There is already much praise for first-time novelist, Julian de la Motte's historical novel Senlac, and more to be had! Carefully researched and re-imagined, Senlac turns the dust of history into living flesh and emotion. “It might just be the best historical fiction you’ll ever read,” says Charles McNair, who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel, Land O’ Goshen.
EDITORIAL REVIEW
Senlac opens during Christmas of the year 1065, a time of grave national crisis and disquieting omens, when the aged King Edward the Confessor, the seventh son of Æthelred the Unready, dies in the Palace of Westminster in London. He leaves behind no heir.
To fill the void, Edward’s brother-in-law, Harold, the Earl of Wessex, the greatest warrior in England, is hurriedly elected king by popular acclaim. Harold desperately seeks to unify a kingdom ravaged by the Danish occupation, and by unrest on both the Scottish and Welsh borders.
To ensure military support in the north, Harold must turn his back on his beloved common-law wife, Edith the Fair—also known as Edith Swanneck, for the graceful length of her neck—and their children, to marry Aeldyth, the sister of both the Earl of Northumbria and the Earl of Mercia. Meanwhile, Harold’s mercurial younger brother, Tostig, is bitterly plotting a return from exile and revenge against the King.
Across the North Sea, the King of Norway, the aging and psychotic Harald Hardraada, who was said to be a full seven feet tall, dreams of a new Viking Empire on English soil, and strikes an alliance with Tostig. Likewise, across the English Channel, William, Duke of Normandy—the leader of a powerful yet unstable military state—plans his own attack, determined to avenge Harold’s broken promise to make England his. After all, Edward the Confessor swore to make William his heir and he is determined to take what is rightfully his.
To say this book is a lustrous epic is putting it mildly; and not only does the author present us with one book spanning the years of the Norman Conquest, but we have two illustrious books which stand alongside classics such as Les Miserables, and War and Peace. To get the full sense and understanding of the time period, and of William’s claim and conquest, one MUST read both books, and believe me, you won’t regret the time you spend immersing yourself in this era of English history.
From the very beginning, the entire scene depicting Edward the Confessor’s death, the urging of those around him to name an heir, to the incredible clarity the author has to the details in the room, you might mistake this book for a non-fiction book relaying a detailed rendering from an actual eyewitness; as if Mr De La Motte stood in the room and wrote down each and every movement, smell, sight, noise, color, and whisper in full rich expostulation. But what he does is offer the reader a glorious retelling weaving facts with fiction in a way that you cannot tell which is which – the skill of a masterful bard.
Oftentimes, readers are intimidated by the presentation of a list of characters at the beginning of a book – long lists of everyone involved in the history – and might feel overwhelmed to sort out who is who as the narrative develops, but the author’s skill at introducing characters and fleshing them out is a work of art. From the first introduction of William, Duke of Normandy, you are given incredible insight to him as a person, again as if the author traveled back in time and dictated all that he saw. I knew a little about William from my own historical research and interest in this time period, but not nearly the extent to which Mr De La Motte delves; and yet, with the amount of narrative versus dialogue you might think this novel to be heavy, but it is not, it is beautifully written in a way that moves a reader along the journey instead of bogging down in overt historical detail. Other authors I think of is the richness of Edward Rutherford and the deep layers of Hilary Mantel’s books, and those who enjoy their books will definitely enjoy these two.
Upon the death of Edward, Harold, the Earl of Wessex, is made King of England, and the echoes of this occurrence reverberates across the Channel to the other claimants of the throne – William, Duke of Normandy, and Harald Hadraada, King of Norway – all with their own supposed promises from Edward the Confessor. And then you have Tostig, the quicksilver brother of King Harold, who has his own agenda against his brother and his sights set on Northumbria. He imagines with a little coin in his pocket, a few ships, and promising alliance with one of the contenders for the throne will secure his ultimate gain, and his first try is upon William. But William is clever, which stands out with skill in this book, and is always the preeminent chess-player in the world of medieval politics and maneuvering to bring about his goal. I loved the line about Tostig – “Between them, Baldwin and William will vie with each other to get as much from him as possible whilst giving him as little as possible.”
So much trouble brewing from all angles around the island of England as Harold tries to sort out where his support will come from. Tostig even has good rapport with the Scots; storms are surging in Ireland and Wales; no one to stand with him from Mercia and Northumbria – Harold is between a rock and a hard place, not to mention his recurring nightmare of the chalk giant of Cernas Abbas (of which I will not give away!). After reading these two books there is no doubt in your mind of the fierce and determined historical personages of this era and the actions they take; plus the resolute reasons as to why William becomes known as the Conqueror.
I also enjoyed very much getting to know the women behind these men, especially Edith known as ‘swan neck’ although her husband calls her ‘hard head’ in private, and felt a deep sympathy for her as she is discarded in favor of a match to Aeldyth (his political bride) that he must make as King since he is only hand-fasted to Edith and not married in the eyes of the church; and yet, she acquiesces to this in a surprising way, as you will see in reading. A very enlightening revelation of the feminine side of politics, the whispers in bed chambers, the meanings behind tapestry-making, and how women were used along this journey of men’s ambitions.
Another intriguing line which sent shivers up my spine was a visit to his sister, Edie, and she says “Do you want to know the time and manner of your death?” More ominous omens haunting the air and pounding Harold’s brain, or perhaps his own guilt at not fulfilling the oath he swore to William of setting him on England’s throne? All of these small details are exquisite tidbits captivating the reader in this story, and ones that I truly found appealing. If I was to relay all the insightful and masterful descriptions of the book, I might be writing another book about a book, for there are so many instances of pure writing genius. My sound advice is to read this one for yourself, for it is a worthy one for you to treasure for years to come; buy the book, read it, keep it on your shelf, for this is one you will want to read again and again, and I suspect each time you will find another little treasure hidden within the words that you overlooked before.
Yes, this book begins the story of William the Conqueror, but also gives us a picture of Mr De La Motte’s masterful skill at conquering words and weaving them into an immense beautiful tapestry of 11th-century English history. This is a book every English literature or history professor must have to recreate in their student’s minds a depiction of the age for even though it is presented as fiction, the authenticity stands out as factual. For fans of quality, immersive, rich, emotional, believable, classic-worthy, stand-out historical literature, this is it.
Five stars from The Historical Fiction Company!
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