Edward Marston is the pseudonym of Keith Miles, a fairly prolific and extremely good writer of mainly Elizabethan and medieval mysteries. He has also written mysteries under his own name with both sporting and golf backgrounds. However it is primarily the books that take place earlier in history that I am interested in. He read modern history at Oxford and has had many jobs, including university lecturer, but fortunately for all his readers, he turned to the writing profession.
After reading the first book in the series, I avidly sought out all the other books by Edward Marston and not a single one has ever disappointed me. They are about a period of history that I love. His Elizabethan theatre series of books were wonderful and he has continued them through from 1988 to 2006. The Domesday series is also a great series and this is the second book in the series.
The Domesday series is about a period in England's history shortly after the Norman conquest , during the reign of William the Conqueror. It was King William himself who called for an `inventory' to assess taxes and survey landholdings. This inventory was called the Domesday book and was a tremendous undertaking, but one that brought stability to England. Edward Marston's Domesday novels are based upon actual entries in the Domesday Book.
Ralph Delchard, a Norman soldier and his friend and associate Gervase Bret are on business for King William I, better known as the Conqueror. They have been called to settle a dispute between the Church and the State and are guests of the Earl. Even before they have a chance to look into the dispute strange events begin to happen. Who, for instance killed the Earl's finest hawk? Who is the hooded figure in the forest, who can be seen from the castle, but disappears into thin air when anyone goes out to look for them? Finally, who is the well guarded prisoner in the castle dungeon.