From Robber Barons to Courtiers follows the history of the Lovells, a noble family who can trace their roots back to Normandy. It's a change of pace from the typical family history that follows the well-known houses like the Howards, the Cecils, or the Mortimers. It's a primarily chronological look at the family as seen through primary sources. It has the potential to be super interesting for scholars of Medieval history or authors who are looking for a more day-t0-day account of what medieval noble life was like.

What it is not is an easy read.

The layout lends itself to infodump and at times the narrative felt bogged down by details that the author found interesting but didn't know how to relate in an engaging manner. The book was incredibly well researched, but it was also very very dense. There were times, especially early on, where it felt that like the story went off onto tangents about personages who didn't relate to the Lovells or were only superficially related to them. While this did improve as the book went on, the casual reader would likely have gotten bored and wandered away. I know that I did several times.

In all, the book has potential and it's got good information. I just wish the writing had been a bit more engaging early on and that the first few chapters had been tightened up.

Three stars.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley

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Having enjoyed a book with the same kind of concept before I couldn't wait to dive into this one. Getting to know the history, ups and downs, and adventures of a minor noble family, and their relation with and to well-known events of the early to the late Middle Ages sounds like a win-win to me.

The first chapters gave me the impression that the author was still struggling with how to present the information fluently and with finding her writing flow. It felt like an information dump organised rather chaotically.
As the book progressed this got much better. Obviously one of the reasons is that more and more source material became available as the book progressed, but it is also clear that the author is particularly passionate about certain historical events and the persons involved.

Overall it was an interesting, well-researched read. I missed a certain flair that similar books by Kathryn Warner have though. Therefore I found my attention wavering from time to time.

There were numerous grammatical errors throughout the book and many oddly placed commas. This could and should be corrected by an editor.
And the genealogies at the end of the book are a pain to view on a Kindle.

This ARC was provided to me by NetGalley.

I learned a lot and was fascinated by the history of this family and how they came into power.
It's a well researched and well written book, informative and interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book.I found it well researched though a little dry to read at times

I received From Robber Barons to courtiers as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

With its roots in 11th century Normandy, the Lovell family survived and thrived for generations among the English nobility, Ruthlessness and avarice brought them across the English Channel, where they gained a foothold in the decades after the Norman Conquest. Over the centuries they gained land and influence until the last surviving member of the male line, Francis Lovell, disappeared following the defeat and death of his closest friend, King Richard III. Two generations later, a female descendant, Jane Boleyn, was sister-in-law to an English queen and alleged architect of her downfall. In between are fascinating men and women who were warriors, courtiers, and politicians, and give a compelling portrait of the rising and falling fortunes of nobility in medieval England.

It's a really interesting concept for a book--tracing a noble but not terribly high-profile family from its beginnings to its end over the course of centuries. And in many ways, it is--learning about the growing family tree and their shifting fortunes over time was interesting. In other ways, though, it failed. You're pounded with a constant stream of (very similar) names and their complex relationships to one another to the point where it's hard to focus on the storyline. Obviously with a dearth of records, it's hard to get a lot of "filler"information, but this felt taken to an extreme in a way that was difficult to deal with. As I said, the concept was great; I just wish Simon had toned down on the names and complex relationships a bit, because it really overtakes the narrative.