The Winter Mantle, c'est cette cape en peau d'ours blanc, fil blanc frangé d'or et de sang qui déroule la trame cette double histoire. The Winter Mantle, c'est cette parure hautement symbolique qui recouvre les épaules larges et frémissantes de vie du jeune Waltheof Siwardsson, petit-fils de guerrier viking, à moitié Danois par sa mère, à cheval entre deux mondes, en équilibre dans cette vie d'incertitude qu'il emplit de sa grâce d'animal épris de liberté, peu à même de prendre les décisions imposées par son époque. Un manteau d'hiver, relayé aux épaules de Simon de Senlis, jeune et aride normand aux épaules aguerries par une vie passée à la cour du roi Guillaume, à l'esprit fin, aiguisé, intransigeant et homme de son temps.Première histoire : Waltheof, géant viking aux cheveux de flamme, au rire jovial, qui porte un amour infini à ses enfants, à sa terre, flamboyant guerrier à la joie de vivre insouciante et peu mûre, se verra brisé par les forces politiques de son temps. Faute d'avoir su choisir : "The way of the warrior or the way of peace, he had a foot in each territory and knew that he was in danger of falling down the chiasm between." Et son destin le met à genoux.Moi, pauvre lectrice que j'étais, conquise par la fragilité charismatique du personnage, toute enrobée de force et de chaleur humaine, je tournais les pages à reculons. Et je suis certaine de n'avoir jamais autant pleuré qu'à la lecture de certaines pages de ce roman. Rien que les évoquer me fait monter les larmes aux yeux. Mais je ne regrette certes pas cette forte aventure, cette franche débauche de moments colorés, justes, dramatiques, attendrissants, héroïques, épiques, et étonnants.La seconde partie du roman nous entraîne dans une 2ème histoire, suite largement entremêlée à la 1ère, puisqu'elle raconte l'amour de Simon de Senlis, un jeune écuyer qui aura rencontré Walthéof alors qu'il avait 9 ans, et de la fille de Walthéof, Mathilde. Très vibrante histoire d'amour, et très touchante aussi. Toute pleine de vie, d'espoir, de doutes, de retrouvailles.J'ai vraiment le sentiment d'avoir découvert une auteur unique. L'univers du moyen-âge, que parcourt ce roman pendant 30 ans, est incroyablement vivant, les pages fourmillant de mille petits détails du quotidien aussi bien que de personnages historiques bluffants. Rien de pénible, i d'aride, rien de pompeux. Tout coule de source, dans une langue simple et précise. Qui vise juste.Ne serait-ce que pour le portrait qu'Elizabeth Chaldwick dresse de Guillaume le Conquérant, purement fascinant, et de sa conquête de l'Angleterre, il faut lire ce roman. Et pour fondre de tendresse, de tristesse et de bonheur, aussi. Pour passer par un véritable grand-huit d'émotions.Je lirai vite la suite avec The Falcons of Montabard. Mais j'avoue que je fais une petite pause, car il était fort long
The Winter Mantle begins in 1067 after The Conquest as Waltheof of Huntingdon and several other English nobles are kept under William's close eye in Normandy. Waltheof desires William's haughty niece Judith and is torn between making his peace with William and pressing suit for her hand or participating in further rebellion against the Norman conquerors. After one rebellion in the north fails, William forgives Waltheof and marries him to Judith, although she is torn between pride in her Norman ancestry and desire for her husband, and this eventually leads to discord in the marriage. Waltheof allows himself to be convinced to participate in one last attempt at overthrowing William, and this time with drastic results. The story then takes up with the second generation, Waltheof's beloved daughter Matilda and Norman courtier Simon de Senlis who at the behest of King William Rufus comes to take charge of the lands Judith inherited from Waltheof. Furious, the ever haughty Judith refuses to cooperate and wed Simon and he turns his eye to Matilda as a younger and more appealing choice. The story then continues as Matilda and Simon raise their children, and Judith finally comes to terms with her own guilt in Waltheof's fate and his death as a traitor, as well as the consequences to Simon and Judith's marriage from Simon's actions on his return from the Crusades. Based on true people, this was a lively entertaining tale and I very much enjoyed how the author was able to take such a snotty piece of goods like Judith and humanize her in the end - it really was a love/hate relationship between she and Waltheof and in many ways those two warring emotions are very much the same. As with all of her books, Chadwick has an amazing knack of bringing the medieval period to life, be it the sights, sounds, smells, food, clothing and more. Highly recommended and a side note that the tiny baby at the very end of the book has his own story in The Falcons of Montabard.
What do You think about The Winter Mantle (2002)?
Quite bad historical fiction - luckily, Elizabeth Chadwick has a quite catchy style that made me somehow finish this book despite it actually being so bad.The first issue I have is with the portrayal of women - most of them are fickle, unpleasant and stressful for their husbands. I was particularly grossed out by a fragment where Judith's mum, very upset by the news of her daughter's future marriage with Waltheof, was made to feel significantly better after by just being promised new dresses. So, all in all, this follows a typical romance plotline, where the main characters see each other and suffer instant attraction. There is little new to the scene, and in truth, little to the plot as well. The characters also lack complexity - they are quite clearly defined by one or two main characteristics but do not show any deeper sides. It seems as if the whole book is an enlarged story, rather than a novel.But while the content lacked a lot, it was not completely unbearable, as Elizabeth Chadwick has a moderately enjoyable style. I just fail to understand all the rave reviews, since there are so many things of much higher quality on the literary scene of historical fiction and romance.
—Andreea
4.5 stars First, I learned, never to read the author's note at the end of the book before finishing the book. Though warnings of what was to come helped cushion the blow of a couple painful scenes. The story begins with William the Conqueror returning to Normandy with a group of English hostages and follows the people there in the castle, and their lives in England and at home through the rebellions and personal struggles up to and including the crusade. At first, the structure of the book seemed a bit ragged with the sudden shift between following Walthoef as the lead character to Simon taking prominence there in the middle of the story. But reading further and thinking it over, I can see the author's clever though subtle weaving together the threads to explore themes like a good man's place in history and effect on the people touched by his legacy. As usual, Chadwick's characters spring vividly to life, some very likable and some definitely not-- I immediately loved passionate, sweet though muddled Walthoef, and brave Simon and was tempted to skip over scenes from Judith's point-of-view. That it took me a couple days to work up to reading the significant event in the middle of the story (It is so hard to write without spoilers!) shows the author's gift of making those people and that time so believable. Overall, it was a wonderful read, one that had me thinking and one that taught me some lessons on writing, not just the history. Perhaps not the best Chadwick, as I am still partial to her Marshal books, but a book I am glad to have read.
—Laure Estep
I've been on a Ye Olde England kick, and somehow this came up in my reading queue so I downloaded to my kindle and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's not quite a romance, though it has some steamy bits--I'd say it deviates from romance in that there's no real hero or heroine--just people, in relationships, and some of them (Judith!) are not particularly likable. I liked that Waltheof was not the smartest tool in the shed, but Judith was still drawn to him. She was a shrew. The book did throw some light on the politics of the time and I enjoyed learning more about the conflicts between the Normans and the Saxons.
—Heather
