1066

A lightly fictionalized account of the Norman Conquest of England. This story is told in the first person by a witness to the fascinating events of the eleventh century leading up to the improbable conquest of England by the Norman Duke William the Bastard (an event which earns him the new sobriquet the Conqueror). It begins with the tumultuous reign of King Ethelred the Unready during which England is plagued by Viking raids and traces the multiple threads of events in Normandy Norway and England that will come together in the fateful year 1066. The English ultimately have to fend off not one but two invasions as three men all claim the throne: Harold Godwinson duly elected king by the English Harald Hardradi a legendary Viking adventurer and of course William the Bastard who believes Godwinson has stolen his birthright and personally betrayed him.