In a series called Sir Arthur's Legacy we find the medieval romance tale of William of Anglesey and Alice of Tarnwych. CONQUERING WILLIAM begins at their wedding. Alice has been wed three times already, but has no children and her father sees profit in allegiances. Her strict religious attendant Sister Julianna assures Alice that her red hair is an evil sign, so she keeps it modestly covered under her drab brown wimple. William, a stranger to her, might be in for a surprise.

The writing is extremely atmospheric and we're drawn into Alice's world from the first page. William is accustomed to being popular with the ladies, so the cloistered attitude of his new wife is unexpected. He needs her family's position, but her father is a miser and keeps the fires unlit until midwinter. Everyone is supposed to put up with the northern English cold, but William intends to change that on his wedding night. At this time, men make the rules and women have few choices.

Next morning William sets about making more changes, from heat to food to stores, to putting his wife where she belongs, as chatelaine of her keep. The miserable life she's led has been imposed on her by others, and William learns the hardy local farmers grudge tithing to the keep. The men at arms are useless. He's got his work cut out. I was cheering for him from quite early in the tale as, more accustomed to princely living than monastic simplicity, he strides into Alice's life and shakes it up and down. Better beware, though. She's lost three husbands already.

I found the continuing tale highly entertaining, with wily Scots border raiders as near neighbours, a chest of silk and velvet for milady and the arrival of characters who have featured as principals in earlier books of this series. I wanted to go and read their stories right away.

By the end I was able to see the tale beneath the tale, an allegory carefully written and hidden about repression, responsibility, true faith and joy in love. Sarah Hegger was born in Britain and now lives in Colorado, where she writes her most excellent historical romances. CONQUERING WILLIAM is suitable for adults who enjoy a well-woven detailed romance.