King of the Wood - Softcover

Anand, Valerie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747231486 ISBN 13: 9780747231486

Publisher: Headline, 1990

Synopsis

To William Rufus’ corrupt and opulent court comes the young Norman Ralph des Aix – Eager to win his knight’s fee from the new English king. But although fortune – and King Rufus – seems to smile on him, Ralph rapidly discovers that to be King’s favourite is bewildering – and not always pleasant. And many feel that the rundown holding of Chenna’s Tun, deep in the heart of the New Forest, is a poor reward for his services. In the remote heart of the great wood, Ralph and his passionate young wife, Sybil of Fallowdene, are relentlessly drawn into the growing conflict between the greedy sophistication of the Norman court and the dark world of the Saxon forest with all its hidden rites. A net of danger closes round Ralph, Sybil and the glittering, lonely figure of King Rufus. And to be truly lord of his own manor, Ralph learns that he must bear the ancient title, King of the Wood, with all its mysterious and barbaric responsibilities...

About this title

About the Author:

Valerie Anand was born in London and grew up in Kent and Surrey; she attempted her first work of fiction at the age of six. In her twenties she became a journalist and wrote several short stories, before her first novel, Gildenford, was published. She still works part time as a journalist, and lives in Surrey with her husband.

From Publishers Weekly:

The death of King William II in a hunting accident serves as the convergence point for several satisfying plot lines in Anand's ( To a Native Shore ) fifth historical novel. After William Rufus, eldest of William the Conqueror's three sons, succeeds his father in 1087, royal siblings Henry and Robert (called Curthose) shift through various turbulent alliances as each conspires to wrest the throne for himself. The King ignores entreaties to marry Edith of Scotland and produce a successor; instead, he takes as a lover the skilled Norman rider and huntsman, Ralph des Aix. Although reluctant to enter into the relationship, Ralph nonetheless learns to care deeply for the King while he counts the days until he gains his promised knighthood and manor, and the freedom to establish his own family. When he becomes head of the manor at Chenna's Tun and weds beautiful, rebellious Sybil of Fallowdene, Ralph is drawn to the ancient pagan woodland rites and relishes his role as King of the Wood during Beltane's (May Day) carnal revelries in his woodland--where the fated regicide occurs. Betrayal, violation and eventual acquiescence to circumstance overlap imaginatively in this complex novel in which two kinds of kingship, each shadowed by compelling but proscribed practices, provide an effective dual theme.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0747231486
• ISBN 13: 9780747231486
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480