Edwin: High King of Britain

Edwin, High King of Britain was a fantastic read! The first line is a perfect indication of what's to come " The king is going to kill you." I thought this was a perfect opening because the rest of the book pretty much follows the same theme of intrigue. Edwin and Æthelburh were great heroes and made the story a fun and interesting read.

The writing flowed and the story was engaging. There is adventure and action. The religious themes laced with the imaginative realm made this story very unique. Once I started reading I had a difficult time putting the book down. The struggles between religion and righteousness. I highly enjoyed and recommend this novel.

Edwin: High King of England is a well written and well researched book about early 7th century England. For Uhtred fans, Edwin was also king of Northumbria and lived at times in Bamburgh Castle. If you love Cornwell's Uhtred series then you'll love this, especially if you'd prefer less graphic battle scenes! Albert has written a real page turner. The action moves on through the years at a steady pace. The characters are strong and the writing is evocative. Edwin was persuaded to be baptised as a Christian by his wife and her priest. In turn, he persuaded his sons, his thegns and lords and many of his people to convert also. There was a point where I wondered if the aim of the book was to proselytise but I think I was wrong. It was important to understand what the belief system was beforehand and why Christianity might appeal to these people and Albert has done that really well. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in The Northumbrian Thrones series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lion Hudson plc for a review copy.

3.5 stars. There's a bit of a thrill in reading a story whose exact dates are lost in the mists of time. In this first novel of Albert's series, we are in the early years of the 7th century, perhaps in 616 or thereabouts. The Romans are long gone, leaving their ruins and their roads behind them; the raiders from the east have yet to come over the grey whale-road. Britain is split into kingdoms, roughly following the lines of the old tribal lands from the days of Boudica. But times are changing. A man who has moved from host to host, keeping one step ahead of the king who wants to kill him, has a dream of a united country, its petty kings subject to one overarching High King. It's a grand dream, for a man who doesn't even have a single kingdom to his name yet, but Edwin is shrewd and brave and has loyal men. As he inches his way back to power, his own rise is mirrored by that of a new religion, brought over from the Franks: a religion which will change the face of Britain forever.

I'll be candid, through. When I started reading, I found Edwin a little dull. The words were all present and correct on the page, but they just didn't drag me deep into the story as I wanted. That changed, eventually - but I had to push myself on until I found that magic point where suddenly it clicked. I think it was partly because I had trouble warming to the main characters: Albert is a little bit like Bernard Cornwell in that his men are warriors to the bone, not the inward-looking contemplative types that I find it easier to engage with. There were some more accessible characters on the sidelines: the young queen Æthelburh, who finds herself measured against Edwin's previous wife; and Paulinus, the Italian missionary who finds himself bound to this hostile land, where vines wither and the winds never cease. It also isn't easy to keep track when every second character has a name that begins Æthel-. Perhaps I also had difficulty because this period is one that (at least in its later stages) I've read about in two truly excellent books - The King in the North and Hild - so there was heavy competition. But let's not dwell on it further: Edwin came to life at last, and by the end of the book I was curious to see how Albert would carry the story on to future generations.

With plenty of shieldwalls, songs and feasts in smoky halls, this will surely appeal to fans of Viking fiction, but I'd also recommend it to those who normally shy away from raids-and-rapine novels. That isn't what this is: Albert's novel is more intelligent than pillage-by-numbers, especially when it taps into Bede and watches its characters weighing up their faith. Of course, being based on Bede does mean that we don't exactly get a balanced picture of the pagan priest Coifi, who comes across as a charlatan, mad as a bag of cats and obsessed with gold... but I'm giving Albert the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop in the next novel with Oswald.

The full review will be published on Thursday 2 March at the following link:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/03/02/edwin-high-king-of-britain-edoardo-albert

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book, but ended up really enjoying it. While it is a fictionalized rendition of history, or as best anyone knows of that period, it rings true with authenticity. The descriptions of the places to live and gather, the types of food and drink felt right for the story.
Edwin seems like a remarkable leader, prescient and compassionate, unlike the vast majority of his peers. The irony of the work he did to build a large, stable, and more or less peaceful kingdom is the very thing that undermines his rule is not lost on me. It seems as if it is the strife and struggle that engages a big part of the community, regardless of the impact on those simply trying to get through the day.

I loved the names, although sometimes it was difficult to imagine how they are pronounced, and I often wondered what their language would have sounded like to hear. Clearly there is both a logic and legacy to these names and I am sure there is more to it than I can understand.

The history is fascinating, especially since there is so little record of that time. The differing, and warring groups, the incursion from other places, the remnants of the Roman occupation create an imagined landscape of beauty, brutality, loyalty and deceit.

The abrupt ending was sad, but understandable as part of the ongoing shifts and changes in society, religion and politics ever moving forward and leaving the past behind. For my part, I was very glad it was quick for Edwin, unlike the king he vanquished so many years before.

Excellent read. Thank you!

I mostly enjoyed this novel. The author strung the few facts we have about Edwin together very well, though there were, in a couple of places, some sudden time jumps that were a little disconcerting.
All in all though, a good read. I shall certainly give the next one a go.