Review: The Normans by Judith Green

Synopsis: A bold new history of the rise and expansion of the Norman Dynasty across Europe from Byzantium to England.

In the eleventh century the climate was improving, population was growing, and people were on the move. The Norman dynasty ranged across Europe, led by men who achieved lasting fame like William the Conqueror and Robert Guiscard. These figures cultivated an image of unstoppable Norman success and their victories make for a great story, but how much of it is true?

In this insightful history, Judith Green challenges old certainties and explores the reality of Norman life across the continent. There were many soldiers of fortune, but their successes were down to timing, good luck, and ruthless leadership. Green shows the Normans’ profound impact, from drastic change in England to laying the foundations for unification in Sicily, to their contribution to the First Crusade. Going beyond the familiar, she looks at personal dynastic relationships and the important part women played in what at first sight seems a resolutely masculine world.

I will preface this review by saying - reader beware.! This is not a casual and cursory look at the Normans that will appeal to the general masses; it is a more focused narrative that assumes that you - the reader - have done your due diligence and a sufficient enough grasp of the topic at hand to absorb the information contained therein.

The focus of Green's book is the Normans and their activities as related to a specific time period - the 11th Century - and is narrowed down to particular theatres of war - England, Normandy, Byzantium, Sicily & Southern Italy, Antioch & the Holy Land. It is also a look at how contemporary writers and chroniclers viewed them as well as their own perceptions of self.

Green begins with a look at the various contemporary writers and chroniclers in England (Malmesbury, Worcester, Huntingdon, Monmouth), Normandy (Dudo William of Jumieges, Vitalis, Wace), Southern Italy & Sicily (Malatera, William of Apulia, Amatus of Montecassin), and of course the Crusades (Ralph of Caen). This list is by no means complete as there are a number of others included as well. In this chapter Green also explores the relationships between subject matter and author, the issues of patronage, potential audience and the accessibility of sources.

We next move to Normandy for a look at the structure of Norman society, its emergence, the outward persona of warrior class, and the internal struggles within for dominance. This leads into the next chapter "swords for hire" and a look at the role of Normans as mercenaries throughout Europe and the Baltic. Here Green notes that 11th Century Europe was swarming with armed men who for for wealth, land and prestige. So what made this particular group that much more successful than others - this is what is explored. Green includes a number of prominent families in her narrative, as well as some much lesser ones (which are the ones I am always on the look out for).

Moving south, we explore the activities and personalities of the Normans in Southern Italy and Sicily from their earliest arrival as armed pilgrims to the arrival of Robert Guiscard and the legitimisation of the new kingdom and its conquests. A brief side visit to Byzantium is also covered off for this will have an impact of future relationships.  This is one of my favourite periods of Norman History (and dominates my personal library).

Doubling back, Green takes us to one of the more well know of the Norman conquests - England in 1066. This was no gentle take-over but one that would see years of resistance and rebellion, and the invasions of neighbouring nations of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This period would also see the creation of the Domesday Book - a survey every shire in England, and some parts of Wales, to list all holdings and calculate the dues owed to William.

And then to our final field of activity - The Crusades and the establishment of the Norman Principality of Antioch. Green provides an assessment of the various Norman leaders (Bohemond, Tancred, Robert of Normandy), their motives for embarking on this great military and religious endeavour, their successes and their failures.

The remaining chapters encompasses a more rounded view of the Normans, covering such topics as government and power, settlement and conquest, church and state, culture and construction. And it is this lasting legacy that Green concludes with, wherein she notes that they were - in essence - "... ruthless opportunists [who] were able to change the political history of Europe ...". But this is merely one one part of who the Normans were - for they were also exceptional strategists, inventive, progressive, militaristic, pious, opportunistic, ruthless - and utterly compelling and unforgettable.

This is definitely one for my own library shelves, and my own personal collection of Norman literature.

Review: The Mysterious Romance of Murder by David Lehman

Synopsis: From Sherlock Holmes to Sam Spade; Nick and Nora Charles to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin; Harry Lime to Gilda, Madeleine Elster, and other femmes fatales—crime and crime solving in fiction and film captivate us. Why do we keep returning to Agatha Christie's ingenious puzzles and Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled murder mysteries? What do spy thrillers teach us, and what accounts for the renewed popularity of morally ambiguous noirs? 

In The Mysterious Romance of Murder, the poet and critic David Lehman explores a wide variety of outstanding books and movies—some famous (The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity), some known mainly to aficionados—with style, wit, and passion.Lehman revisits the smoke-filled jazz clubs from the classic noir films of the 1940s, the iconic set pieces that defined Hitchcock's America, the interwar intrigue of Eric Ambler's best fictions, and the intensity of attraction between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. He also considers the evocative elements of noir—cigarettes, cocktails, wisecracks, and jazz standards—and offers five original noir poems (including a pantoum inspired by the 1944 film Laura) and ironic astrological profiles of Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich, and Graham Greene. 

Written by a connoisseur with an uncanny feel for the language and mood of mystery, espionage, and noir, The Mysterious Romance of Murder will delight fans of the genre and newcomers alike.

This was possibly written as a follow up to the author's previous book, The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection.

The book is divided into five parts (the romance, the props, the authors & directors, the films, and some profiles). The author's key areas of interest - poetry, speech, writing - form the basis for this narrative.

Part One specifically deals with the language and dialogue of the genre. Part Two the props used (clothing, cigarettes, etc). Part Three looks at authors and directors such as Fleming, Hitchcock, Chandler, Greene, Wilder, McBain, et al. Part Four is a series of essays on films and actors (eg: Double Indemnity, Cape Fear, The Asphalt Jungle, Odd Man Out, etc) whilst also exploring the villains and locations (San Francisco, Chicago, London). Part Five consists of profiles of Stanwyk, Greene and Dietrich.

Despite being a huge fan of noir, espionage and crime, I was not a fan of this. The 40 plus page introduction was overly long and nearly finished it for me then and there.  I found my attention wavering and I was wishing the author would hurry up and get to the crux of it all.  Even when he did, I was not sufficiently engaged to absorb anything that was written down in front of me - the writing style and overall presentation did not inspire me.

Image by Wonman Kim

What I also found lacking was an exploration of international noir - both authors and film - which is something I would definitely have been interested in, especially as I have been reading a lot of Frederic Dard (the classic French noir author) and his contemporaries.

Definitely one for the dedicated movie fan of the genre as this book explores specialty subject matter that only those seriously immersed in the genre will appreciate.

Review: Women in the Medieval Court by Rebecca Holdorph

Synopsis: While the courts of medieval Europe ate up tales of knights in shining armor and damsels in distress, the reality for the elite women who inhabited those courts could be very different. Medieval society might expect the noblewomen who decorated its courts to play the role of Queen Guinevere, but many of these women had very different ideas.

In a society dominated by men, women who stood out from the crowd could experience great success - and greater failure. Great queens, who sometimes ruled in their own right, fought wars and forged empires. Noblewomen acted behind the scenes to change the course of politics. Far from cloistered off from the world, powerful abbesses played the role of kingmaker. And concubines had a role to play as well, both as political actors and as mothers of children who might change a country's destiny. They experienced tremendous success and dramatic downfalls.

Meet women from across medieval Europe, from a Danish queen who waged political war to form a Scandinavian empire, to a Tuscan countess who joined her troops on the battlefield. Whether they wielded power in battle, from a convent or throne room, or even in the bedchamber, these women were far from damsels in distress.

Holdorph's book is divided into four sections - noblewomen, consorts, reigning queens and concubines - and she peppers her narrative with the biographical details of a number of historical women.

In Section One - Noblewomen - Holdorph undertakes a chronological look at the lives of these women from childhood to motherhood, widowhood, remarriage and political life. The details for the section are lifted from the lives of Matilda of Tuscany, Anna Comnena, Marie de France, Alice de Lacy and Cecily Neville.

Section Two - Consorts - looks at queenship from the process of selecting a suitable candidate, potential alliances, the role of king's wife and mother of the heir, to the role of queen on both the domestic and international political field. In this instance, Holdorph looks at Anne and Eupraxia of Kiev, Eleanor of Castile, Maria de Luna, Isabeau of Bavaria and Margaret of Anjou.

Reigning Queens are covered in Section Three, where the importance of behaviour and reputation are explored, in addition to the problems of marriage and the right to rule. Historical subjects used as the examples for this section include Urraca and Berenguela of Castile, Joanna of Naples, Margaret of Denmark, Caterina Cornaro, with a few others dotted throughout.

Finally we reach Section Four - Concubines. Here Holdorph discusses the definitions of marriage for context, whilst looking at the role and status of the mistress. This section also explores the "good" and "bad" mistress, and the ultimate price that many had to pay - the author notes that the death rate for mistresses was unnaturally high! Some of featured ladies include Agnes Sorel, Katherine Swynford, Alice Perrers, and Ines de Castro.

Holdorph finally concludes that regardless of status and social position, men still had the upper hand when it came to control over women and their lives, that marriage was an important part of a woman's life, and that there is very limited information on medieval women with which to craft a truly detailed narrative.

What I did conclude from reading this work was there was nothing new for me personally - I didn't take away anything from this. All examples were already well known to me, as I have studied the lives of many of these women and have read extensively in this area.  There were many times I wanted to give up on this book, however, the hope that I might find some nugget worthy of my time kept me going.  There was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Secondly and most notably, the cast of characters is very Eurocentric - there were no examples from the history annals of Asia, Africa, or Eurasia - and the women selected were decidedly Christian in religion, with no Hindu, Muslim, Shinto or other religion being included.

Another thing that annoyed me the most was the use of names or rather a strange variant of name - if you are going to introduce your reading public to lesser known historical figures, then stick with the common usage of their names, or you will lose your reader that much more sooner.

I will say this, however, Holdorph's book could be considered more of a primer for someone just cutting their teeth on this subject - however, there are many other worthy tomes out there that have covered this subject matter of much more effectively and efficiently.

Review: Daughters of the North by Jennifer Morag Henderson

Synopsis: Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage to the Earl of Bothwell is notorious. Less known is Bothwell’s first wife, Jean Gordon, who extricated herself from their marriage and survived the intrigue of the Queen’s court.

Daughters of the North reframes this turbulent period in history by focusing on Jean, who became Countess of Sutherland. Follow her from the intrigues of Mary’s court to the blood feuds and clan battles of the Far North of Scotland, from her place as the daughter of the ‘King of the North’ to her disastrous union with the infamous Earl of Bothwell – and her lasting legacy to the Earldom of Sutherland.

Whilst the focus of the reign of Mary Queen of Scots has quite naturally been on the lady in question, her reign, intrigues, and ultimate downfall, very few of those who were present have actually been the focus of their own dedicated narrative. In Daughters of the North, Henderson "reframes" or "shifts the focus" of the Stuart Queen's narrative to the north of Scotland - a place where we find her contemporary and possible rival, Jean Gordon.

Jean's life is detailed in two parts - the first focusing on her childhood and her time at the court of Mary Stuart (c. 1545 - 1576); and the second dedicated to her own sphere of influence amongst her family and the new political power base of the regency of the infant King James (c. 1576 - 1617).

What many may not realise is that, for better or worse, the Gordon family held the delicate balance of power in Scotland in their hands.  This was not fully realised and appreciated until after the family's downfall which created a power vacuum and a deadly rivalry for political control. The young Jean had not only witnessed the deaths of her father and brother, but the loss of her home and the ignominy of being in service to the one person responsible - Mary Stuart. Like many women of not only her own age but of that before, Jean was forced to abandon the man she loved to marry one she disliked for political reasons.

We then delve deeper into Jean's marriages - all three of them - her family life, and the role of both herself and her husband in the North and at the court of King James VI of Scotland (later I of England). Through it all, Jean clung tightly to her religion, which was at odds with the nation, and gathered many enemies along the way - the Gordons devoutly refused to convert from Catholicism.

Jean was rather a unique figure - by the later 16th century, women had begun to have agency within the local economy and were able to wield some influence in their own circles. For Jean - the circle was always the family, and those linked by blood or marriage, were drawn and held tightly within. Even in her 70s, Jean was still seen as a person who had the potential to be influential, someone powerful who needed to be controlled, as she had a strong belief in what was due to her family and  actively and steadfastly promoted her family interests.

Aged in her 80s when she died, Jean had outlived all her brothers and sisters, all three of her husbands, four of her children, two queens, and one king. As matriarch of the Gordon family, she was the glue that held it all together, and on her passing, it collapsed in a heap around the remaining family members.

Henderson brings her extensive research to the fore in crafting a highly readable narrative around a woman who lived during a tumultuous time in Scottish history. The reader will be amazed and in awe of this incredible woman, who story was deserving of being told in its own right.

Further reading:

• Jean Gordon (wikipedia)
• The Sutherland Book - Volume 1 - Memoirs
• The Sutherland Book - Volume 2 - Correspondence
• The House of Gordon

Ian Fleming’s Legacy: John Gardner’s James Bond

From Simon Ward, September 2021 CRA Newsletter

By 1979 John Gardner was the successful author behind fourteen books, including an autobiography, two Professor Moriarty novels and eight instalments of his beloved parodic thriller series starring the character of Boysie Oakes. It was at this point that, rather like a summons from M, John was approached to write a new novel in the James Bond series.

Gardner’s Licence Renewed was the first Bond continuation novel since Kinsley Amis’s Colonel Sun in 1968. The world had changed since then, politically, culturally and technologically, and both Gardner and Glidrose Publications (now Ian Fleming Publications Ltd) agreed that Bond should be brought into the 1980s – as John put it, “picking up where Ian Fleming left off”.

Crucially, John took an objective approach to writing the world’s most famous spy. He ignored the movie adaptations and any pre-conceived notions about Bond, instead focusing on telling breakneck-paced stories rooted in reality. He prided himself on his research, especially the tech that is so much a part of James Bond’s DNA. In the acknowledgements to Licence Renewed John states, “I would like to point out to any unbelievers that all the ‘hardware’ used by Mr Bond in this story is genuine. Everything provided by Q Branch and carried by Bond – even the modification to Mr Bond’s Saab – is obtainable on either the open, or clandestine, markets.”

It was this dedicated fact checking and a wonderful ability to work even unlikely real-world gadgets into his prose that made his Bond writing so assured: “Unused weapons of all makes, types and sizes, were contained in the Armorer’s amazing treasure trove of a store, and he produced one of the old Brownings, still in its original box, thick with grease and wrapped in yellow waxed paper. No mean feat, as this particular gun has long since ceased to be manufactured… Bond completed the reassembly, ran the mechanism back and forth a couple of times, then picked up one of the magazines containing seven Browning Long 9mm rounds that would shatter a piece of five-inch pine board at twenty feet.”

Following the success of Licence Renewed in 1981, John Gardner would go on to write a further thirteen 007 novels, plus two novelisations. Len Deighton called him a “master storyteller” and his work in keeping James Bond’s legacy alive cannot be underestimated. It is this legacy that Ian Fleming Publications Ltd is proud to celebrate with a brand new edition of Licence Renewed released in time for its fortieth anniversary.

The Perveen Mistry Novels by Sujata Massey

 

Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes women's legal rights especially important to her. Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.

Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India's first female attorney, the Perveen Mistry novels are a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay.