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Catherine Chisnall

Catherine Chisnall

About

Born in the Midlands of England, Catherine Chisnall now lives with her husband and child in the South.

She has had a varied career working in banks, libraries and charities, and, for the last 10 years, secondary and further education.

The sequel to 'Descending' is 'Surfacing'. Both books have received considerable acclaim for the social realism and the sparse elegance of Catherine Chisnall's writing.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

Story Behind The Book

This is the sequel to 'Descending'.

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Reviews

<p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;">Comment from Andrew Burans, author of ‘The Reluctant Warrior: The Beginning’:</span></em></strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"> ‘Surfacing’ is every bit as good as ‘Descending’. Well done.</span></em></p> <p></p> <p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></em></p> <br /><p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;">Comment from Amy J. Bates, author of ‘Love Match’:</span></em></strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"> Read this one all the way through at one time as well. You have a gift of storytelling!</span></em></p> <p></p> <p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></em></p> <br /><p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;">Comment from Mel Comley, author of ‘Impeding Justice’:</span></em></strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"> Another great read from Catherine.</span></em></p> <p></p> <p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></em></p> <br /><p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;">Comment from Jessica L Degarmo, author of ‘How To Meet A Guy At The Supermarket’:</span></em></strong><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"> I'm so excited to see this one in print. Absolutely loved the first. It spoke to me. Now I'm very excited for number 2!</span></em></p> <p></p> <p style="line-height:200%;margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="line-height:200%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></em></p> <br /><strong><em><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;">Comment from Tim Roux, author of ‘The Dance of the Pheasodile’ and ‘Missio’:</span></em></strong><em><span style="font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"> If anything, I think ‘Surfacing’ is even better than ‘Descending’ which I thought was superb in its own right. Realistic and engrossing.</span></em>