The Greatest Knight: The Unsung Story of the Queen's Champion

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

William Marshal, the younger son of a wealthy family, shows early prowess with a sword and uncommon chivalry, which he puts to good use saving the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Afterward, she makes him arms tutor to her sons, the young princes. Marshal pledges his service to heir Henry and stays with the prince, out of loyalty to Eleanor, throughout Henry's turbulent manhood and rebellion against his father. When Henry dies, Marshal swears loyalty to Henry's brother Richard, putting him at odds with his own brother, who is loyal to Prince John. When Richard leaves on crusade and John conspires to take the crown, Marshal must decide between family and honor. A true historical hero, if little known, William Marshal served under some of England's most famous kings and proved himself again and again throughout the troubled 12th century; Chadwick's novel immerses readers in Marshal's life and times, which should prove intriguing to any fan of historical fiction. The royals, and especially Eleanor, are particularly fascinating characters whom Chadwick employs to great effect. (Sept.)
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Review

The Greatest Knight is a must-read for any lover of history and/or the medieval period. Ms. Chadwick's account drags you right in and sets you down on the dusty, dirt roads alongside her hero and his entourage. (Cholla The Long and Short of It Reviews 20090828)

THE GREATEST KNIGHT was amazing... This book seemed to have a little bit of everything -- suspense, deceit, love, wars, scandals. (Julie Peterson Booking Mama 20090901)

I want to hand it to Elizabeth Chadwick... I found The Greatest Knight a rewarding read (Rike Horstmann All About Romance 20090901)

This is an impeccably written historical fiction novel. The amount of research Chadwick must have put into it is incredible. (Swapna Krishna S. Krishna's Books 20090910)

[V]ivid and interesting... (Ana T. Historical Tapestry 20090910)

The author clearly knows her subject matter and stayed true to it. Her skilled use of historical detail helped bring the world alive in my imagination without slowing the pace. (Debbie White Genre Reviews 20090910)

The Greatest Knight is absolutely packed with the senses. Chadwick also is skilled at writing just the perfect amount of description and interspersing it with dialogue (Nancy Horner Bookfoolery and Babble 20090921)

What makes The Greatest Knight exceptional is the consistently pitch-perfect way in which its medieval characters think, feel and behave. (Margaret Donsbach HistoricalNovels.info 20090928)

I really enjoyed reading the story of a man who tends to be a secondary character but absolutely deserves to have his story told... Everyone who has raved about Elizabeth Chadwick as an author of historical novels is right. (Jessica West Devourer of Books 20091002)

The Greatest Knight provides the kind of "real life" storytelling of times past for which all historical novels should strive. (J.G. Stinson ForeWord 20091119)

Chadwick has done an amazing job of portraying the life of William Marshal. (Tracee Gleichner Review From Here )

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. (Gabrielle Pantera Hollywood Today )

Luckily for all of us, we have an author like Elizabeth Chadwick to raise [William Marshall] back up out of obscurity and give him a dignified place of honor in history! (Aarti Nagaraju Booklust )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reprint edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402225180
• ISBN-13: 978-1402225185
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)

  49 Reviews 5 star:  (36) 4 star:  (7) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:    (0) › See all 49 customer reviews...

• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) 

This review is from: The Greatest Knight (Paperback) (Paperback)

If you're a medieval buff - and especially if you've read up on early Plantagenet history - you know William Marshal. But if you haven't, you should know what you've missed. And there's no better way to start learning than with this book.

I'm a Plantagenet enthusiast, and a tremendous Marshal fan. Since THE GREATEST KNIGHT has yet to be released here, I splurged several months ago on transatlantic shipping and bought it from the UK. I'm so very, very glad I did. Elizabeth Chadwick, an author I've long admired for her way with a medieval tale, has gone herself one better. She has taken the known facts of Marshal's life, done a little reading between the lines of recorded history, and rendered a portrait of the man that shimmers with life.

William Marshal led a charmed life to some extent. His first appearance in the historical record is when he is about 5 years old. His father has given him as a hostage to King Stephen, as a sort of human insurance policy against the elder Marshal's disobeying the king. But when William's father defies the king anyway, Stephen hasn't the heart to hang the boy. A few years later, William finds himself in the right place at the right time to save the queen of England from being taken prisoner by enemies. He's injured and taken prisoner himself in the process, however, and when Queen Eleanor ransoms him, it's not without expectations of repayment: She wants the gallant young knight to enter service with her family - arguably the most powerful people in western Europe.

Thus begins a long and profitable - but also perilous - association. The Queen, her sons, and even her estranged husband, King Henry, value William highly as a fighter, an adviser, and an instructor in the chivalrous arts. Such a talented and fortunate man is bound to attract jealousy, though. William's loyalties are put to one complex test after another, and, though his honor remains unblemished, his enemies would have the royals believe otherwise. More than once, William's future looks bleak. But he is never defeated; his intellect, courage and diplomacy make this one story in which the nice guy finishes first.

There's a bit less romance in this book than in Elizabeth Chadwick's other works. But since William didn't marry until he was in his 40s, that is as it should be. Chadwick speculates that William had a mistress in the years prior to his marriage, and, in a footnote to the documented history, she finds a highly likely candidate for the role. But the great love of William's life was Isabelle, countess of Pembroke, whom he married when she was 18 and he was middle aged. We don't know much about the real Isabelle, but the Isabelle of this book is exactly as I would imagine her: beautiful, smart, confident and loyal. Judging by the number of children the couple had, I'd say Chadwick couldn't be too far off the mark in depicting them as very much in love.


As I neared the end of the book, I realized with some disappointment that it was going to end many years before Marshal's death. But that was unavoidable; the man survived to what would be a ripe old age even now, and he did twice as much living as most of us would in the same time span. This book does leave off in a logical and satisfactory point in the story, and the afterword promises a sequel, which I'm eagerly awaiting.

I read THE GREATEST KNIGHT very quickly. I became a little obsessive-compulsive over it, making time to read even when I had other things to do, racing through it breathlessly despite not really wanting to reach the end. When I did finish, I was truly sorry I'd read it so fast. I wish I could give it 6 stars, because I'm now questioning every other 5-star review I've ever written.