This is an outstanding historical read. The action moves along well, and the characters are interesting and believable.
It's sad that evil King John pales a bit by comparison with some latter day tyrants! ( )

John of England is a creep, and really puts William Marshall thru his paces and tests his loyalty to nearly breaking. ( )

William Marshal was an extraordinary man for his time, yet he gets a page here and there in the chronicles you and I read while in school. Fortunately, we have authors like Chadwick to make the people and the time come alive. "The Scarlet Lion" continues the story of Marshal until his death in 1219 at the age of 75. Again, the writing is entertaining, well-researched, though the ebook copy I have could have used better editing - some phrases and paragraphs were repeated, but formatting is not the author's bailiwick.

I seldom get emotional at the end of stories, but this one had me in tears.

One of scenes sticks in my mind - the battle for Lincoln. At a time when men of his time and age would retire, Marshal is in the thick of the relief of Lincoln and its castle as the supporters of the child king Henry III hold back the rebels assisted by Prince Louis of France. This was written without unnecessary gore, brutality, but you can hear the hooves on the cobblestones as Marshal and his men break through the wall and ride through Lincoln, feel the tension in the air. And you're relieved when Marshal succeeds. Of course he succeeds, he's the Marshal!

Pick up this series and read it. ( )

I read The Greatest Knight earlier this year and absolutely loved it! The Scarlet Lion shows us more mature Marshal and the book also focuses more on his wife Isabelle and their children.

After King Richard’s untimely death John gets the crown and he certainly won’t make life easy for Marshal family. William’s and Isabelle’s marriage has some rough times when John takes theit two eldest sons as hostages. I love how their marriage is portrayed and how Isabelle is more than just her husband’s possession. William truly loved her and listened her opinions.

The ending and William’s death was so touching and I cried so hard through the last chapter. I didn’t want the book to end! Yet another awesome book by the author, you can never go wrong with Elizabeth Chadwick :) ( )

2nd in the saga of William Marshal as a married man and the trials and tribulations of dealing with King John of England.

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2012/02/scarlet-lion-by-elizabeth-chadwick.html ( )