by George Shipway. Peter Davies Pub., 35s, 251 pages. Every Christmas day it is the custom for me to indulge myself by settling down to read a good historical novel, probably one that I have beep hoarding for weeks for just this very purpose. Last year I got the greatest of pleasure out of Tapsell's Year of the Horse Tails and Christmas 1969 found me full of optimism that George Shipway'8 latest book would please me as much. Having found his previous work Imperial Governor to be one of the finest historical novels I have ever read, I had no reason to expect Knight in Anarchy would let me down. In the event, I found it entrancing, stimulating, brilliantly written and so colourful that it gave me a very vivid impression of that little known era of the 12th century Civil Vlars in England between Stephen and Matilda. When reading such a book, I always endeavour to see it in the wargaming sense and the book certainly had a wealth to offer. In the first place, it gives ample scope for what I consider to be one of the most interesting aspects of our hobby -- fighting with small groups in which one man on the table equals one man in real life rather than about 50 men being loosely called a Corps or Division. This book tells of hectic actions by Constabular (a body of cavalry 10 or 20 strong) and Conroys (a mixed force, cavalry and infantry, about 50 strong). It clearly details the mode and tactics of the period, the arms and equipment besides providing the background material for an ideal campaign in a much neglected period. This is a book I shall read again and again. Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 95 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1970 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com