lacey, I can't think of a decent history book at the moment dealing with the Norman Conquest 'Up North' (as we say)
but will look out for something.
Meanwhile have you read Madselin by Norah Lofts? A popular writer of mainly historical fiction from the '40's to the 70's. This is not set in the North, but deals with the coming of the Normans and their affect on a Saxon village, maybe a bit 'light weight' for you.
The Morning Gift by Diana Norman, about the Wars between Stephen and Mathilda; excellent but set later in the Norman period.
Have you ever seen the Charlton Heston classic film The Warlord? which deals with this period?

Here is a link that might be useful: Books by Norah Lofts

I've been a fan of Lofts for years, since a friend handed me 'this old house' and told me I'd love it. I did. I haven't heard or seen Madselin, I'll have to search it out.

That'll teach me not to double check first: Its called This Old House.

Bless this house

Cindy, Norah Lofts has several "House" books. Both your titles are correct. One of them, at least, is part of a trilogy--maybe both. (My husband is napping in front of that bookshelf, so I can't check right now.) I love her and have most of her fiction. The last one I acquired was from an RPer.

How funny, laceyvail, that you bring up Hereward the Wake when I just read a mention of him in Brian Fagan's The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850.

I looked him up and saw mention of two newish historical novels about his resistance to William the Conquerer: Cold Heart, Cruel Hand: A Novel of Hereward the Wake and the Fen Rebellion, 1070-1071 by Laurence J. Brown, which evidently is a follow-up to his Housecarl about King Harold. The other is An Endless Exile by Mary Lancaster. I haven't read either but wonder if you have, laceyvail.

I don't know of a good straight history, unfortunately -- I'd like to find one myself. I remember enjoying Cecelia Holland's historical novel Firedrake, but that was mainly for the story because I don't know how well she incorporated the real and the fictional.

Carolyn, thank you! I thought I was going crazy! Yes, I remember Bless this House was a stand alone, This old house I think went with Tavern and another? I may be mixing them up - but like you I love Lofts.

Thanks for your responses. I read a lot of Norah Lofts when I was teenager and remember vaguely those "House" books, but don't remember Madselin, and I'd remember that strange name if I'd seen it. The books by Laurence Brown I ran across on Amazon but got the strong impression that, like so much historical fiction, they're really badly written. The closest quality fiction I know of is Bryher's This January Tale, which picks up after the conquest. It's a fine novel, but not about the north and not at all what I'm looking for now. An Endless Exile is a new one to me, and I'll take a closer look at it.

After looking on Amazon for a couple of the books mentioned above, I ran across two books by Peter Rex covering the period and Hereward the Wake. But I can't find out much about them--no way to look inside, and I don't know the author. They are quite expensive, and before I spend over $50 for the two, I'd like some more information on them or the author.

Can anyone help?

lacey, I don't have any suggestions, but would like to ask you to report back to us if you find any good reading on this time period. One of my own ancestors came over with Wm. the Conqueror from Normandy, and later moved up to Scotland via a marriage. So I have a special interest in this era.

lacey, you may already have checked these titles but they were the best I could come up with although none of them seem to be directly related to the North.
1066, The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth Penguin Classic so 'reliable'.
The Godwins: Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty Frank Barlow.
The King's Shadow Elizabeth Alder. Fiction so could be rubbish.
Domesday: The Search for the Roots of England Michael Wood. MW has made many excellent BBC documentaries on subjects as diverse as Eric Bloodaxe to the History of India, and is a charismatic and well-thought of historian.
Below a site to get your teeth into.

Mary, do you realise how incredibly rare it is in the UK to be able to trace an ancestor back to the Norman invasion?
If you could provide names and dates you could be given your own TV prog!
The BBC does one called 'Trace the Ancestors' and most of the enquirers' forebears were peasants, agricultural labourers, sheep-stealers and so on, even a hundred years or so ago. Only one person in the last three to four years of the series could trace their roots back to Edward 111 (1300 hundreds) much to their surprise!
If you are considered an 'interesting case' the BBC pays someone to help you with the research and films what comes up, the places you visit etc. You should get in touch with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Post 1066 Outline.

Wow, Mary, and I'll bet you thought RP was just a place to talk about books.

Is it the tracing that is the difficulty? Written records are very scarce in the grand scheme of things. But certainly there must be many people in England who are descended from that era.

Does anyone remember the news story from a few years ago about the very early remains--Bronze Age?--dug up in the south of England? They got some DNA from the remains and actually found a man in the same town who was proven to be a descendant. He was an accountant or some such quiet profession. He looked embarrassed by the whole thing.

Ginny, what you say is very true. Before census returns (UK only from 1841) we have to rely on church registers for information about our forebears. The more 'ordinary/humble' we were the more difficult it is to find stuff. No Wills written, no important marriages, no part played in politics/Royal hangers-on etc. Court roles and signs of criminal activity are often the only info. available. ;-)
In Mary's eg someone must have been able trace a named ancestor(s) probably of noble birth, back through the ages via heraldic/genealogical links to Scotland and then to Normandy. Normally this would be very difficult as Scotland was a separate Kingdom so it must have been an important marriage of top families .
Mary, I bow the knee to you and hope you wont treat us with aristocratic disdain.

I saw a TV prog dealing with the DNA from unearthed human remains. An experiment was done on the 'Somerset Levels', marshy ground inhabited by 'Lake-Dwellers' several thousand years ago. The DNA from folk who's families had lived in the now dried out area for several generations matched some of the molocules that had been found in the bones. Maybe it was what you saw, Ginny?
Below is an eg from the TV prog Who Do You Think You Are? where the participant traced his family back to Edward 1 . . . and eventually back to God. So there must be hope for us all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Who Do You Think You Are?

Veer, I've read two of the four books you mention--Domesday and 1066, and will probably get the Barlow book at some point--I think I've run across his name in the bibliography of one of Frank McLynn's books on the period. The fiction one I just looked up on Amazon, and even the Editorial review describes it as "clunky".

But, though I'm reluctant, as I said above, to spend $50 on two unknown history books, I probably will, as works of history on obscure subjects just don't come down in value much when they're second hand--if you can find them at all.

They'll go on the TBR shelf, but when I get to them, I will report back.

Thanks so much to everyone for your help and for the interesting off thread info. Imagine being able to trace your ancestry back 1000 years! In my family, we know little about even my great grandparents, and beyond that, we're in the mists of prehistory.

lacey-did you check your local library-or even the closest college library-before you buy? Even a high school library might have them. Even if you can not acquire borrower's privileges from the school or college, (all the ones around here will issue "community borrower" cards for a slight fee) you might at least be able to look at the book and decide if it would be $50 well spent.

I get books thru ILL--interlibrary loan--or OCLC, the national library search service--all thru my local public library. Then I can decide if I have to have it. It is very rare that my local public library has been unable to get a title for me.

The interlibrary loan system is indeed a blessing, and I order some 50-70 books a year through it. But years of doing so have taught me that my state only very rarely has many of the history books (and more obscure books in other genres)that I'm looking for; the colleges, evidently, don't participate in interlibrary loan in WV.

But OCLC covers the entire country, including most university libraries. I often get the very obscure books I seek that way. Maybe not all public libraries participate? Perhaps you could have a chat with your local reference librarian.

Here in MA, the state public library system is divided into regional consortiums. Each consortium has a designated "main library" which is usually the biggest and most tech-savvy. Perhaps you could ID that library in your area and they could do an OCLC search for you.

No reference librarians here, just a lovely, but minimally trained woman, and a couple of part time assistants who run the local library. Very rural area. But they go out of their way to help me, and I think it very unlikely they participate in a national interlibrary loan. All the years I've been using ILL, it's been clear it's just WV. Perhaps the college libraries participate, but it's a long way to a college.

ILL should send the books to your nearest library through the post. Most large libraries absorb the cost, but as you say, if it is a small, rural library perhaps the budget doesn't stretch to that-our library estimates each one can cost anywhere from $5 to $15 for post there and back.

I did a quick search on the OCLC site and found there are libraries in WV that participate-maybe one is near enough that you could do a day trip? Or contact them by phone and see what they could do for you?

Here is a link that might be useful: OCLC libraries in WV

ILL does send books to my little local library, and they are free, which is a remarkable service, I think. I'll ask my wonderful librarian again if she can get books from out of state.

BTW, I ordered the Peter Rex books, as they were histories: Hereward: the Last Englishman and The
English Resistance: The Underground War Against the Normans.