Sir Nigel & the White Company: Two Classic Novels of the 100 Years' War

Although a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, I never knew Conan Doyle wrote these novels. I discovered this novel through, of all places, Ancestry and Wikipedia! Sir Neil Loring (1320-1386 & aka "Nigel") is my 21st great-grandfather!! When I learned that Conan Doyle wrote historical fiction, I had to read these two novels (a two-fer-one book deal to boot!). The novels are wonderful. His writing makes you feel like you're right there in history. You hear the battle sounds and smells the smells, you feel the comradery between soldiers/leaders/king, their love for their spouses/lovers and see the countryside in your mind. I've never been a great fan of knights, damsels in distress or the Hundred Years War between France and England. These novels have changed my mind. Who da thought I learn this in my 60s! If possible, I'd give it 25 stars!! The only negative is that because it is two novels (525+ pages), the paperback is a bit heavy and sometimes awkward to hold while reading and the spine does get a bit "creased."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gets pigeon holed for kids and I have no idea why. He brings ancient lands to life. His characters are so incredibly well defined (in a fictional way). I love him and I absolutely love both The White Company and Sir Nigel.

Who needs the special effects we're bombarded with in the name of entertainment these days? This author completely captivates you, in the most enjoyable way, with writing and storytelling skill. I had no idea Arthur Conan Doyle was such an excellent writer or that he could be so gently funny. I've loved being under the spell of this book. It made another place and time come alive again, and it was exciting to be there. Another reviewer wrote that he's hanging onto his battered copy, rather than handing it down, because he wants to read it again before he dies. I understand. It's that kind of book, for the ages, and it has taken its place among my very favorites.

John Wayne and John Ford loved these books. Conan Doyle put a lot of research into them, and they are solid textbooks of medieval history. A century old now they do reflect an older version of historical fiction, which reached its peak in the late 1930's with the first Hornblower of C.S Forrester, Kenneth Roberts, Samuel Shellabarger, and Frans Bengtsson among many others. modern readers may have to bear with the story line in a manner unnecessary with immortal Sherlock Holmes..

Excellent adventure novels set in the 100 Year's War, by the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Conan Doyle was a contemporary of H. Rider Haggard ("King Soloman's Mines," etc.) and as these two novels attest, fully his equal as a writer of adventure tales.

Arthur Conan Doyle classic style. If you like medieval stories this is an excellent read. And the Kindle edition is a real value too.

Very Victorian. If you like long descriptions and short fights, this book is for you.

What a great story, so many facets and personalities...all of which entertain. There are many lessons to be learned from the charachters in this book. I believe this to be one of Classics of the adventure novel genre.

Sir Nigel is a somewhat dated but exciting novel set in 14th century. Conan Doyle’s hero is earnest, brave as a lion but impractical. There’s a lot of humour here but it’s subtle, in fact it’s a parody. CD’s descriptions of the countryside and the town scenes are what I am most enjoying, as I know that part of England well..

Having been mightily impressed with these tales of derring do in my youth, I returned to them almost fifty years on in nostalgic mood, only to be mightily disappointed, finding the eponymous hero, Sir Nigel, to be an entirely superficial confection and his contrived chivalrous actions and spaniel-like loyalty to be tiresomely predictable and often positively ridiculous. The same can be said of the entire cast of characters met within these novels. Whilst admitting that Conan Doyle is a wonderful yarn spinner, and that his depiction of the medieval world is vivid and colourful, it is a preraphaelite ideal presented here – fine for those who admire a pretty picture but lacking in any convincing endeavour to depict the reality and squalor of the times, particularly of the battlefield. In conclusion, if you are prepared to suspend your critical faculties, sit back and enjoy, but if you prefer your historical fiction to possess a modicum of sophistication, pursue your quest elsewhere!

I have these books in hardback and first read them 60 years ago, but I duplicate all my favourite books on kindle. Easier than carrying a bookcase on my travels! So I haven't read this download yet but it's there for when I would like to!

I love these novels, which I first read many years ago, my battered second hand copy of Sir Nigel is falling apart. They are beautifully constructed and written with all of ACD's inimitable wit and flair for dialogue, often very funny in places, and in others tragic. They are like a window on another world, so alien to ours and yet in so many ways familiar. The historical details are as meticulous and the characters are as memorable and sharply drawn as ever - Sir Arthur was simply a genius with words. If you loved the quirky, fascinating, funny people who inhabit the Sherlock Holmes stories, I'm almost certain you'll love the historical novels too. I certainly do.

The best book of fiction ever written about the the 100 years wars