I was shocked to find it FREE at Amazon for my Kindle (well, my Kindle app on my iPad)! So, I gave it a try... and I LOVED IT! I couldn't put it down!!! It did take me several days to read, but it is a pretty long book. It is a marvelous piece of historical fiction!
The book tells the story of Wulf, a young Saxon thane (land owner), who is under the command of Earl Harold of Wessex. Earl Harold is basically running the country for King Edward. One day, they are on a ship which gets caught up in a storm and, after crossing the English Channel, wrecks in Normandy. Eventually, Earl Harold and his men end up as guests (or prisoners!) of William, the Duke of Normandy. To be set free, Earl Harold is tricked into taking an oath that he will support the Duke's claim to the English throne when King Edward dies.
This is, definitely, an adventure story! And, deals with war so there are injuries and even, of course, death. It is very well told and a captivating tell! I really enjoyed reading the 'other side of the story' because what I'd read about the Bayeux Tapestry told the story from the Norman point of view. This book is decidedly English!
2 comments:
I agree, my daughter and I enjoy the books as much as my son, so I read them out loud for us while they do crafts. We read that one! We've been working through them sequentially. GA Henty is English so that's usually the slant he takes but the heroes do represent other nations too at times.
Laurie
We love the Henty books. For a long time my mom was buying each of our boys one on their birthdays, so they have a nice collection. We also like to listen to the Jim Hodges audio versions when we are running errands. His voice strikes you as a bit boring the first time you hear it, but after a chapter or two you get used to it. I think audiovox also has some audios of Henty, but I don't know what the narrator is like on those.
I told my sons about your ranch and a couple of them wanted to pack up and move out there with you. ;-)
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