The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
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The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Richard Trinder
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By:
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Charles Spencer
About this listen
THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON ’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.
The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.
In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.
‘Highly enjoyable’ Simon Heffer
‘Brilliant’ Dan Jones
‘Fascinating’ Tom Bower
The #2 Sunday Times bestseller on Sunday 18 June 2021
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Critic reviews
‘How a drunk teenager shipwrecked the monarchy … As colourful and racy narrative history goes, this absolutely gallops … Whips through a hundred years of complex history from the Norman Conquest to Henry II’ Daily Mail
“Vividly conjures up this half-forgotten medieval tragedy and its consequences”Daily Mail, Books of the Year
“An epic, gripping history of hubris, piety, treachery, happenstance, rebellion and slaughter.” Catholic Herald
‘Rooted in the medieval chronicles, but crafted like a Hollywood thriller. Spencer is one of the finest narrative historians around’
Mail on Sunday
‘Charles Spencer is a gifted storyteller … Pivoted on one single, tragic winter evening. It is an event and a period of history that should be better known, and now it will be’
The Times
'Spencer proves himself more than a match for the story. He guides the reader well through the dramatic twists and turns of these years, which first placed Henry on the throne, then seemed set to deny the succession of his progeny. Spencer has a particularly good eye for detail, enriching his account with vivid pen-portraits of the main players … Fast-paced and immensely enjoyable'
Literary Review
‘Neglected by popular historians, [Henry I] … has found a master storyteller in Charles Spencer … rooted in excellent historical research … a lyrical, vivid and compelling portrait. He succeeds in bringing to life huge characters from nearly a millennium ago’
Spectator
‘An exhilarating narrative full of incident and insight. Here is the story, marvellously told, of the post-Conquest kings – and one almost-queen – of England: unpredictable, violently dramatic, and never less than compelling’
Helen Castor
'Told with verve and an exceptional eye for detail, this is the story of how a single catastrophe changed the course of British history forever. Dramatic, compelling and utterly addictive’
Tracy Borman
worth reading
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- When people refer to the fact that current times have never been so bad at the current moment, these people need to read more history books. So here might be a plot for Game of Thrones, a bastard king from another empire overthrows the king of another Empire, who is only just thought of Scandinavian Viking Warriors. The king is killed and a new king takes his place, has at least four legitimate children, of whom the youngest eventually becomes king leaving his dying brother who should be the current ruler mortally wounded in a forest. The king sired 22 illegitimate children and two children who are heirs to the throne. Sadly, the one who was meant to be king, dies in a drunken shipping incident in which all but one die. In-between this are a range of battles and torturous deaths, including one where ravens pick out the eyes of a man who has been gorged but left alive to be killed by the ravens. There’s head, arms chopped off, heads chopped off, through people’s heads. Eventually a new king is brought to the head of the state, as no one wanted the remaining, legitimate childish who was a woman, so more battles insure and what is known as ‘The Anarchy’ and England’s first Civil War takes hold of the country until pretty much everyone is dead or has made allegiances for their children to become future kingdoms of the Empire unknown only to God in their actions. Only this isn’t a plot from Game of Thrones, it is much more exciting and it’s a story of Henry II, son of William the Conqueror, and subsequent Kings who end up fighting a Civil War and war with other empires (mainly the French).
- The son was known as William, and this tells the story of how Henry II became a ruler with the knowledge that his one son William would become heir to the throne. However, following an unfortunate and rather drunken incident at sea, William would lose his life in the shipwreck that shouldn’t have happened if everyone hadn’t got so drunk, and this then tells the story of what happens following that incident. Henry who had already had 22 illegitimate children as well as the two children that were rightful heirs to the throne, he fought many battles, chopped off people’s heads and hands as deemed appropriate at the time. There is a cast of characters, and I sometimes did get lost on who was who, especially with so many Henrys and Williams around but luckily many of them do have nicknames, so you can tell the difference. It’s a thrilling account of a piece of history that I knew very little about and I feel a little bit more learned knowing all this history and it’s an exciting read.
- Henry II eventually died by eating a suffice of lamprey (which are ancient water creatures with a passing resemblance to eels, they have no jaws, instead sucking on their prey before ingestion what they take in through a throat bristling with teeth” and despite their ugliness and inherent dangers they were much praised in woollen aristocracy for their rich and meaty flesh.
- It’s a thrilling ride and someone should really make this into her television service because it would be fascinating, and I think even more interesting than Game of Thrones (which I must admit I’ve never seen). as I said, if you think the current times are hard, this would be a good history book to read to rectify that error in judgement of thought.
A real life history that could be game of thrones
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A good overview of post-Conquest England
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Wonderful historical detail
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Well written history of a turbulent time
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