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Description
The Quest for El CidRodrigo Diaz, the legendary warrior knight of eleventh century Castile known as El Cid, is remembered today as the Christian hero of the Spanish crusade who waged wars of re conquest for the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent. He is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as Richard Fletcher shows in this award winning book, there are many contradictions between eleventh century
Rodrigo Diaz, the legendary warrior-knight of eleventh-century Castile known as El Cid, is remembered today as the Christian hero of the Spanish crusade who waged wars of re-conquest for the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent. He is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as Richard Fletcher shows in this award-winning book, there are many contradictions between eleventh-century reality and the mythology that developed with the passing years.By placing El Cid in a fresh, historical context, Fletcher shows us an adventurous soldier of fortune who was of a type, one of a number of "cids," or "bosses," who flourished in eleventh-century Spain. But the El Cid of legend--the national hero--was unique in stature even in his lifetime. Before his death El Cid was already celebrated in a poem written in tribute of the conquest of Almeria; posthumously he was immortalized in the great epic Poema de Mio Cid and became the centerpiece for countless other works of literature. When he died in Valencia in 1099, he was ruler of an independent principality he had carved for himself in Eastern Spain. Rather than the zealous Christian leader many believe him to have been, Rodrigo emerges in Fletcher's study as a mercenary equally at home in the feudal kingdoms of northern Spain and the exotic Moorish lands of the south, selling his martial skills to Christian and Muslim alike. Indeed, his very title derives from the Arabic word sayyid meaning "lord" or "master." And as there was little if any sense of Spanish nationhood in the eleventh century, he can hardly be credited for uniting a medieval Spanish nation.
In this ground-breaking inquiry into the life and times of El Cid, Fletcher disentangles fact from myth to create a striking portrait of an extraordinary man, clearly showing how and why legend transformed him into something he was not during his life. A fascinating journey through a turbulent epoch, The Quest for El Cid is filled with the excitement of discovery, and will delight readers interested not only in Spanish history and literature, but those who want to understand how myth can shape our perception of history.
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Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 06/01/1991
ISBN: 9780195069556
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.74lbs
Size: 8.56h x 5.60w x 0.60d
Large Print
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4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 18 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
A thoroughly-researched, thoughtful, and nuanced work about the 1692 Salem withcraft panic.
Format: Paperback
This graphic novel recounts the 1692 Salem (Massachusetts) witchcraft panic that engulfed Salem, Salem Village (now Danvers), and adjacent communities. About two dozen men and women were convicted and hanged, one was pressed to death (tortured) to try to force him to acknowledge the Court’s authority. That man was Giles Corey, aged 80. The book focuses on him, but it covers others among the accused and executed as well as on the judges, politicians, and other involved. (No so much on the accusers and their motives.). The narrative plays out chronologically with interstitial vignettes in which 19th Century literary figures Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wander around Salem during the 1800s discussing the trials and their legacy. (Hawthorne lived in Salem for a time and was a descendant or the Court of Oyer and Terminer Judge Hathorne.). The work concludes with a chapter, More Wonders of the Invisible World, that follows how Salem developed economically up to the present day in which witchcraft-related Halloween tourism turns Salem town into arguably the least attractive “tourist attraction” on Cape Ann. (Do not skip this chapter, it is engrossing.) An extensive series of endnotes provide scholarly references and background information.
The artwork veers back and forth between caricatures (the 17th century events) and realism (19th century and onwards). In both cases the line art is exquisite. The text includes quotes from transcripts of the trials and other contemporary documents as well as fictional dialog.
Wickey worked on this book for more than a decade, and it shows in his thorough scholarship. This is, in all seriousness, Pulitzer/Eisner-level work. Wickey was born in Beverly and resides on Cape Ann. Most of us born and raised on the “North Shore” learn about the Salem witchcraft panic in high school -often as a cautionary tale about politics, spectral evidence, and what we would today call “lawfare.” I thought I knew a fair amount about the 1692 panic, but I learned something new with nearly every other page. I was especially glad to see Wickey cover now-debunked ergot-poisoning theory and that he dismissed the vile slander that some among the convicted and executed were actually witches. There’s nothing really “missing” from the book, though one wishes one could learn more about the fates of the accusers other than Ann Putnam. That their motives appear to have been “sport” is bone-chilling fully three centuries later. Read her "apology" years later and try not to think, "psychopath."
At 500 plus pages, it's too long to read at one setting, but it is a pleasure to read at shorter intervals.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Masterpiece
Format: Kindle
It has been said that any work of literature should be gauged upon how much the work makes the reader think. Ben Wickey has certainly achieved this - in spades - as one of the “civilised” world’s most frightening episodes is revisited with respect and thoughtfulness on the human condition.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Books
Format: Paperback
I bought this book for my husband as a Christmas present and he enjoyed the book!
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2026
★★★★★ 4
The Tale of Salem
Format: Paperback
If you’re not familiar with the history of Salem and its witch trials, this graphic novel is a solid entry point. The author, while not a historian, clearly put in the work—spending time in Salem, connecting with residents, and striving to honor both the historical record and the modern-day sentiments of those who live with that legacy. His goal was to get the facts right while also capturing how the people of Salem view their own history, and I think he succeeded in that respect.
The artwork fits the subject matter well. We often imagine people of that time as living hard, joyless lives, and the art conveys that sense of austerity. The mix of black-and-white and color panels is sometimes striking—there are moments where the color really enhances the impact of a scene—but other times I wasn’t sure what it added. Still, the black-and-white aesthetic ties neatly into the grim tone of the era.
That said, the book is quite long, and if you’re already well-versed in the Salem Witch Trials, you may not learn much new in terms of facts. But if you enjoy studying the trials or want to explore the story through a different medium, this graphic novel is definitely worth picking up.
For me, it landed at a 3.5 stars, which I’ll round up to 4 (since I usually do that when posting on review sites).
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Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Salem's a Lot
Format: Paperback
Great comic that deserves to be at the top end of best of 2025 lists. Intensively researched with multiple art approaches to the varied settings. It also made me want to take a trip to Salem in the off-season. A virtuosic undertaking!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2026