Other editions of book The Ravens of Blackwater

"A splendid medieval mystery . . . suffused with fascinating historical detail."--BooklistDOMESDAY IS COMINGIn 1086, England's mighty king, William the Conqueror, sends out surveyors and census takers to record the resources of his land and its people. Some welcome these inquisitive royal agents and their "day of judgment." Others hate them. But wherever the king's men go they bring excitement--and sometimes murder. . . .Hamo FitzCorbucion tortures his Saxon slaves, insults the Norman gentry, and steals his neighbors' land. Now William the Conqueror's Domesday tribunal is preparing to render justice. But hardly have the King's men arrived than FitzCorbucion's son and heir is murdered. Searching for his destroyer, the royal inquirers must greatly widen their scope, for the rapacious ravens of Blackwater Hall have gratified their passions for much more than land. Oslac the Priest, the aristocratic Champeneys, a runaway boy, even the nuns of Maldon Priory--all have felt the ravens' claws. And for the sweetness of revenge at least one among them would gladly die. . . ."Marston draws a resonant and historically accurate picture of life during the period, creating lively and appealing protagonists as well as believable deep-dyed villains."--Publishers Weekly

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.