Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion

Fairy tales aren't history

If you like fairy tales this is the book for you. If you are looking for good historical fiction, pass this by. Ms. Chadwick, I realize is writing fiction, but she has failed to research her facts about the man, and the times. For instance, William's father's name was not Marshal. Marshal was a title, his father's name was John Fitz Gilbert. The name Marshal was not granted to William as a sir name until later in his life and was never given to his father.

Ms. Chadwwick tells of Elanor of Aquitain riding side saddle. The side saddle was not invented until several centuries later. Perhaps that is a minor issue, however, I believe if you are writing historical fiction, you should be sure of your history.

26 out of 35 people found this review helpful.

Fascinating Look into a Historical Character

Book 1 in the life of William Marshal

Set in England and France 1167-1194, the story is a convincing and compelling blend of facts and fiction exploring the life of William Marshal, one of England's greatest knights during the Middle Ages. William rose from obscurity as a son of a minor aristocrat to a champion in his field, a confidant to kings, a magnate and eventually one of England's respected regents. Elizabeth Chadwick has given us once again a rich and detailed novel filled with excellent research and a fascinating look into a historical character.

As a child, William was sent to serve in King Stephen's court where he learned the importance of loyalty and honour along with the art of knighthood. His finely tune skills won the respect of Henry11 and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, he eventually became a marshal, tutor and model to the royal princes.

As a champion on the tourney, William faced danger and the petty jealousy that doges any royal favourite. Haunted by scandal he is eventually banished from court but his services are nevertheless sought throughout Europe and when William's honour is finally restored, he returns to court with greater acclaim and power than ever.

His devoted loyalty was rewarded when he was given the hand of 19 year old Isabel de Clare, heiress and daughter of Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke. Marrying her came with many perks, such as land in England, Wales, Ireland and Normandy. From his humble beginnings as a penniless knight, William Marshal became one of the richest men in the country.

Ms. Chadwick brought to life an extraordinary story about a fascinating man in history (her notes at the end of the novel are useful to distinguish facts from fiction). Most of the characters are well defined historical figures although I am partial to the fictional character, Clara, William's mistress and confidant, their association added romance and intrigue. The prose and narrative are straightforward and colourful leaving a vivid image to immerse the readers into the splendour of a medieval setting.

There is so much going on in this stunning novel, I hope my short summary is successful in piquing everyone's interest. She is one of my favourite historical fiction novelists.

7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

THE GREATEST KNIGHT Elizabeth Chadwick

This is a wonderful story of William Marshall, a Knight with King Richard.
I did not know much about this period of English history and this book was
very informative. William Marshall was definitely a MAN OF HONOR. He kept his word to whomever it was given. He was a personal friend of Eleanor of Aquataine. He is later accused of having an affair with the Princess/wife of the young king. Later in life he marries Isabella, a duchess, mainly for her lands. But he falls in love with her and they have a most unusual relationship for this period of time. The follow-up book is THE SCARLET LION. I will be reading it very soon.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

terrific biographical fiction

In the early thirteenth century, as the younger son of an affluent influential family, William Marshal has limited prospects. However, he proves quite skillful with a sword. When he performs a chivalrous act that saves the life of powerful Queen of Eleanor of Aquitaine, he earns the position of special protector. He becomes tutors to the princes and pledges loyalty to the heir Henry out of his fealty to the lad's mother. He stays loyal as rebellion pits father against son and when Henry dies, Marshal swears loyalty to Henry's brother Richard. This placed him against his brother who pledged loyalty to Richard's brother Prince John. While Richard is on Crusade, John makes a bid for the throne; this puts Marshal between a rock and a hard place as he must choose between honoring his pledge or his family. He obviously chose right as he became known as the "greatest knight" by his peers.

This is a terrific biographical fiction that fans of the era will enjoy as William served loyally and bravely to a who's who of the period. The cast starting with Eleanor and the succession of princes/kings/cardinals and popes enhance a strong look at a fascinating individual.

Harriet Klausner

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

The Greatest Knight

This is an extremely well written book by an amazing author. It fills us in on the first 40~ years of Williams life. The second half, and a stand alone novel in its own, is the Scarlet lion.
It may have some small historic inaccuracies as previously notes, but it is an absolute page turner, no effort required!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Chivalry at it's best!

This was my first Elizabeth Chadwick read and it will not be my last. I immensely enjoyed this book. The story of William Marshal was a page turner. Chivalry at it's best!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Love!

Elizabeth Chadwick is fantastic. However, she does make her storyline a bit old for some readers, so don't read this if you have trouble concentrating. Lots of the book requires thinking through and refering back to previous happenings - but it is SO worth it. I was so sad when it ended!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it

Great book if you enjoy this time period. Looking forward to readind Chadwicks newest book

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fun Read!

This book was a fun read. The characters are likable and the story is well told.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great!

Wonderful historical fiction. I have already bought the next book to continue the story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

GREAT book`

I'm a history buff and this is based on a real person, so I was interested because of that. But, it's just a great story...You will like it, I'm pretty sure.

Fall in love with William Marshal

While I wouldn't want to live in 12th century England or France, reading Elizabetn Chadwick's The Greatest Knight, I feel as if I've traveled back in time to the turbulent era marked by feuding rulers, barons and the height of chivalry. Even the descriptions of food sounded appetizing (to a point--I won't be purchasing an eel pie any time soon).

There is obviously a reason that Chadwick as a historical fiction author is held in such esteem and that esteem is richly deserved, though she couldn't have picked a better subject than William Marshal. Romance authors, here is the romantic hero done RIGHT! No impossible abs of steel, no five paragraphs describing his "equipment" (and I'm not talking about armor or swords) or skills in lovemaking. And most important, based upon a REAL person with real flaws. It has been a long time since I've fallen in love with a hero, but I found myself swooning over William Marshal.

I'm familiar with Marshal's rise to greatness through numerous novels and historical references about the fractious relationship between Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. In every novel, Marshal's character as honorable never wavers and here the man, fully-fleshed as only a brilliant storyteller can do, is just as honorable, passionate and yes dare I say it...humourous? Ladies, there's nothing sexier than a knight with a good sense of humor. What came as even more awesome was his deep and abiding love for his wife Isabelle, a young woman several decades his junior with an indomitable will of her own. Theirs was a love match in an age where heiresses were bartered off without so much as a by your leave.

This was a wonderful book that kept me up way past bedtime. There were some stupid complaints that this book was too long, probably from people with really short attention spans. The Greatest Knight is the kind of novel that one simply loses themselves in and hates to leave once it is over. It is that novel that acts as a drug, urging the reader to seek out more for another "fix".
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Loved it!

I,ll be reading more by this author. Great story.

Love this book. I'm not an authority on this period in history,

Love this book. I'm not an authority on this period in history, or any other period, so if this book is not historically correct, I wouldn't know. It was just a great story.

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Absolutely Chivalrous

In an age of social media and complex instant communication, it's easy to forget just how much sway a person's words could hold. Excellent snapshot of the politics of the day with some adventure thrown in.

Good book

I enjoyed this book. I am a diverse reader and enjoy period novels, but I felt like this book took me along time to read. I loved the character development, but I felt like the middle got muddeled with non important characters... I will read the second book, but I wont have the expectations of a "can't put it down" book. All in all was a good book.

True Telling of an Unsung Hero

I absolutely loved this book. Based on a historical person and carefully researched, this telling of a true hero's tale captivated me from the first chapter. Beautifully written, this is one of the few I'd be delighted to read again.

Good historical read!

I read "To Defy A King" before I got to this one and even though I read them out of sequence it was still a great read.

The historical feel is almost overwheming at times - you really get a sense of "being there" and experiencing the small things from the smell of cooking food to the feel of the bedstraw.

The violence happens for the most part off-screen and you're not inundated for page after page of battle scenes - but you do get enough to give you a sense of this dangerous time where alliances could be made and broken within hours and being politically adept was as necessary a skill as being good with a sword.

Looking forward to working my way through the rest of Ms Chadwick's books!

Long, but good!

Even though this book was long...it was good and hard to put down. Can't imagine all he had to go through before finding happiness.