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Book

The White Ship

by Charles Spencer

First published 2020

Amazon
4.4(5,116)

The White Ship tells the story of the wreck that destroyed Henry I’s succession plans and reshaped twelfth-century English politics. On 25 November 1120 the White Ship sank after leaving Barfleur, drowning the king’s only legitimate son and heir, William Adelin, together with many members of the Anglo-Norman elite.

Charles Spencer sets the disaster within the world created by the Norman Conquest and follows its long political aftermath. Henry I’s attempt to secure the succession for his daughter Empress Matilda failed after his death, when Stephen seized the throne and England entered the civil war known as the Anarchy. The book therefore combines maritime disaster, dynastic history and the origins of one of medieval England’s major succession conflicts.

Historical Periods

The Anarchy1135–1154 CE

Genres

Court & Political Fiction Dynastic & Royal Fiction Maritime Fiction Political History

Historical people

Stephen, King of England1095–1154 Empress Matilda1102–1167 Henry I of England1068–1135 William Adelin1103–1120

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