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Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman
 
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Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by Frances Stonor Saunders (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 366 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; illustrated edition edition (21 Oct 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 057121908X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571219087
  • Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 16.4 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 156,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Terry Jones

‘Simply the most vivid account of the late medieval world I have ever read.'

Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times

‘Superb and quite unputdownable … Addictively readable, handsomely produced and compellingly intelligent.’
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing, 12 Nov 2004
This is an absolutely blinding historical book. Reading through its hard to believe that this is actually something that happened, that a man like Hawkwood ever existed.

I can firstly recommend the book for the writing. The author clearly has no axe to grind, beyond an accurate retelling of renaissance life. This is successful thanks to what seems like meticulous reserach and presentation of incidental detail. Opinion is marked as opinion, fact is backed up by quote and reference. Any history student should be able to read this without getting annoyed.

Then, theres the story....Hawkwood was an utterly amoral man living in an astonishing time which he was able to milk for enormous wealth. A poor soldier from medieval Britain, he eventually walked amongst popes and princes. At their behest, he carried out acts of brutality beyond imagination. And yet, he was still a human being and he appears on the page not as a monster but as a man of his times, still a complex character with motivations and emotions.

I really can't recommend this book enough- this is a fantastic piece of storytelling and although often grim reading, a humane and intelligent work of history.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Diabollically Well Written!, 3 Aug 2005
By J. Bloss "jethrox1" (Wolverton, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman (Paperback)
This is a really enjoyable overview of Italy in the 14th century - it is a land riven with disorder, political intrigue and warfare - a situation much exploited by the many mercenaries who flock to earn a living ( albeit a dishonest one! ). The author uses the life of John Hawkwood as the backdrop to the many alliances and conflicts that raged at the time. I have to say that overall you don't necessarily learn a huge amount about Hawkwood and by the end of the book he is still a bit of an enigma - I am guessing that is due to limited sources being available.
However the author's style is very readable and descriptive and I would recommend this to anyone interested in medieval history.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched and well-written book., 24 Jun 2007
By Paul (Exeter, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman (Paperback)
This is a well-researched, well-written book, and one that provides a good overview of the complexity of late 14th century Italian politics and medieval life more generally.

I disagree that it's 'too scholarly'. I do, however, share the concerns expressed above that, for a book 300+ pages, you don't learn as much as you'd like about Hawkwood himself (the more recent book by Caferro disproves the suggestion that there is a scarcity of material). Consequently, you do get the impression that this military genius spends a lot of time losing battles, rather than winning them. Hence 4 rather than 5 stars. But the diversions and detours ('padding' would be too harsh) are fascinating.

I have two minor quibbles: one that Stonor Saunders has a preoccupation about medieval sexlives (there surely aren't too many books about medieval mercenaries that has index entries for 'masturbation' and 'lesbianism'); and that, secondly, while at pains to highlight the Essex men around Hawkwood (p166), she misses out John Coe, who served with Hawkwood between 1386 and 1394: not only was Coe was from a neighbouring Essex parish to Hawkwood's Sible Heddingham, but he was partly responsible for the two later chantries dedicated to Hawkwood at Sible and Castle Heddingham

But this should not detract from what is an ejoyable and intelligent book.

[updated: 2009]
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost Angelic....
A superbly well researched and presented book on a period and region often passed by in more generalist books on the era. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by tygris

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story poorly told
I only wish Giles Milton had decided to turn his masterful story-telling skills to this man and his life and times. He would have added the all-important human element. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2007 by possiblejersey

2.0 out of 5 stars Poorly researched
I bought this book after going to Tuscany to track Hawkwood's life there, I thought it would fill in the gaps left by other accounts of his life - I was disappointed. Read more
Published on 16 July 2006 by Claire E. Nicholl

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Narrative History
The author has produced an excellent narrative history which provides a very readable overview of late 14th Century northern Italian politics. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2006 by Bohemond

3.0 out of 5 stars Diabolically unsuccessful in battle.
I bought this book on the strength of multiple rave reviews in newspapers and on Amazon.
It is a good book but very scholarly. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2005 by Hector 1970

3.0 out of 5 stars Hawkwood - Diabolic but not terribly successful in battle
I bought this book on the strength of multiple rave reviews in newspapers and on Amazon.
It is a good book but very scholarly. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2005 by Hector 1970

5.0 out of 5 stars Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman
Ms Stonor has truly mastered her subject. I could not put the book down and now cannot wait to find more about the period. Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2004 by cpdkm

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