Beauvallet (Historical Romances)

Georgette Heyer, best known for her formulaic Regency and Georgian romances, strayed from her usual path long enough to turn out this excellent, entertaining novel. The narrative follows the life and achievements of William, duke of Normandy--better known as William the Conqueror--through the eyes of one of his young knights, the fictional Raoul de Harcourt. Major events of William's life, from his illegitimate birth to his coronation as king of England in 1066, are described with fine period detail. Heyer's rousing treatment of the Battle of Hastings is particularly good, and for the most part, she sticks to the facts. Of course there are a few inaccuracies--credit for the creation of the Bayeux Tapestry, for example, is given to William's wife Matilda of Flanders, although it is known to have been made by the English not long after the Conquest. And did William really beat Matilda in her father's house?! That legendary event probably never took place, but here it makes for a lively episode in the account of William's courtship.

All things considered, lovers of medieval history should find this book, with its colorful descriptions of eleventh-century France and its well-drawn characters, a pleasure to read.

Georgette Heyer is a great historical fiction writer. She uses language of the age, and writes what seems to be culturally relevant making one feel that able to see into that period of time. I do suspect that she makes William the Conqueror much more mild that he actually was, and imposes morality on him that he may not have had but I have no concrete evidence for that. Enjoyed and benefited from this novel.

Georgette Heyer is one of my favorite authors but I find that I do not care as much for Beauvallet -- high adventure that starts out with capturing a Spanish ship and a fiery damsel, then goes on to intrigue in Spain to win her hand. Even though set in the 16th century, there seems to simply be a change of costume and Ms Heyer has her characters behaving just as they would during the Regency period. Also, one has to infer the meaning of words from their context and a glossary would be very helpful.

A very lively tale of Norman, French and Saxon history. Although the Norman history of the time and the legend of William the conqueror is the primary focus the conditions that led to the Norman invasion and the character and drive off the Conqueror are capably described.

Beauvallet is a historical romance set in 1586 on the sea, in England, and in Spain. Actually, it's more of an action/adventure novel. It's serious rather than funny, and I missed the humor that I so enjoy in Heyer's Regency novels.

Nicholas is extremely reckless (even he knows it) and enjoys a challenge. I have no idea why he decided to marry Dominica except that it'd be a grand challenge--both to get her out of Spain and to stay happily married to someone as opinionated as he is. Dominica likes the way he doesn't take no for an answer and the risk he's willing to take to claim her.

Honestly, I'm not really seeing a peaceful marriage here, though I will say that he is more desirable than her other suitors. I had a hard time rooting for his reckless, prideful scheme to succeed especially since I considered them a poor romantic match. But it's quite a show to see how he pulls off his scheme, and the "on the run" action at the end was exciting.

There was no sex. There was a fair amount of using "God" as a swear word. Overall, if you like action/adventure and don't mind the tenuous romance, you might enjoy this book.

The product description already covers the plot: Set in the Elizabethan era, English Privateer Mad Nick captures Spanish ship with lovely Spanish lady and, while he returns her and her father safely to Spain, he later goes into the heart of Spain to retrieve her.

I have to agree with others that a good indicator of whether you may like this book is probably if you enjoyed some of the classic pirate movies (yes, Captain Blood is one of my favorites) since it very much has that overall romantic adventure feel to it.

One of my favorite books growing up and that I still enjoy reading to this day.

This is a great adventure tale. The author researched so well how people spoke, with the wore, what they fought with, learn about ship fighting… it's much more than just a romance. It really is an adventure tale and would make a fantastic movie! As it says in the description, in this pirate tale the hero El Beauvallet, is tempted by the fair Dominica to venture into Spain for her hand. But Spain is gripped in the claws of the Inquisition. Can this Englishman do it?

Georgette Heyer's research is prodigious! William in this novel is a man whose goal is never far from his mind. When he finally overmatched English forces in 1066 he realized his goal ,fulfilling a prophecy made at his birth. Fascinating reading..

1066 William, the Duke of Normandy and bastard son defeated Harold to become the first Norman king of England. William entered the pages of history and myths. Georgette Heyer explores both with the historical novel THE CONQUEROR.
Heyer's style brings the savagery and glory of the early medieval period to the printed page with a well constructed novel of William's life, rise to power, and victory at Hastings.
Nash Black author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

This books is basically a bio about William the Conqueror. If I recall correctly, I believe that a lot of research went into this so there is also a lot of fact mixed in with the fiction.

While I love European history, the bulk of this was just a little too much factual illustration of the life and times to keep my interest as a novel, let alone a romance.

I will say, however, that there is one unforgettable point in this story where William answers Matilda's (Williams's wife) rejection of his suit. I'm not sure exactly of the historical accuracy but it surely made this story memorable for me.

William the Conqueror is an extremely interesting character, and Heyer succeeds in bringing him to life: along with all of his complexities. Her book is a fascinating account of the life of William and I especially found it interesting to learn about his military stratergies. He seemed to be very ahead of his time in military tactics. Heyer's account of the Battle of Hastings, 1066, is very good.
However, I gave this book 3 stars as opposed for 4 because I am reviewing it as a novel, and not as a textbook. The narrative structure is a little bit non-sensical and the plot has sometimes not been developed properly as Heyer no doubt was concerned instead with the accuracy and broad spectrum of historical fact.
Nevertheless, this is a good book to pick up if you care to be whisked off to the time of Saxons vs. Normams.

This is not the typical Heyer romance although there is a lot of it. More typical of the writing style of Sabatini with Captain Blood adventures. Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of action and adventure. Highly recommended.

Starts out like one of the old swashbuckling movies of the 30's but it does develop into more. With some interesting history of the times, it made me want to find out more about the buccaneers. A great swashbuckling time.

this is a novel containing war and adventure and danger and love. accuratly historical, and a personal favourite, its love story is one of the most fierce in heyer's books.
a fearless but also very tender and protective hero, a beautiful, brave heroine and a love with the most impossible dangers to overcome. what a wonderful, wonderful book!

The Conqueror is a novel depicting the life of William "The Conqueror," Duke of Normandy, from birth until his coronation as King of England in 1066. While I normally love historical fiction (unable to put a book down), this novel had a hard time keeping me interested. There were sections that did have me wanting to shut out the world and keep reading, but there were just as many boring storylines that had me looking at my bookshelf longingly.

Well-researched and portrayed for the time period, I have no complaints in that department. Heyer used great descriptive detail to portray the culture and history. The war-torn battlefields especially were very in-depth.

However, Heyer's writing style thoroughly annoyed me. As an editor, I wanted to go through the book and correct the punctuation with a big, red pen. Written in 1931, perhaps this is just a style of the times, or the style of some genre I've never read before, but I found the break in my reading flow quite distracting.

Another letdown for me was that the book was told from the viewpoint of Raoul, William's right-hand man. Not quite biography, not quite historical fiction, I was disappointed that the novel didn't let me inside William's head. Personally, if I can't be inside the historical character's head, then I'd rather read a biography of the person than fiction.

Lastly, William's relationship with Matilda was so talked up on the book cover and everywhere else, but in truth, it was just a small piece of the novel and seemed to be missing too much of the real storyline to make sense. In contrast, the relationship between Raoul and his friend, Edgar, had much more romance and love portrayed. I kept wondering when the two of them would become more than friends, but then Raoul fell in love with Edgar's sister, Elfrida, putting that pondering to rest.

In closing, it wasn't an altogether bad book. It just wasn't for me, and I'm doubtful I'll read anymore of Heyer's books

This is an entertaining, colorful historical novel based on the life of William the Conqueror, as seen from the vantage point of one of his knights. Lively, with plenty of detail, much of it accurate. There are inaccuracies, of course. (William's wife, Matilda, did not create the Bayeux Tapestry.) But all in all, a very good read that gives a good sense of 11th century Normandy and England.

William the Conqueror is an extremely interesting character, and Heyer succeeds in bringing him to life: along with all of his complexities. Her book is a fascinating account of the life of William and I especially found it interesting to learn about his military stratergies. He seemed to be very ahead of his time in military tactics. Heyer's account of the Battle of Hastings, 1066, is very good.
However, I gave this book 3 stars as opposed for 4 because I am reviewing it as a novel, and not as a textbook. The narrative structure is a little bit non-sensical and the plot has sometimes not been developed properly as Heyer no doubt was concerned instead with the accuracy and broad spectrum of historical fact.
Nevertheless, this is a good book to pick up if you care to be whisked off to the time of Saxons vs. Normams.

This is not the typical Heyer romance although there is a lot of it. More typical of the writing style of Sabatini with Captain Blood adventures. Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of action and adventure. Highly recommended.

Starts out like one of the old swashbuckling movies of the 30's but it does develop into more. With some interesting history of the times, it made me want to find out more about the buccaneers. A great swashbuckling time.

this is a novel containing war and adventure and danger and love. accuratly historical, and a personal favourite, its love story is one of the most fierce in heyer's books.
a fearless but also very tender and protective hero, a beautiful, brave heroine and a love with the most impossible dangers to overcome. what a wonderful, wonderful book!

The Conqueror is a novel depicting the life of William "The Conqueror," Duke of Normandy, from birth until his coronation as King of England in 1066. While I normally love historical fiction (unable to put a book down), this novel had a hard time keeping me interested. There were sections that did have me wanting to shut out the world and keep reading, but there were just as many boring storylines that had me looking at my bookshelf longingly.

Well-researched and portrayed for the time period, I have no complaints in that department. Heyer used great descriptive detail to portray the culture and history. The war-torn battlefields especially were very in-depth.

However, Heyer's writing style thoroughly annoyed me. As an editor, I wanted to go through the book and correct the punctuation with a big, red pen. Written in 1931, perhaps this is just a style of the times, or the style of some genre I've never read before, but I found the break in my reading flow quite distracting.

Another letdown for me was that the book was told from the viewpoint of Raoul, William's right-hand man. Not quite biography, not quite historical fiction, I was disappointed that the novel didn't let me inside William's head. Personally, if I can't be inside the historical character's head, then I'd rather read a biography of the person than fiction.

Lastly, William's relationship with Matilda was so talked up on the book cover and everywhere else, but in truth, it was just a small piece of the novel and seemed to be missing too much of the real storyline to make sense. In contrast, the relationship between Raoul and his friend, Edgar, had much more romance and love portrayed. I kept wondering when the two of them would become more than friends, but then Raoul fell in love with Edgar's sister, Elfrida, putting that pondering to rest.

In closing, it wasn't an altogether bad book. It just wasn't for me, and I'm doubtful I'll read anymore of Heyer's books

This is an entertaining, colorful historical novel based on the life of William the Conqueror, as seen from the vantage point of one of his knights. Lively, with plenty of detail, much of it accurate. There are inaccuracies, of course. (William's wife, Matilda, did not create the Bayeux Tapestry.) But all in all, a very good read that gives a good sense of 11th century Normandy and England.

Georgette Heyer is famous for her regency romances but she wrote wonderful historical fiction too and The Conqueror was probably the best of the bunch. It's a thrilling tale of Duke William's climb from an ignoble birth to the king of England. You get paegentry, romance, violence, death and fine writing. I read this book when I was in high school and it remains a favorite of mine.

Forsooth! Once more an exciting, romantic tale. Again I say, what an stupendous way to learn about 17th century....this time, Spain, France, and England. What a slick hero! His antics had me laughing out loud. Georgette Jeter just won't quit.

History textbooks should all be like this! Heyer's lovely potrayal of William the Conqueror is breathtaking, full of magnificence and romance. It is a story of war, a story of friendship and of love and sorrow. A tale set in a time when chivalry was not dead and the sound of the bugle signalled the start of galloping destriers charging to battle. A fine read and I would recommend it to all out there who have ever believed in knights and damsels in distress.

This book has all the classic elements of a great read: adventure, mystery, heroism, romance and the qualities of generosity and forgiveness. I loved it because of all that and the very human character studies. Georgette has a flair for the grande but without losing sight of humanity.