The book itself is a thick publishers paperback entitled 'Harold the King' but apparently is known mainly as 'I am the Chosen King' - in any event I enjoyed reading it, a good mix of personal lives and governmental events = interesting characters = easy to like Harold and feel sorry for but not like William the Conquerer = tho understand where he's coming from. A good book to read about this era. ( )

Hollick does an excellent job of relating the lives of the men who set England on its current course of Royal reign. Given that records are not easily come by, she takes what is available and weaves a masterful tale around it. It makes one wonder what would have happened had William lost and Harold Godwineson been the victor at the Battle of Hastings. Excellent book. ( )

Wonderful - even better than The Forever Queen - a fantastic read and a great history lesson about the events leading up to 1066. I couldn't put it down! ( )

Helen Hollick's sublime novel I Am The Chosen King brings England in the years immediately leading up to the Norman Conquest vividly to life. It commences where Hollick's earlier pre-Conquest novel, The Forever Queen, left off. Harold Godwinesson, the English monarch best known for his defeat by William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is the primary subject of I Am The Chosen King. The novel also features William, Duke of Normandy, and England's King Edward, who is better known today as Edward the Confessor.

I Am the Chosen King contains all of the necessary elements which, to me, make a great work of historical fiction. The author has done a masterful job of creating a strong sense of time and place, bringing the era alive for the reader and making them feel part of the action. The historical detail is impressive and is evidence of the significant amount of research that went into crafting this novel. While too much detail can serve to bog a novel down and detract from a story, in I Am The Chosen King the level of detail is just right. As a result, the historical detail enhances the story and the reader's ability to connect with it. Hollick paints a sympathetic portrait of Harold Godwinesson, a man not raised to the throne from birth, but who must accept it after the death of King Edward to ensure the peace and stability of England. Hollick's William the Conqueror is a vain man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, which includes a throne he has no right to claim, while King Edward is shown to be a man ill suited to wear a crown.

When facts are known, accuracy in historical fiction is important to me as a reader. While Hollick does take some liberties in I Am the Chosen King, they are relatively minor and undertaken for the sake of the story. Historical accuracy, however, does not trump my desire for a well told and interesting story. I need both to be satisfied with a historical novel and this book delivers. I was drawn into Harold's world right from the opening pages, never once becoming bored or wishing the story would end. While the ultimate outcome of the battle between Harold and William of Normandy's is well-known, I couldn't help but hope that, this time around, things had turned out a little differently.

I Am The Chosen King is recommended to readers of historical fiction who enjoy epic historical novels. This book reminded me of Sharon Kay Penman's great historical novels, so fans of Penman should definitely check this one out. ( )

I'm going to mention once, here and now, that this ebook's formatting was disappointing, sloppy, and annoying for such a reputable publishing house. There! Fortunately, it did not take away from my enjoyment of Ms. Hollick's sequel to "The Forever Queen," "I am the Chosen King (UK title: "Harold the King")." The story of the Godwine family and their rise to power continues in this novel that culminates with the Battle of Hastings and William of Normandy's seizure of England. I am one of the many who only know about 1066 And All That from what the victors told us in their chronicles. I did further reading after finishing this novel and discovered that Harold Godwinson wasn't the bumbling doofus I'd imagined him to be from my history lessons, losing his crown to a far superior man and force. It's said that Harold and the English army was minutes away from victory when Harold was struck in the eye by an arrow and then brutally hacked to death by the Normans, and perhaps William himself. Harold, I discovered, was an able leader who was popular, powerful and elected by the Witan, the council of nobles in Anglo Saxon England, to be the King. Depending on whose history you read, William of Normandy claimed the right to the throne of England because he claimed Edward the Confessor said he was the heir and claimed Harold broke an oath to back up his claim (that oath may have been given under duress). Interesting, since the English at the time elected their monarch - the idea of primogeniture hadn't become the norm.

This is a work of fiction, and Hollick's research and interest in her subject comes through in the dialogue, the characterization and flow of the story. The artistic license she takes enhances the facts and makes her story as plausible and real as the events as they happened. I was particularly impressed with the chapters dealing with the Battle itself - written in stages and with a minimum of gore and detail. Dramatic tension is given to the reader in dialogue and character study. I'm a soft touch for stray dogs and misunderstood monarchs and I had a lump in my throat when I finished the book.

Harold isn't whitewashed; he has his flaws. He is, like William, a man of his times. William the Conqueror is a real bastard, not the gallant hero of the chronicles and ballads - in fact, he comes across as a psychopath. Edward the Confessor - not so much a saint as someone who wants to be left to his books, hunting and court favorites, never really wanted to be King and didn't make the best of it. His legacy? Westminster Abbey. The women in the story are strong, and range from gentle to shrew, and are pawns moved about on the chessboard as it pleases the men, e.g., Harold takes a 'handfast' wife in the Danish custom, a common law wife, knowing full well that eventually, as a nobleman, he will have to make a marriage that will be recognized by the church, a politically expedient alliance, and say good bye to his marriage of love and all that it encompasses. That must have been torture to live every day wondering if your husband was going to leave and the remarkable Edyth Swannhaels, the handfast wife, is shown as a brave, understanding, good woman who was circumspect about her position.

I recommend this book for anyone who thinks of Anglo Saxon England as just another blip in history, as Harold Godwinson as just another dismissed and defeated king, and the history of England not beginning until 1066.



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