The Death of the Red King A twist on a classic mystery edition by Paul Doherty Literature Fiction eBooks
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In 1100, King William II died in a tragic accident... or was it murder?
In The Death of the Red King, acclaimed historian Paul Doherty investigates the suspicious death of William II in a masterful 'faction' - a mix of both fact and fiction.
Concentrating on both old and new evidence, Paul Doherty explores the highly suspicious elements surrounding the death of King William II of England, nicknamed "Rufus the Red King". Through the eyes of the great philosopher Anselm, a secret admirer of the Red King, a far more chilling interpretation of his death is put forward that challenges everything we think we know.
What readers are saying about Paul Doherty
'An interesting look at a little known real-life mystery'
'The book is interesting, well written, fact and fiction coming easily together to form a well-argued case'
'Doherty proves that he is a scholar as well as a writer of novels'
The Death of the Red King A twist on a classic mystery edition by Paul Doherty Literature Fiction eBooks
I found this book to be very enjoyable. It is very thought provoking and I would heartily recommend it.Product details
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The Death of the Red King A twist on a classic mystery edition by Paul Doherty Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
This little book is written like one of the detective stories that Paul Doherty has accustumed us too. It is an inquiry into the very strange death of William II Rufus, son of William the Conqueror and kind of England from 1087, when he usurped the throne, to 2 August 1100, when he died of arrow during a hunt in the royal forest.
His death has traditionnally been presented as an accident, or even sometimes as "God- will" for having oppressed the Church. What he really did was to leave bishopprics and abbeys vacant, sometimes for several consecutive years, so as to "cream" their revenues and boost the kingdom's treasury. William the Conquerer had already started the practice, but had been less systemic about it. Henry I would continue it and get himself also into trouble with Archbishop Anselm for this very reason, just like Rufus had. The sums involved were indeed huge since vacant seats allowed both kings to increase the royal revenues by up to 20% or 30% some years.
The "accident version" is, for instance, the thesis that is still defended by Frank Barlow who, among other books, has written an excellent biography of William Rufus. However, the circumstances surrounding the death of Rufus have always lead to suspicions of foul play - murder in ther words. The events that followed his death tend to reinforce these suspicions.
The story is told by Eadmer, who was the secretary of Archbishop Anselm and who leaft us a History of England which is one the main sources for the reign of Rufus. The story takes place in 1108. The book is divided into 8 short chapters, each of them followed by a historical note (with the exception of the two last ones which share the same historical note). Needless to say, Doherty believes that Rufus was assassinated, not killed by accident, and not by Willian Tirell who, ever since, has been presented as the one who short the arrow and who fled to France immediately after, never to come back to England.
The story is exciting. The plot is very well told and the case for identifying the real killer - as opposed to Tirell, who was the scapegoat, is well made. We will, of course, never know for sure what happened. However, the person identified as the real killer (regardless of whether he shot the arrow himself or ordered someone else to do the deed) had cause, opportunity and the necessary ruthlessness to carry out the deed and immediately seek to profit from it.
I won't add anything more about who Anselm and Eadmer identify as the culprit, apart from stating that such suspicion has gathered support since this book was published. For instance, Lack's biography "The Conqueror's Son Duke Robert Courtheuse Thwarted King" also identifies the same person as the organizer of the murder and death of the king, even if he may not have been the actual murderer.
Although I found Doherty's case rather convincing, I do, however, have some reservations with the way the story was told because two elements seemed a bit implausible
- One was to have Archibishop Anselm conduct the inquiry in 1108. By this time, he was ailing and he had been since at least 1105. This is hardly surprsing since he was born around 1033. So he was a very old man and a sick one, by the time of the supposed inquiry
and he would in fact die in 1109, the very next year
- Another element is that even if Anselm had been both fitter and younger, it is doubful that he would have the kind of confrontation that we see him having at the end of the book, especially after having been exiled a second time from England. Anselm was indeed very principled, but his principles were essentially about defending the rights (or the privileges, depending upon your point of view) of the church against the powerful, and against kings and emperors in particular.
So, this is an excellent story (just as good as his one on the death of Thutankamun, for instance) which is well worth four stars, but perhaps not five...
Great story which fits into a nice next gap in history. It may or may not have happened.
I found this book to be very enjoyable. It is very thought provoking and I would heartily recommend it.
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