I have to confess that A MARRIAGE OF LIONS did not have a title for a long time, and the first title it acquired is not the one you see on the jacket cover. The novel’s working title for most of its first draft life in private was ‘Joanna de Valence’ because that was the […]
Find out moreBefore I began to write A MARRIAGE OF LIONS I had no idea that this was going to be the title – although it suits the subject matter perfectly. I also had no idea that Joanna de Munchensey and William de Valence were going to be the subjects of the novel but I am so […]
Find out moreIn the recent wake of the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, it’s inevitable that the movers and shakers of that particular period will step into the spotlight, and perhaps none more so than the great William Marshal. Largely unknown outside the circles of medievalists and re-eanactors […]
Find out moreIt has been 26 years since David Crouch brought out the first edition of his biography of the great William Marshal. I have that book, and the second edition too, published in 2002. Even before I took up writing my series of novels about the Marshals, David Crouch’s biography was essential reading for an […]
Find out moreI confess that before I read Thomas Asbridge’s “THE GREATEST KNIGHT”, I was already curious about this new biography of William Marshal. The lives of John FitzGilbert the Marshal and his son William are a lifelong study subject for me and I’ve read everything about them I can get my hands on. Since this […]
Find out moreThis article is a post from the talk I gave on William Marshal at Cartmel Priory on May 15th 2011 for their annual Founder’s Day Lecture. A quote from the Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal, edited by A.J. Holden and translated by S. Gregory. Published by the Anglo Norman Text Society. “The son the countess, […]
Find out moreThe whereabouts of Newbury Castle, Berkshire has long been a conundrum. Did it exist, and if so, where is it? No one knows for sure; there are only theories. As far as my own theory goes, I would say it’s staring everyone in the face, but let’s explore the subject. William Marshal’s biography the […]
Find out moreANVILS AND HAMMERS: Why John FitzGilbert Marshal’s speech at Newbury should not be taken at face value By Elizabeth Chadwick Some time around 1152 there was a bitter siege fought over a castle on the Wiltshire/Berkshire border. William Marshal, about five years old, was a hostage to the men besieging his father’s castle andthe surety […]
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