Sarum: The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd

I've heard that this book is really good if you want to learn about England and its history. Has anyone read it? What did you think? Feel free to rant on its good and bad qualities! :3

Well, yes, it is historically accurate to a point, but it is still a work of fiction. It's great, I loved it, although The Forest is my favorite Rutherford novel. Sarum and/or London probably vie for second.

I'm sure there are much better histories of England - they may not be quite as entertaining, but you will definitely learn more.

Agree with kelstan. But I must say they are great generational stories.

kelstan said:

Well, yes, it is historically accurate to a point, but it is still a work of fiction. It's great, I loved it, although The Forest is my favorite Rutherford novel. Sarum and/or London probably vie for second.

I'm sure there are much better histories of England - they may not be quite as entertaining, but you will definitely learn more.

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Alright, that makes sense. Thank you! I'll definitely have to look into Sarum along with another educational book. The Forest, huh? Somehow it reminds me of Robin Hood~ Definitely willl check into that one. So would you call yourself a fan of Ruthurford's work?

pontalba said:

Agree with kelstan. But I must say they are great generational stories.

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Sounds good! Love a good generational story!~ Thank you for your feedback! ^ ^

the books are an amazing interweaving of history (the author does an enormous amount of research so all the facts are in fact factual) with a fictionalized account. You might learn more in a real history book, but I promise it won't be half as interesting and you won't remember half as much.

What makes these books so interesting to read is that Rutherford gives the sense of continuity of history - that it flows through time. Often our image / learning of historical events is of discrete events frozen in time when they are not, they are part of an ever evolving tapestry from a beginning point onwards. He places the historical events in a contextual narrative even if fictionalised that gives you a wonderful sense of how one event leads to another, leads to another and onwards through time.

I highly recommend any of his books, especially if like me, learning dates bores the .... out of you.

So would you call yourself a fan of Ruthurford's work?

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Yes, a big fan. I have read all of them except one of the Irish books. I am eagerly awaiting Paris, which is coming out next month.

Meadow337 said:

the books are an amazing interweaving of history (the author does an enormous amount of research so all the facts are in fact factual) with a fictionalized account. You might learn more in a real history book, but I promise it won't be half as interesting and you won't remember half as much.

What makes these books so interesting to read is that Rutherford gives the sense of continuity of history - that it flows through time. Often our image / learning of historical events is of discrete events frozen in time when they are not, they are part of an ever evolving tapestry from a beginning point onwards. He places the historical events in a contextual narrative even if fictionalised that gives you a wonderful sense of how one event leads to another, leads to another and onwards through time.

I highly recommend any of his books, especially if like me, learning dates bores the .... out of you.

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XD That's awesome!! And yes, can totally relate to the date thing! XD Thank you so much for your opinion!! I'm definitely going to get this book at the library now!

kelstan said:

Yes, a big fan. I have read all of them except one of the Irish books. I am eagerly awaiting Paris, which is coming out next month.

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Wow! That's so cool! I'm going to have to look into more of his stuff now!

happy reading then!

I love reading Rutherford, as others have stated, fun reads while having a bit if history thrown in. You don't realize you are learning.

Sounds like one more I am going to have to pull off the shelf to read. British history has always baffled me; there is so much of it. Great recommendations. Many thanks.

Sarum is about the town of Salisbury, which lies on the Salisbury Plains in England. It covers prehistoric Britain, the building of Stonehenge, the arrival of the Romans, the Saxon, Viking and Norman invasions, the building of Salisbury cathedral, the Black Death and rise of the House of Lancaster.

The Forest is about the New Forest. It starts in Norman England, Mary Queen of Scots vs Queen Elizabeth, Charles II, Spanish war and the armada, intertwined with the issues of creating the forests as preserves of the King, the closing off of forests from the population and the establishment of the forest assizes.

London covers a time period from the Roman invasion to present day. It covers the construction of a Roman amphitheater, London Bridge, the Tower of London, The Globe Theater and St Paul's Cathedral. Political events covered are Norman conquest, the massacre of the Jews, Magna Carta, martyrdom of St Thomas More, the beheading of Charles I, the visit of Pocahontas, and the sailing of the Mayflower, the plague, the fire of London and the Blitz.

Sounds good to me. I think it is on the shelves around here (always a good bet )
Thanks for the summaries.

My Sunday School teacher recommended "London" but I chose to read "Sarum" since it went from prehistory to modern day. I've always been a big Michener fan and this ranks right up there with James Michener's best.