Byzantium Charles Morgan 9780557058501 Books
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In 1204, as the Fourth Crusade arrives in Constantinople, diverted by the machinations of the Doge of Venice, so a Roman Princess, Anna Comnena, falls in love with Edward, the English head of the Imperial Guard. As Edward fights again the Norman lords who drove his family out of England, so Anna will have to choose between her love for Edward and her love for her city and the faith it represents.
Byzantium Charles Morgan 9780557058501 Books
While Morgan sets an interesting and compelling story, describing Constantinople in vivid detail and painting the Byzantine court in all its baseless greed and intrigue, his novel is as bad as an historical novel can get. Simply put, the author did not invest enough time researching the context and complexities of the Byzantine world; the novel is fraught with historical inaccuracies and anachronism. I am not referring to small details, but to errors so obvious and blatant that they deprive the novel of all credibility and act as a constant distraction to the reader, preventing him from believing and committing to the story and its characters. The list of historical errors, which I started listing at first, is long, but I will limit myself to the most fundamental mistakes. For instance, the Byzantines didn't date events from the birth of Christ (A.D. system), but from the Creation of the World in 5509 BC. Crusades weren't numbered until the 19th century, while the author and the book's characters constantly refer to the Fourth Crusade. The term 'Crusader' wasn't invented until the 15th century at least, although Western warriors are named as such by the novel's characters in a 13th century setting. Orthodox and Catholic are used to differentiate the Eastern and Western Churches, even though such denominations weren't officially used until the 16th century. Byzantines hardly knew about Catharism in the 13th century, while the author suggests that the Byzantine emperor Isaac II was a Cathar. Anna Comnena's 'Alexiad' wasn't know about in Western circles until at least the 16th century and thus the Doge of Venice couldn't have been aware of it in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The characters' dialogues are more modern in their morality and considerations than they are medieval. Etc, etc -- the list goes on and on. It is quite disappointing that an author would give himself the pains to write a novel and attempt to make it compelling, without even attempting to make it minimally credible. Even Hollywood makes it a point to get a little more right. Morgan does have what it takes to be a good writer. He must however do more research for his future novels or avoid historical novels altogether.Product details
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Tags : Byzantium [Charles Morgan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In 1204, as the Fourth Crusade arrives in Constantinople, diverted by the machinations of the Doge of Venice,Charles Morgan,Byzantium,lulu.com,0557058503,Fiction General,General & Literary Fiction,Modern & contemporary fiction,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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Byzantium Charles Morgan 9780557058501 Books Reviews
While Morgan sets an interesting and compelling story, describing Constantinople in vivid detail and painting the Byzantine court in all its baseless greed and intrigue, his novel is as bad as an historical novel can get. Simply put, the author did not invest enough time researching the context and complexities of the Byzantine world; the novel is fraught with historical inaccuracies and anachronism. I am not referring to small details, but to errors so obvious and blatant that they deprive the novel of all credibility and act as a constant distraction to the reader, preventing him from believing and committing to the story and its characters. The list of historical errors, which I started listing at first, is long, but I will limit myself to the most fundamental mistakes. For instance, the Byzantines didn't date events from the birth of Christ (A.D. system), but from the Creation of the World in 5509 BC. Crusades weren't numbered until the 19th century, while the author and the book's characters constantly refer to the Fourth Crusade. The term 'Crusader' wasn't invented until the 15th century at least, although Western warriors are named as such by the novel's characters in a 13th century setting. Orthodox and Catholic are used to differentiate the Eastern and Western Churches, even though such denominations weren't officially used until the 16th century. Byzantines hardly knew about Catharism in the 13th century, while the author suggests that the Byzantine emperor Isaac II was a Cathar. Anna Comnena's 'Alexiad' wasn't know about in Western circles until at least the 16th century and thus the Doge of Venice couldn't have been aware of it in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The characters' dialogues are more modern in their morality and considerations than they are medieval. Etc, etc -- the list goes on and on. It is quite disappointing that an author would give himself the pains to write a novel and attempt to make it compelling, without even attempting to make it minimally credible. Even Hollywood makes it a point to get a little more right. Morgan does have what it takes to be a good writer. He must however do more research for his future novels or avoid historical novels altogether.
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