14 h 42 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 42 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a young man's perfect code of honor meets the rough business of war?
Nigel Loring has noble standing, little money, and a fierce wish to win his name. In Arthur Conan Doyle's Sir Nigel, England under Edward III offers him a path toward knighthood through war with France. But first, his pride brings him into conflict with a powerful abbey near his home.
The arrival of King Edward and Sir John Chandos opens a wider world. Nigel becomes Chandos's squire and travels toward the fighting with Samkin Aylward, a practical English archer. Between Nigel's lofty courtesy and Aylward's earthy humor, adventure tests what courage and honor mean when ambition meets violence.
What you’ll discover
- Honor without wealth Follow a young gentleman who refuses to let powerful opponents turn poverty into humiliation.
- A soldier's hard lessons Enter Chandos's service with Nigel, where the pursuit of distinction means learning the work of warfare.
- Companions with contrasting outlooks Enjoy the contrast between Aylward's practical skills and Nigel's strict devotion to courtesy.
- Bravery with a comic edge Find humor in Nigel's lofty manners without losing sight of his genuine courage.
- Love behind the ambition Meet Mary Buttesthorn, whose place in Nigel's heart gives his quest a personal purpose.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy knights and archers, duels and sea fights, warm humor, and a hero who is brave and kind. It suits readers who like history told as lively adventure, with a love story underneath.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Nigel begins with little but honor
- Courage works best beside gentleness
- Loyalty brings Nigel his first friends
- Honor protects rather than merely impresses
- A promise matters even before kings
- Bravery must grow into judgment
- Honor means thinking beyond personal glory
- Nigel's code meets a changing England
- True honor stays warm and human
Who’s who
- Nigel LoringA small, fearless young squire of Tilford who longs to win honor in war and earn the hand of Lady Mary.
- Lady ErmyntrudeNigel's stern old grandmother, who taught him the code of chivalry and cannot bear to let him go.
- Samkin AylwardA cheerful, powerful archer who leaves the abbey's service to follow Nigel and talks nonstop of plunder.
- Sir John ChandosA one-eyed, singing knight who is Nigel's patron and the model of English chivalry.
- Lady Mary ButtesthornThe dark, wise daughter of the Knight of Duplin, who waits for Nigel and sends him forth with a vow.
- Brother SamuelThe cold sacrist of Waverley Abbey, who wants the Loring lands and keeps his keys ready.
- Black Simon of NorwichA grim man-at-arms who hates the French and helps Nigel find the tunnel.
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Sir Nigel in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Sir Nigel
by Arthur Conan Doyle · 1906
A poor squire defies an abbot, masters a deadly horse, and rides into battle for a lady's love.
Medium level5–10 hours to read16 languages
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“A sword! A sword! Ah, give me a sword!”
In short
What does a young man do when he owns a ruined house, one old suit of mail, and a burning wish to earn honor? In Sir Nigel, he tames a horse nobody can ride, stands up to an abbot, and sets off for the wars of King Edward the Third.
Sir Nigel at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 25 min6 h 40 min fast, 10 h slow
- Length
- 119,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1906by Arthur Conan Doyle
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A plague leaves the house of Loring poor
The book opens in July 1348, when a vast purple cloud rolls over England and the rain falls for months. The crops rot, and then the Black Death comes. Half the people of the country die, and Doyle says a freer England is born from this misery.
The ruin reaches the manor of Tilford in Surrey, home of the old Loring family. Wars and a lawsuit with Waverley Abbey have stripped them of almost everything. Two Lorings remain in 1349. Lady Ermyntrude is a fierce old woman who lost her husband and son in battle, and her grandson Nigel is twenty-two, small, strong and full of fire.
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Details
- First published
- 1906
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sir Nigel. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/sir-nigel.
Doyle, A. C. (2026). Sir Nigel. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sir-nigel (Original work published 1906)
Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sir Nigel. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sir-nigel.
@book{doyle2026sir,
author = {Doyle, Arthur Conan},
title = {Sir Nigel},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sir-nigel},
note = {First published 1906}
}
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What is Sir Nigel about?
It follows Nigel Loring, a poor young squire in fourteenth-century England, as he stands up to a greedy abbey, joins Sir John Chandos, and wins honor in France to earn the love of Lady Mary.
Is Sir Nigel a true story?
It is a historical novel written in 1905. Nigel and many of the knights, such as Chandos and Knolles, are drawn from real history, and the sea fight and the Battle of the Thirty are real events.
Do I need to read The White Company first?
No. Sir Nigel is a prequel and stands on its own. It shows how Nigel became the man met in the earlier book, and the story is complete without it.
The author
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859–1930 · British detective novelist
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician born in Edinburgh in 1859. He practised medicine in England and wrote novels, short stories and histories. His Sherlock Holmes stories began with A Study in Scarlet in 1887. He also wrote The Lost World in 1912. He died in Crowborough, England, in 1930.
“A sword! A sword! Ah, give me a sword!”
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