{"product_id":"the-last-english-king","title":"The Last English King","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn September 27  1066  Duke William of Normandy sailed for England with hundreds of ships and over 8 000 men. King Harold of England  weakened by a ferocious Viking invasion from the north  could muster little defense. At the Battle of Hastings of October 14  he was outflanked  quickly defeated  and killed by Williams superior troops. The course of English history was altered forever.  Three years later  Walt  King Harolds only surviving bodyguard  is still emotionally and physically scarred by the loss of his king and his country. Wandering through Asia Minor  headed vaguely for the Holy Land  he meets Quint  a renegade monk with a healthy line of skepticism and a hearty appetite for knowledge. It is he who persuades Walt  little by little  to tell his extraordinary story.  And so begins a roller-coaster ride into an era of enduring fascination. Weaving fiction round fact  Julian Rathbone brings to vibrant  exciting  and often amusing life the shadowy figures and events that preceded the Norman Conquest. We see Edward  confessing far more than he ever did in the history books. We meet the warring nobles of Mercia and Wessex; Harold and his unruly clan; Canutes descendants with their delusions of grandeur; predatory men  pushy women  subdued Scots   and wily Welsh. And we meet William of Normandy  a psychotic thug with interesting plans for the \"racial sanitation\" of the Euroskepics across the water.  Peppered with discussions on philosophy. dentistry  democracy  devils  alcohol  illusions  and hygiene  The Last English King raises issues  both daring and delightful  that question the nature of history itself. Where are the lines between fact  interpretation  and re-creation? Did the French really stop for a two-hour lunch during the Battle of Hastings?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44958045995061,"sku":"ByrdShop_0312242131","price":52.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780312242138.jpg?v=1770361801","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-last-english-king","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}