The White Company

One of Arthur Conan Doyle's lesser known works, The White Company is a historical novel that is set during the Hundred Years War - a series of conflicts in the 14th and 15th centuries between the House of Plantaganet and the House of Valois. The novel in particular tells of Edward, the Black Prince and his attempts to restore Peter of Castille to his throne. The name of the book comes from a group of archers (The White Company) and is taken from an actual group of merceneries from the 14th century. The book is supposed to be read alongside Doyle's Sir Nigel, about a knight (based on Sir Neil Loring) - and this character also features in this book.



As well as many fictional characters, The White Company includes some real life historical figures, such as John of Gaunt, Edward III, Thomas Percy, and Henry II of Castille.



Doyle regarded this novel, as well as his other historical ones, higher than he did his books about Sherlock Holmes, and it was popular up until the time of WWII. He wrote the book after attending a lecture about the Middle Ages, and after much research, it was first serialised in Cornhill Magazine.