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 In Larsen's book, personal history and public history are so intertwined that Jackals in Iron is not only a historical fiction, it becomes a study in storytelling as history. Recording of all kind pops up in the book. In one scene, Brother Turold, a dwarf, records a battle at the behest of a lord to some seamstresses who embroidered a tapestry which depicted a scene "the way Bishop Odo said William wanted the story of Harold's death portrayed. In another scene, in a discussion about perjury, witnesses, and moot discussions, one character tells another, "It would be pointless to examine minutia about every knight who might have struck a blow in battle." To which another character replies, "Not pointless at all. When do we decide that the truth is not to be pursued, and is to be replaced by hyperbole?
Reviewed by Carole McDonnell
Jackals in Iron
Merlin Douglas Larsen
Agreka Books
www.agreka.com
ISBN 1-888106-83-2
$10.95, 1999, 425 pages
Concubines, wives, and daughters figure prominently in Merlin Douglas Larsen's Jackals in Iron, a historical fiction novel on the rise of William the Conqueror. In the year 1100 A.D., when fealty and alliances were needed to secure power and property, every marriage or dalliance brought its own complication. It is a man's world and these women are sometimes loved, frequently tolerated and often discarded. But the novel's major purpose is to describe the male world of the typical high-born French count, a count who - much to his chagrin - ends up allied by two marriages and a brief friendship to the power-hungry William Bastard, who belonged to the war-mad tribe of the Normans.
The main character is Guy de Ponthieu. When the story begins, Guy de Ponthieu is asked to relate the story of his life to some monks/scribes from the abbey of St Evroult. He has fought side by side with William in addition to being old, male and honorable. Why not record his exploits for posterity? The first part of the story is a description of Guy's life at the time the request for his life story is made. At that time, Guy is the Count of Ponthieu, married to a young wife. Of course, it is usually folks like Guy who are called upon to relate history. Not the women who loved them or were tossed away when power or lust required.
Guy's version of William the Conqueror's historical rise to power is colored by his youthful memories of William Bastard -so called because his mother was not his father's lawful wife, gossip, rumors, and the days when they fought side by side. This is where Larsen's research skills shine. Not knowing much about William the Conqueror and the Normans except that the Normans simply loved conquering, I was overwhelmed by all the information that rolled and reeled from every page. Part of this was my ignorance, an ignorance typical of the average American, who probably knows more about later French and English history than the history of earlier kings. But a great portion of my confusion should be laid squarely at the feet of the author who clearly knew much and wished to share all his research.
This research almost, but not entirely, bogs down the novel. Names and associations rush past the reader with such speed and in such numbers that the reader spends a great deal of time re-reading and back-tracking. This is hard work and in the first 75 pages works against making a compelling novel. Larsen trusts his reader's knowledge of history a bit much. I often wished he had given us a good foundation from which to begin our foray into medieval France instead of the many casual mentions. And it doesn't help matters that many characters share the same names.
And yet, the book is excellent storytelling. And excellent history. The heroes and villains of those decades of Guy's life do come alive for the reader. Their customs, power struggles, machinations, and alliances are all examined and fully explained. And when William the Conqueror arrives on the scene, he proves to be a formidable antihero who makes a worthy spiritual antagonist for Guy. Again, the book's flaws is its copious research and in Larsen's choice to fictionalize the story. At 425 pages, the book cannot adequately depict all Larsen's research in a comprehensible way and also depict the fictionalized life of Guy de Ponthieu. Yet the fictionalization of history provides certain creative opportunities that the mere relating of historical
events could not.
By creating a fictionalized Guy, Merlin Douglas Larson tries to make his narrator/hero as palatable as possible to the contemporary reader. This choice is questionable. To this reader at least. For instance, Larsen chooses to disregarded certain aspects of the real Guy's life. The real Guy along with his wife, the author tells us, would probably have "retired to a monastery and a nunnery to end their days", a common practice among the nobility. But the author did not want to put his fictionalized Guy into a monastery. And since he does not want an antihero, he chooses to make Guy more likeable. Likeable, yes, but not at all believable.
The Guy the reader is presented with is painted with modern sensibilities and even modern marital troubles. Jackals' Guy has divorced his older wife who has gone mad and whom he still cares for in order to do the right thing and marry a young wife. The young wife, Estelle, wishes to become pregnant and Guy has to contend with the anger of his daughters towards the new wife. A Guy who is no doubt palatable to modern sensibilities but who, for this reader at least, seemed unreal and unhistorical. Guy is spiritual but not religious. He is crotchety about getting to sleep on time but not overly class-conscious. In relating his life's story, Guy dedicates it to his wife Ada, the one who went mad, he has divorced and locked away. In all things, he is so much like a middle management "guy" of our times, that the reader is prepared to agree with Guy's own assessment of his historical talk as a "confession."
In Larsen's book, personal history and public history are so intertwined that Jackals in Iron is not only a historical fiction, it becomes a study in storytelling as history. Recording of all kind pops up in the book. In one scene, Brother Turold, a dwarf, records a battle at the behest of a lord to some seamstresses who embroidered a tapestry which depicted a scene "the way Bishop Odo said William wanted the story of Harold's death portrayed. In another scene, in a discussion about perjury, witnesses, and moot discussions, one character tells another, "It would be pointless to examine minutia about every knight who might have struck a blow in battle." To which another character replies, "Not pointless at all. When do we decide that the truth is not to be pursued, and is to be replaced by hyperbole? We should record the truth immediately as we learn it, lest the father of lies enter into it and destroy lessons to be learned by future generations." Power, gender, religion, victories, losses, egos, memory, morbid introspection and plain old honesty all come into play with the speaking and hearing of history. The modern reader is reminded that history and historians should be judged. And that many of their insights and writings are colored by their own past. Merlin Douglas Larsen has laid out all the facts. In the end, it is up to the reader to decide if Guy de Ponthieu has given a truthful account of his life, his loves and his wars.
For more information about Jackals in Iron visit:
Jackals In Iron
About the Reviewer: Carole McDonnell's essay, Oreo Blues is included in the W.W. Norton Anthology, LIFENOTES: Personal Writings By Black Women. She has won several writing awards and is currently working on a science fiction novel entitled, The Daughters of Men.
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