“I came to love historical fiction partly through drama, partly through books and television,” says The Greatest Knight author Elizabeth Chadwick. “I can remember acting out dramatic pieces of Scots history. I grew up in a village just outside Glasgow. In front of the blackboard, half a dozen eight-year-olds, galloping about on pretend horses like the knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was a sight to behold. But I thought it was wonderful.”
In the story William Marshal is put in charge training Prince Henry in the art of being a knight and warrior. They make a team that’s part of the European tourney circuit. Tourneying and jousting in the 12th century isn’t what we see today in movies. It was more of a pageant with villages involved in the event. Marshal would become the greatest tourney champion of the time.
William Marshal, the fourth son of John Marshal, was born before 1146. His mother was Sybilla, sister to Earl Patrick of Salisbury. Marshal’s life changed at about age five when his father handed him over to King Stephen as a hostage while John went to seek Empress Matilda’s permission for a truce. John reneged, leaving his young son to the mercies of King Stephen. The king didn’t kill him and thus started the journey for Marshal to become the greatest knight.
Descendants of Marshal include George Washington and Winston Churchill, as well as the Stuart kings of England and Scotland. Marshal was involved in the Magna Carta. He’s buried in Temple Church in London. There’s a poem about it, The Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal.
No film version of The Great Knight is planned, but author Elizabeth Chadwick did once adapt a screenplay into a novel. “In 1994 I was hired by Columbia Pictures to turn the script of First Knight starring Sean Connery and Richard Gere into a novel,” says Chadwick. “Sadly I didn’t get to meet either actor, but I did talk to the producer, Gerry Zucker of Naked Gun and Ghost fame. Writing First Knight was great fun and an excellent learning experience.”
Fans of Jean Plaidy, Phillipa Gregory, Sharon Kay Penman will enjoy Elizabeth Chadwick’s books. Her historical facts are well researched and her writing draws you into the story. Once you start reading you can’t put it down.
There is not much fiction set during the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The Great Knight is a refreshing change. That there’s little written of Marshal makes this novel well worth the read. The characters are well defined and you want to know the outcome. Although at times the vivid picture she paints of war becomes too graphic, Chadwick does a fantastic job of making the time and events come alive.
Rating: ****
The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen’s Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick. Trade Paperback, 560 pages, Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (September 2009), Language: English, ISBN: 9781402225185
