William of Ypres to the English throne following Henry I's death in 1135 finally changed William's fortunes for the better. He commanded Stephen's troops against the forces of their cousin, Henry's daughter Empress Matilda, who claimed the throne. Many of the soldiers were William's fellow Flemings, including his brother. Stephen's campaign in Normandy failed because the local noblemen refused to co-operate with William and other Flemings. William was much more active in England, where he took part in the Battle of Lincoln (1141), during which Stephen was captured by the Empress's forces. William led his contingent away when it became clear that the
Death in the Clouds every mental nerve to prove that she has failed, at last, to hypnotise me. On finishing "Death in the Clouds", I found that she had succeeded even more triumphantly than usual." He concluded, "I hope that some readers of this baffling case will foresee at least the "false" denouement. I did not even do that. Agatha Christie has recently developed two further tricks: one is, as of the juggler who keeps on dropping things, to leave a clue hanging out for several chapters, apparently unremarked by her little detective though seized on by us, and then to tuck it back