6 used & new from £9.99
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart (Paperback)

by Chris Brown (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


4 new from £12.25 2 used from £9.99
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (Illustrated) £9.99 £8.99 7 used & new from £6.00

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   "Braveheart" (1995) DVD opens new browser window
MoviesUnlimited.com  -  Best Picture Oscar/Mel Gibson. 1000s of titles not found elsewhere 
   William Wallace on YOOX opens new browser window
www.yoox.com/William+Wallace  -  Special Selection of William Wallace Promotion: up to an Extra 20% Off 
   Watch Free Movies Online opens new browser window
www.blinkbox.com/movies  -  Huge Variety and Premium Quality. 100% Legal and Safe. 
  
 

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

William Wallace

William Wallace

by Andrew Fisher
£5.44
William Wallace: Man and Myth

William Wallace: Man and Myth

by Graeme Morton
3.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.42
William Wallace: Brave Heart

William Wallace: Brave Heart

by James A. Mackay
4.6 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.48
Scottish Battlefields: 500 Battles That Shaped Scottish History: 300 Battlefields That Shaped Scottish History

Scottish Battlefields: 500 Battles That Shaped Scottish History: 300 Battlefields That Shaped Scottish History

by Chris Brown
£16.99
Braveheart [1995] [DVD]

Braveheart [1995] [DVD]

DVD ~ Mel Gibson
3.7 out of 5 stars (112)  £4.98
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: The History Press LTD (1 Jul 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752434322
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752434322
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 759,048 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

This title is a scholarly biography of William Wallace, published to coincide with the 700th anniversary of the execution of Wallace in August 2005.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
scotland

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart
37% buy the item featured on this page:
William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart 3.5 out of 5 stars (2)
William Wallace: Brave Heart
23% buy
William Wallace: Brave Heart 4.6 out of 5 stars (7)
£6.48
On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of)
21% buy
On the Trail of William Wallace (On the Trail of) 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.99
William Wallace
12% buy
William Wallace
£5.44
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dry.., 3 Aug 2006
After all the biographies of Wallace released in recent years, largely prompted by the success of 'Braveheart,' one might be forgiven for thinking that the Wallace tale, such as it is, had been explored thoroughly. However, in this new book author Chris Brown claims to have written the first purely academic account of Scotland's famous rebel. Consequently, the book vaunts itself as the definitive Wallace tome by virtue of its author's background in medieval studies, and by a rather unfair denigration of attempts by other authors to recount Wallace's life.

Unfortunately, the problem with Brown's source-based biography is that the sources relating to Wallace are so few and unsatisfactory so as to provide only the faintest outline of the man's life. Hence, what could be summed up in six or seven lines is instead blagged out valiantly over the first seventy or eighty pages; references to Wallace being dispersed piecemeal in between hefty portions on the 'socio-economic conditions of Scotland c.1300'. All of which is helpful to the student preparing for an essay or exam on the subject, but frustrating for the general reader whose chief curiosity is Wallace himself. Indeed, some aspects of the man's life, such as his capture, imprisonment, trial and execution are dealt with in a few sentences, despite the fact that a large number of English administrative documents exist which relate these in detail. On the other hand, Brown does make some interesting suggestions, for instance he argues on the likelihood of Wallace acquiring a great deal of personal wealth out of his guardianship, as well as trying to relate the public mood towards the disgraced guardian in the years after his defeat at Falkirk.

After Brown offs Wallace circa page eighty, the bulk of the remainder of the book is devoted to 'exploring' in a pretty aggressive way other accounts of Wallace and Scottish history in both literature and film. Indeed, Brown is at his most lucid when laying into something, be it the film 'Braveheart', its makers and devotees, the Scottish education system, or even bogus books about templar knights, freemasons, and buried treasure (this was one of the more fanciful tangents). Yet the bulk of Brown's venom is aimed at chief Wallace biographer Andrew Fisher, whose book he charges with the heinous crime of leading many students towards their academic doom via 'unsatisfactory' exam results. Notwithstanding that his main gripe with Fisher's book is that it actually succeeds as a BIOGRAPHY, is popular without being controversial, and doesn't bang on about social and economic factors all the time.

Finally, the last few chapters provide the accounts of Wallace by the Scottish chroniclers Fordoun, Wyntoun, and Bower. Unfortunately, the book does not mention when these men wrote their accounts, nor does it make use of the French and English accounts regarding Wallace's travels in France, or his eventual capture and trial. It is small quips like these, combined with the occasional grammatical errors and the odd poor sentence structure, that make you wonder whether or not the original manuscript was hurried to the publisher before the author had a chance to proofread it. I imagine a second edition is necessary to clear a lot of these up.

In truth my only real gripe is that the title 'The True Story of Braveheart' is misleading in that it implies a detailed account of Wallace himself. What you get instead feels like a series of essays detailing 'the political, social, and economic conditions' of late 13th and early 14th century Scotland with bits on Wallace hurled in every so often. This is good in that it gives you a better understanding of the bigger picture and puts those six or seven facts about Wallace that we do know into some form of context, yet all the same for £17.99 you feel a bit cheated. This book should really be titled along the lines of: 'William Wallace and Scotland: c.1270-1305'. I would recommend anyone studying this period to read it, since it will complement an essay or dissertation handsomely. Yet the general reader would, i think, have to read a couple of other books on the period before trying to tackle this one.

3 and a half out of five stars.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars veneer peeled off Braveheart, 6 Jan 2006
This thoroughly researched book is well worth a read if you are interested in Wallace and his times. Despite the authors' best efforts to objectively reveal the real Wallace, this Scottish hero stills shines. This is because Chris Brown cannot provide any evidence that conclusively denies Wallace's image. There is a lot of information about the practices of armies during the period of Wallace. This book is aimed at people who need to know what Wallace was really like. Very thought provoking. Some fascinating references and excerpts from letters and documents of the time. On the down side, there are some spelling and typing mistakes, although Chris Brown probably spent so long researching this book he didn't have time to proof read it! Overall a refreshing change from the usual heroic eulogy to Scotland's greatest and mysterious individual.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject























i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.