 First book edition in 3 volumes (UK) | |
| Author | Arthur Conan Doyle |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co. (UK) Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (US) |
Publication date | 1891 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 483 |
| Preceded by | Sir Nigel |
| Text | The White Company at Wikisource |
The White Company is a historical adventure novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, set during the Hundred Years' War.[1] The story is set in England, France and Spain, in the years 1366 and 1367, against the background of the campaign of Edward the Black Prince, to restore Peter of Castile to the throne of the Kingdom of Castile. The climax of the book occurs before the Battle of Nájera. Doyle became inspired to write the novel after attending a lecture on the Middle Ages in 1889. After extensive research, The White Company was published in serialised form in 1891 in The Cornhill Magazine. Additionally, the book is considered a companion to Doyle's 1905–06 Sir Nigel, which explores the early campaigns of Sir Nigel Loring and Samkin Aylward.
The novel is relatively unknown today, though it was very popular up through the Second World War. In fact, Doyle himself regarded this and his other historical novels more highly than the Sherlock Holmes adventures for which he is mainly remembered.
The "White Company" of the title is a free company of archers, led by one of the main characters. The name is taken from a real-life 14th-century Italian mercenary company, led by John Hawkwood.