"A very talented writer." —Sharon Kay Penman, NYT bestselling author of Devil's Brood England, 1044. Harold Godwineson, a young, respected Earl, falls in love with an ordinary but beautiful woman. He marries Edyth despite her lack of pedigree, pitting him against his turbulent family and his selfish King, Edward. In France, William, the bastard son of a duke, falls in love with power. Brutal and dangerously smart, William sets his sights on England, finding ambition a difficult lust to conquer. In 1066, with the old King Edward dying, England falls vulnerable to the winds of fate-and the stubborn will of these two powerful men. In this beautifully crafted tale, Helen Hollick sets aside the propaganda of the Norman Conquest and brings to life the English version of the story of the last Saxon King, revealing his tender love, determination, and proud loyalty, all shattered by the unforgiving needs of a Kingdom. Forced to give up his wife and risk his life for England, the chosen King led his army into the great Battle of Hastings in October 1066 with all the honor and dignity that history remembers of its fallen heroes. "A novel of enormous emotional power...Helen Hollick is a fabulous writer of historical fiction." -Elizabeth Chadwick, author of To Defy a King What Readers Are Saying: "We all know the ending! But Helen Hollick's masterful and moving account of Pre-Conquest England still carries the reader along on an enthralling journey to that moment...it made me cry in all the right places. Helen Hollick is a consummate storyteller." "An epic work, grand and sweeping. I've read many versions of the events of 1066 but this is one of the best."(This book was previously published in the U.K. as HAROLD THE KING)