The Conqueror's Queen

by Joanna Courtney

  By the time he married Mathilda, William FitzOsbern, Roger de Beaumont, Roger (Fulk) de Montgomery and Hugh de Grandmesnil were his key supporters. Their offices are not formally recorded but it felt likely to me that William would see them publically acknowledged as important men and rewarded with titles and land. Fitz does seem to have been steward, like his father before him. There is some hint of Hugh being captain of the horse and Roger as chamberlain and certainly he seems to have been the man who, alongside Mathilda, kept government on track whilst William fought his endless wars. There is no high commander reported as such but Montgomery was very much one of William’s key right-hand men so it seemed the correct position for him to have been awarded.

  William was undoubtedly a man who prized loyalty above all things, almost certainly because of his early – and indeed ongoing – experiences of treachery. He had to spend his entire life looking over his shoulder and that is why it is so sad that in England, a land he was so very keen to rule, he met only further opposition. It has been interesting writing the 1066 story from the Norman side for he was very much my ‘baddie’ in the previous two novels, but looking at it from his point of view has softened my feelings towards him.

  William was probably the most disciplined, earnest and well-intentioned ruler of the three men fighting for the throne of England in 1066. Had the English accepted him as king (easier said than done, I know) I am confident he would have ruled them sternly but well. He was known to generously reward those who served him and had a record of exiling rather than executing rebels and, indeed, of pardoning them later. Initially he kept many Englishmen, including both of the northern earls, in his service and I honestly believe that he was a man who wanted to rule magnanimously. The constant opposition over the first years of his reign, however, left him with little choice but to take harsh reprisals to prevent further problems.

  The terrible ‘harrowing of the north’ in 1069–70 was the final and most horrific example of this and is, sadly for William, what he is most remembered for in English history. The epilogue in this novel is not meant to hint at a sequel to come but rather to take the reader, with William, back to earlier times when he faced constant rebellion to try and show why, perhaps, he reacted so violently to it in England. The rest, as they say, is history . . .

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Firstly, I have to thank my husband, Stuart, for his endless patience and his uncanny ability to know when to listen and when just to tease me out of melodramatic sulks. And secondly my family in general for appreciating – or perhaps just not noticing – that a tidy house is far less important than a well-crafted battle scene!

  Special thanks for this novel must go to Brenda, my great friend and now fellow Norman enthusiast, for accompanying me on a brilliant research trip. I must thank her in particular for her knowledge of deciduous woodland, for finding me an oyster that I actually enjoyed (after years of fruitlessly seeking such sophistication), and for driving fast enough for us not to miss the ferry after getting rather too immersed in the amazing Falaise castle!

  As acknowledged in the dedication of this novel, I thank my parents from the bottom of my heart for always being so encouraging of my love of writing. Despite both being of a scientific turn of mind, they swiftly recognised that test tubes and I were never going to get on well and did everything they could to support my interest in literature and history. I firmly believe that one of the most important things a parent can do is to support their child in choosing their own path in life and I only hope I can do that as well for my own children as Mum and Dad did for me and my siblings. That thanks extends to my step-parents, Polly and Arthur, for their unending care and to all four of them for the babysitting!

  Perhaps my writing gene skipped a generation and I would like to give a mention to my dear grandmothers on both sides. My father’s mother, Courtney Gibb, gave me my middle name and ultimately my pen name and was the daughter of Howard Swiggett who wrote wonderful American crime novels in the fifties. I wrote my first novel aged ten (a rather derivative boarding school book) at her house. My mother’s mother, Sandie Shaw, was president of the Scottish writer’s association for years and is still fondly remembered by those members old enough to have shared her time there. If both passed me a little of their writerly talents, then I am unendingly grateful to them for saving me from life as a chemist!

  Another pair who deserve a mention are my history teachers at Loughborough High School who enthused me with their love of their subject. Both Penny Armstrong and Julia Morris (now Burns) showed me that the real interest in studying the past is in the people who inhabited it and I hope I have carried that with me into these novels. It was wonderful to meet Penny again at one of my talks last year and I hope they both know what fantastic teachers they were and how much that can mean to students.

  I want to thank the team at Pan Macmillan, particularly my new editor, Victoria, for taking me on and showing such care for my novels and Jess, my lovely publicist, for her unfailing enthusiasm and hard work on my behalf. Heartfelt gratitude goes to the wonderful Susan for her insightful and hugely helpful comments on the MS and to my agent Kate for backing me with this third novel which wasn’t always easy to write. Thanks, too, to ILA for selling my novel to Hungary and Germany which has been very exciting, and to all the lovely bloggers who have posted such supportive and insightful reviews of my novels. It means the world to me.

  Lastly, I want to thank my readers. This is not something I have really been able to do before and it gives me a huge thrill to be accruing what might tentatively be called ‘fans’. The greatest joy of attending the wonderful 950th Battle of Hastings celebrations at Battle Abbey in October 2016 was having people coming up to me saying how much they’d loved my first book and how keen they were to buy the second. I sincerely hope that this third novel lives up to expectations and that readers enjoy discovering the ‘baddies’’ side of the 1066 story as much I enjoyed creating it.

  Joanna Courtney has wanted to be a writer ever since she could read. After spending endless hours entertaining her siblings with made-up stories, it was no surprise when Joanna pursued her passion for books during her time at Cambridge University – where she combined her love of English and History by specialising in Medieval Literature.

  Joanna continued to write through her first years of work and then, married and living in Derbyshire, in the sparse hours available between raising four children. She teaches creative writing across the country and for the Open University.

  Joanna is fascinated by defining moments in history, of which the Battle of Hastings is certainly one. The outcome of that momentous day is one of the big ‘what-ifs?’ of England’s past and she has loved being able to immerse herself in the world of the Anglo-Saxons, Normans and Vikings whilst writing The Queens of the Conquest trilogy.

  Also by Joanna Courtney

  The Chosen Queen

  The Constant Queen

  Ebook novella

  The Christmas Court

  First published 2017 by Macmillan

  This electronic edition published 2017 by Macmillan

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan

  20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-1-4472-8108-5

  Copyright © Joanna Courtney 2017

  Jacket image © Jeff Cottenden

  The right of Joanna Courtney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogu
e record for this book is available from the British Library.

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