The Castle

Name: The Castle
Rating: 4.41 (810 reviews)

by Robert Broomall Book 2 in the Miles Edwulfson in the 12th Century series.

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In 1106, Blanche, the Norman widow of the earl of Trent, and her English steward Miles Edwulfson attempt to take control of her estates after the earl’s death. Their position is threatened by Aimerie, a baron building an illegal castle and extracting money from nearby manors to support wider ambitions. The novel centres on Miles and Blanche as they resist private lordship, predatory taxation and the political instability of Anglo-Norman England under Henry I.

The illegal fortress embodies the problem of private power. A castle can defend a district, but in the hands of an ambitious lord it can also enable extortion, forced labour and military independence from the king. Miles and Blanche’s resistance therefore concerns more than one estate: it reflects Henry I’s wider need to prevent local magnates from turning fortification into authority beyond effective royal control.