the 1066 invasion by the Duke of Normandy (better known as William the Conqueror) of England. Still consider this a watershed moment in European history, this new book is a welcome addition to the subject.
Mr. Morris starts the story decades before the invasion, describing the events leading up to the succession of Edward the Confessor to the throne of England. Apparently a very pious man, but also married to the daughter of the man (Earl Godwine) that he blamed for killing his brother, Edward didn't spend much time trying to "beget" an heir to his throne. Therefore, his invitation to William of Normandy, to assume the throne became a sticking point with the Godwineson family of England. The machinations between the various factions, not only in England but around Europe, are analyzed and presented in a clear, chronological order. Not only is the 1066 invasion described in detail, but the book continues until the death of William in 1087.
This is one of the more interesting history books which I have read in a long time, and not just due to the subject matter. The author does an excellent job looking critically at all available sources for the time period. He notes whether the accounts are contemporaneous or written well after the events. Mr. Morris also looks at the background of the writers-did they have an axe to grind? Even those writings known to be "propaganda" for a particular faction are still reviewed with a more nuanced eye. For example, in the Life of Edward, a chronicle believed to have been written under the patronage of Edward the Confessor's Queen Edith, Mr.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Sherman! Don't set the Wayback Machine for 1066!

This is a remarkable historical treatise that alternates between illuminating, entertaining, frightening, incredibly informative and at times exhausting. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Occasional Critic
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Published 10 days ago by Robert Redbord
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Published 17 days ago by Amazon Customer
I am disappointed.

I'm halfway into reading this now. Definitely too much emphasis is placed on accuracy over story. At least with some scholarly research you can follow the events as they unfolded. Read more

Published 18 days ago by Robert Taylor
Detailed and enjoyable read

I enjoyed the narrative structure and guidance of the author. His opinion shines through at times, and he may simplify certain events or contemporary interpretations, but his... Read more

Published 20 days ago by patarroyo
Wonderful

This wasn't the first book I read about the Norman conquest but it was the best. The layout of events was easy to follow and character details kept the story interesting and... Read more

Published 28 days ago by Karen Quick
Five Stars

Well developed background, exhaustive history in a pleasing narrative.

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
Here's a review from someone that really helped me when looking to get...

I didn't realize until after I had finished Marc Morris's The Norman Conquest that I had done so shortly after reading another book about a pivotal battle in the history of a... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Enoch Butler
Normans Squeak to a Big Victory

This well-researched history traces the background of and results of the epic battle in 1066. It moves along nicely, never boring the reader, yet delivering a deep appreciation for... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Martin J. McShea

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