I rarely read footnotes. In this book, I miss them anyway.

Erik Linklater wrote mostly novels, plus children's books, plays, verse -- almost everything. But very little history. The writing in this book is sprightly and confident -- but the bibliography is only two and a half pages, and there are no notes. How much of the result is actual history, and how much historical romance? There is no absolute way to answer that question.

The good news is, the general outline is correct. The death of Edward the Confessor, the election of Harold II, the invasion of Harald Hardrada, the invasion of William the Conqueror -- it's all here. (I don't know what the alternative would be, but then, I'm not a novelist....) The details -- I don't trust so much.

To sum up: If you want a good readable history of the Norman Conquest and the events which led to it, this book is for you. If you want a very reliable history -- well, try something with better source information. ( )