The Ravens of Blackwater
1994
First Published
4.15
Average Rating
352
Number of Pages
Part of Series
In this novel, Edward Marston continues his colorful, historically fascinating series of mysteries set in England, just after the Norman Conquest, during the reign of William the Conqueror. Each novel draws upon an actual entry in the Domesday Book, a massive record compiled by royal tribunals sent by William to assess taxes and survey landholdings. The small village of Maldon is controlled by the wealthy and rapacious Fitzcorbucion family, led by Hamo Fitzcorbucion, the lord of Blackwater Castle. A volatile bully, Hamo has amassed wealth and land by means both legal and shady, intimidating the villagers into silence. When his eldest son, Guy, is found murdered, an enraged Hamo demands justice and will stop at nothing to get it. Into this charged atmosphere arrives a tribunal, led by soldier Ralph Delchard and lawyer Gervase Bret. Surveying the lands of Maldon, the tribunal detects irregularities in various deeds, and plans to call the Fitzcorbucion family to account. With tension high between Saxon and Norman factions in the village, Ralph and Gervase find some relaxation in the gentler company of nuns. But Guy's murder, and Hamo's quest for revenge, force Ralph and Gervase to deal with dangerous matters far beyond their original duties.
Avg Rating
4.15
Number of Ratings
1,099
5 STARS
40%
4 STARS
38%
3 STARS
18%
2 STARS
2%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Edward Marston
Author · 81 books
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. A pseudonym used by Keith Miles AKA A.E. Marston Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective. Series contributed to: . Malice Domestic . Crime Through Time . Perfectly Criminal
