by Charles Spencer.
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.
The book covers the period from the Norman Conquest of Britain and the following turmoil when the great men of the country turn on each other. A civil war ensues amongst English and Norman barons, and Welsh and Scottish royalty all playing a part and all the result of one ship that sinks. The ship that happens to have the heir to the English throne on board at the time.
Lots of infighting, the buying of loyalty through land and titles, betrayal left, right and centre.
The book ends with the rise of the Plantagenets, a family who would go on to rule England for the next few centuries.
