In the Days of William the Conqueror by Eva March Tappan

In the Days of William the Conqueror by Eva March Tappan

First published by Lee and Shepard in 1901, now reprinted by many including Yesterday’s Classics in 2006. That edition has 236 pages. Upper elementary and up reading level.

Eva March Tappan, 1854-1930, was born in Massachusetts, the only child of Reverend and Mrs. Everett March Tappan. She graduated from Vassar College and then taught at Wheaton College. Later she was assistant principal at an academy in Camden, New Jersey.  She earned her degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Later she was the head of the English department at the English High School in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was involved in education for more than two decades before she began writing.

Some of the other titles of her books include:

In the Days of Alfred the Great

In the Days of Queen Elizabeth

In the Days of Queen Victoria

England’s Story

Robin Hood: His Book

American Hero Stories

The Chaucer Story Book

The Story of the Greek People

Old World Hero Stories

When Knights Were Bold

An Elementary History of Our Country

Heroes of the Middle Ages

Heroes of Progress: Stories of Successful Americans

From the back of the book:

“With her extensive classroom experience she was able to create stories that appealed strongly to children. She had ‘a talent for making stories real, for filling the imagination with fascinating facts, for bringing out the romance of history, the wholesome excitement of heroism and adventure, and the beauty and wonder of poetry, myth, and legend.’ She authored over 50 titles, including biographies, history textbooks, fairy tales, and hero stories. Her greatest works were The Children’s Hour, an anthology for children in 15 volumes, and The World’s Story, an anthology for older students in 14 volumes.”

Tappan’s preface to this book:

“The story of William the Conqueror is the story of the man who for more than a quarter of a century was the most prominent personage of western Europe. Into whose hands shall England fall, was one of the two or three great questions of the time, and it was William who solved the problem. Whether or not his claim to the English throne was just, the people and their new sovereign seemed made for each other. The English could follow, William could lead. The English could endure; William could strike the blow that made endurance needless. The English were inclined to be grave and serious; William enjoyed a jest. The English were a little slow in their thinking; William was quick-witted. The English would yield to fate; William was fate itself. William’s reign was a period of transition, and in such a time both faults and virtues stand out in bold relief. Whatever in the character of the Conqueror the twentieth century may find worthy of blame or of praise, no student of his life will deny that his faults were those of his time, that his virtues were his own.”

I was very curious to read this book because William’s household steward, Robert Despenser, was a distant ancestor of my family on my father’s side.  Despencer was a Norman landowner who was given status in William’s conquered England. From his line came the famous Spencer family through the centuries. Despencer is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

William was born in Normandy around 1028 and became Duke of Normandy from 1035 on.  Keeping his control over Normandy was difficult and involved many skirmishes with other men trying to challenge his authority for their own means. In the 1050s and 1060s, William became a contender for the throne of England because King Edward was childless. William claimed that Edward had promised him the throne, a first cousin once removed. Others also claimed the right to the throne. Thus began a long process of obtaining his right to the throne and keeping it. He “invaded” England in 1066 and won the Battle of Hastings. He was crowned king then on Christmas Day in 1066. William’s rule was characterized by the building of many castles and keeps including the keep of the Tower of London, the White Tower. He replaced many of the Saxon knights and rulers with those loyal from Normandy. He also seized and depopulated a large track of land in southern England turning it into the New Forest to support his great love of hunting. Interestingly, the book Children of the New Forest which I previously reviewed took place in this forest during the English Civil War of the mid-1600s. In 1085, William ordered a survey of the landholdings of himself and his vassals. This compilation included the holdings of each landowner, who owned the land before the Conquest, its value, what the taxes were, and the number of all of its resources including peasants and tools.  William died in 1087 following a battle in France against the French King Philip I, who was allied with William’s son Robert.

Being of English background, I had always had a negative impression of William the Conqueror. After all, he invaded England and defeated his foes there and took over the land, making great changes in the culture. I always saw him as a ruthless man. This book gave me a different perspective of a man who set out to claim what he felt was his given rights to rule England. He was brave and courageous even as a young boy when he became Duke of Normandy. He often displayed great mercy in his dealings with his enemies, even against the advice of his elders. William was fiercely protective of his mother and of his wife. He fathered 9 children some of whom were disloyal to him.  Born in a historic period of great political unrest, he lived a life of conflict and battles which he faced with courage and determination.

This book, In the Days of William the Conqueror, written by Eva March Tappan, is a valuable read for young people to learn about this time in history. Although I found it quite interesting because of my fascination with this time period, it is not a good read-aloud, in my opinion. It tends to be a little dry. Still it is informative and well-written, and has a place in my library for knowledge of this time period which has so much influence historically.

Recommended additional books/resources to aid your studies:

Domesday Book, Jackdaw No. 39

1066, Jackdaw No. 38

If you have never seen these Jackdaw collections, you might not realize what a wonderful resource they are of primary sources to aid your studies. They are pamphlets published over the years in England on many historical events and people, many about English history but some also on American and Canada. The packet contains a short document of the history of the event or person, and a list of the document facsimiles included in the packet. I highly recommend them – a little hard to find – but well worth the effort.

Oh my! Such excellent authors have written wonderful books of this era for young people! A rich feast!!

Heroes of History by Winston Churchill

William the Conqueror by Thomas Costain, a Landmark book

William the Conqueror by L. DuGarde Peach, a Ladybird book

Famous Men of the Middle Ages by Rob Shearer

Seven Kings of England by Geoffrey Trease

Tower of London by Leonard Everett Fisher

The Bayeux Tapestry: The Story of the Norman Conquest 1066 by Norman Denny

The Norman Conquest by C. Walter Hodges

Hastings by Philip Sauvain

Growing Up with the Norman Conquest by Alfred Duggan

Cunning of the Dove by Alfred Duggan

Wulf the Saxon by G.A. Henty

Twelve Bright Trumpets by Margaret Leighton

The Twelve Ships by Eloise McGraw

Knight’s Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff

Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff

Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge

Man with a Sword by Henry Trease

The Middle Ages by Sue Lyon

Rory the Red by Evelyn Begley

To Kill a King by Madeleine Polland

Invaders and Invasions by Ronald Syme

The History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill, volume 1

Saxon Britain by Tony Triggs

Earliest English by Rosemary Cramp

Kings, Bishops, Knights and Pawns by Ralph Arnold

They Lived Like This in Ancient Britain by Marie Neurath

Fourteenth of October by Bryher – I have not read this one

This is London by M. Sasek

The Inside-Outside Book of London by Roxie Munro

The Story of Britain by R.J. Unstead

Heart’s Conquest by Gladys Malvern – I have not read this one

Faraway Princess by Jane Oliver

(Book review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. August 14, 2017)