Mysteries of the Norman Conquest

Mysteries of the Norman Conquest written by Robert Allred and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 248

Recent challenges to the traditional site of the Battle of Hastings have led to a surge of

interest in the events surrounding England’s most famous battle. This, in turn, has

increased speculation that the titanic struggle for the English crown in 1066 did not

take place on the slopes of what is today Battle Abbey, with a number of highly plausible

alternative locations being proposed. The time had clearly come to evaluate all these

suggestions, and Robert Allred decided to take on that task.

Taking nothing for granted, Robert hiked around the sites of the three battles of 1066 – Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. Armed with medieval sources and much of the current literature, he set out to appraise the evidence and to draw his own unbiased conclusions.

Following in the footsteps of the Viking warriors of Harald Hardrada, the knights of William of Normandy and the Anglo-Saxon soldiers of King Harold, the reader is taken on a journey from Yorkshire to the South Coast and down through the ages to re-examine what has been written about that momentous year – the intrigues, preparations and manoeuvres – which culminated on 14 October 1066, on a bloody hill somewhere in Sussex.

Whether this will settle the debate over the site of the Battle of Hastings or prompt further investigations remains to be seen, but it will be a book which cannot be ignored and that the reader will be unable to put down!

This was an interesting book in which the author Robert Allred attempts to look at the Battle of Hastings and try to establish the correct battlefield site for this battle, in amongst all the various bits of medieval evidence. The author establishes the real histories and reasons such as the Anglo-Saxon background, the Norman Invasion and also looks at three key medieval battle sites at Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and enjoyed how it was broken up into specific sections throughout the book which made it easier to read and believe each argument. I must admit to agreeing mostly with the conclusion in the book, but would it settle all the arguments, well you just have to read it and see what you think.

On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes

On the Trail of Sherlock Holmes written by Stephen Browning and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 160

‘There can be no question, Mr Dear Watson, of the value of exercise before breakfast’

Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of Black Peter

You may have been introduced to the magic of the greatest of English detectives by reading the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or perhaps watching some of the hundreds of films or TV shows that feature the extraordinary adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John H. Watson - now, this unique book offers a detailed itinerary for actually ‘walking’ Sherlock Holmes. Beginning, of course, at Baker Street a series of walks takes in the well-known, as well as some of the more obscure, locations of London as travelled by Holmes and Watson and a gallery of unforgettable characters in the stories. Details of each location and the story in which it features are given along with other items of interest - associated literary and historical information, social history, and events in Conan Doyle’s life. A chapter then explores Holmes’ adventures in the rest of the UK. 55 black and white original photographs accompany the text.

This book is designed to appeal to anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the stories by travelling, even if just in imagination from an armchair, exactly the same London streets as Sherlock Holmes, and perhaps also by exploring some iconic Holmesian locations farther afield. ‘Come, Watson, come!’ Holmes says in The Adventure of the Abbey Grange. ‘The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!’

I must admit from the outset that I thought this book would be more about the character Sherlock Holmes and his stories, then I thought having not read the back of the book description I now realise that it's very much about primarily about walks in connection with Sherlock Holmes. I had looked and thought the book cover looks really interesting and thought I might start learning more about the character Sherlock Holmes and his background. At the beginning of the book, there is a short introduction to the character and his books/stories but the overriding content of the book is a number of walks in connection with the Sherlock Holmes character and where he lived and worked.

Now these walks were quite interesting and I enjoyed the descriptions of the walks very much but I feel you would get more out of this as a reader if you know the areas of London involved and of course the stories of Sherlock Holmes.  Having never been to London or succeeded in finding out more about Sherlock Holmes previously, it probably wasn't the book for me. I would say the book would be a very interesting book if you were a Sherlock Holmes fan and wanted to learn more about the character and his stories.  Other than that the book was a good read,  I enjoyed learning more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Sherlock Holmes that I never knew before and would recommend this book on that basis for anyone who is a fan.