While the date 1066 is familiar to almost everybody as the year of the Norman conquest of England, few can place the event in the context of the dramatic year in which it took place. In this book, David Howarth attempts to bring alive the struggle for the succession to the English crown from the death of Edward the Confessor in January 1066 to the Christmas coronation of Duke William of Normandy. There is an almost uncanny symmetry, as well as a relentlessly exciting surge, of events leading to and from the Battle of Hastings. The author draws on the wealth of contemporary sources to describe Harold Godwinson's seizure of the throne, the brilliant defeat of the invasion from Norway at Stamford bridge and the forced march south to eventual defeat at Hastings. Howarth recounts events from the perspective of the common Englishman - describing how he worked, fought and died - and how he perceived from his isolated shire the overthrow of his world.