The King's Shadow

This story is about young boy who loses his tongue due to the misdeeds of his uncle. He is sent through a series of misfortunes that lead him to a position as Harold's faithful assistant. The story follows the young man's adventures culminating in the Battle of Hastings with William the Conqueror. I expected a less than eager reception from my children as they read this book, due to the small print and numerous pages. Instead, it captivated their attention and became an all time favorite in their reading.

I'm a mid-30's mom and find this book fascinating! Don't be put off by this being just for kids! It's not! If you love history and adventure in a well written soup, this book might interest you!

This story is breathtaking. It takes place in the Middle Ages. THE KING'S SHADOW is a very good book; it's about a young boy named Evyn. He dreams of being a storyteller, but his dream is shattered by his Uncle's poor manners and straight up bad luck! His Uncle is a man who speaks before he actually thinks about what he is saying. His Uncle got drunk and interrupted one of the sons of Griffon. They were not invited. They barged into the banquet at a Welsh castle. And Evyn's Uncle accidently killed a son of Griffon. The sons of Griffon are very evil people and enjoy murdering . They chase Evyn's Uncle out of the castle trying to kill him. Evyn's father and Evyn's uncle are twins so the sons of Griffon see Evyn's father and kill him. The sons of griffon recognize Evyn from the banquet and cut off his tongue. A quote from this book is " Yes you are right, Evyn. A storm comes this way. I can feel it in my knees." The King said that because whenever a storm is coming his knees fell excrutiating pain. I picked this quote because it stood out from the other quotes. It made you wonder what life was like without cures to stuff. I would probably compare this book to THE WAR OF THE WORLDS by H.G. Wells because they are both about wars that were very dangerous. I suggest you read this book if you like adventure stories. I recommend readers should be 10 and over because it has a lot of bloody parts. This book is sad due to people dying. Another book by Elizabeth Alder is THE SECRET OF THE VILLA MIMOSA. Here is some vivid language from the book: "But slowly the burning began to diminish like a fire left to die." This is vivid because it sets a strong image in your head of what she is saying. This book won the 1996 friends of American Writers Award. Here are the opening and closing lines:" Thunder rumbled in the distance like a pack of angry wolves."=opening. " Evyn drew a deep breath, read over the words he had written and continued, dipping his pen in the ink once more."=closing. These are good because if you just read those lines you want to read the whole book. I think the moral is that even if you are a peasant, life can change. The book was published in 1995. Elizabeth Alder writes mostly about the Middle Ages. THE END

It's often said that history is written by the winner. We know of William the Conqueror and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. What few know is who it was he fought against and what that enemy was like. Now, 931 years after the fact, Elizabeth Alder has told us the story of Harold II, the last Saxon king of England. We are shown Harold's tragic story through the eyes of his "shadow", a voiceless squire who becomes one of the king's most trusted friends. While some apparently think the story boring, it touched me like few other books have. Harold is portrayed as one of the few kings who gives all of himself for his realm and it is heartbreaking to read of all his efforts to unite England, knowing that in a very short while it will all be gone. Even the chapter headings tick off the years leading up to 1066 like some sort of death knell.As to how this story has anything to do with us? If it were not for the events in this story many of us, myself included, would not even be able to read this book. We would be speaking and reading French.

This is the kind of book that a teacher is always delighted to discover! This is an excellent first novel by an author who has created a vivid picture of the world in which Harold becomes king of England and then loses his throne and his life to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. The story is told from the viewpoint of Evyn, a Welsh boy who loses his ability to speak in a brutal attack in his village and who is then sold as a slave to the court of Harold's common-law wife. The story is enormous in its scope but uncomplicated in the telling, with action-filled battle scenes and authentic descriptions of the politics and treachery of the time. Suitable for middle school readers, it brings the end of Anglo-Saxon England to life. Highly recommended!