Sarum: The Novel of England

In "Sarum: The Novel of England," Edward Rutherford expertly weaves a sprawling narrative that spans centuries, chronicling the lives of five families as they navigate the shifting landscape of British history. Through the perspectives of the Wilsons, Masons, Porteus, Shockleys, and Godfreys, Rutherford captures the essence of England's evolution, from prehistoric times through the tumult of the medieval period and beyond. The richly detailed storytelling immerses readers in the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of these families, creating an intricate tapestry of life that reflects the broader historical events shaping the nation. Rutherford’s ability to blend personal stories with significant historical milestones creates a compelling and immersive reading experience. "Sarum" is not just a historical novel; it is a profound exploration of struggle, resilience, and the indomitable human spirit that has defined England throughout the ages.

Rutherfurd's imaginative weaving of human frailty and bravery into multi family experiences traced through the major events of English history is entertaining and informative. One trusts that his research each into the manors and means of survival, as these evolve through the approximately 6000 years that his many stories move, provides an accurate picture of these changes as they influence the individuals in the stories themselves. There is an occasional slip, as when he has a WWII Ametican pilot of a P 47 carrying 1000lb bombs on sorties into Germany. The P47 was an escort plane whose only mission was to protect the bombers as the bombs were dropped on their targets. P47s never dropped bombs but where only equipped with 8 9mm cannons. His imaginative connections of family name changes and the origins of English terms such as "spinster" from the historical development of the task of spinning cotton into thread being given to single women provides delightful little nuggets of joy to the reading. In spite of the attempt to use the histories of specific families as a device to hold the story together giving the reader, instead, a sense of following a series of short stories, this is a delightful way to bring history alive.

I liked this book a lot. Has a lot of history packed in this book.

The first novel I read by Edward Rutherfurd was, RUSSKA. I was enthralled and hooked by the sheer scope of his writing, and I knew I'd read more of his novels. Historical fiction has always been my favorite category of great books. I am often asked why I prefer historical fiction, and the reason I give is that the great writers in this genre, including Michener and Rutherfurd, introduce fictional characters who lived amidst actual historical events; epic periods that transformed human history. The great writes paint a canvas, which makes these historic events all the more fascinating. But also, the reader gets to know what the characters are like in the way one gets to know a new neighbor or a co-worker. We are able to learn how these characters coped during critical and turbulent times during human history. When done well, the great writers allow us to meet their main characters not unlike in today's high tech virtual reality. We learn what they are thinking, and how they feel about their personal dilemmas, and about the social/political/religious events that occur in their daily lives. For readers [like me] who have a good imagination, when led by a great writer, we can visualize the faces and hear the voices of the characters these great authors create. We can feel their pains, their passions, their fears. We get to know the intricate details of their personalities. In fact, there are many we come to love and despise, and there are many who we can relate to. Most of all, when introduced by the BEST writers/authors of historical fiction, there are many character who we remember for years to come, if not the remainder of our lives. Oh my! In this regard, Edward Rutherfurd's SARUM did not disappoint. From the very beginning, I became captivated by the early history about the settlement of Sarum and the events that led to the founding of Stonehenge, which was one of my favorite sections of this great novel. Specifically, I enjoyed Rutherfurd's description and vivid details of how Stonehenge was evolved. Of the various theories, Rutherfurd chose the most plausible. And he begins by introducing the reader to the mason, Nooma, who through an amazing tale was put in charge of building Stonehenge; a character described as a short unsightly man, broad at the shoulders with a big head, etc., and how he was beset with constant problems trying to build the temple by a seemingly impossible deadline given him by the High Priest. The reason I so thoroughly enjoyed Rutherfurd's conception/description of the character he created in Nooma, was because despite the improbable odds, I came to understand Nooma. I knew that Nooma was very proud of his craftsmanship, and that he would figure out how to solve each enormous problem, such as the task of moving the massive stones to the building site. And, through Rutherfurd's excellent story telling, I felt compassion for Nooma because he won my affection. It was as if I knew him personally, for many years. I felt sympathy for him knowing that he was dealing with a wife and friend who deceived him. But also, Nooma became more endeared to readers because we sensed his fear, and the urgency he faced as he tackled the tasks before him. From a 'practical' perspective, Nooma knew and understood all too well that he would be sacrificed to the Gods if he didn't meet the High Priest's deadline. Also, Rutherfurd's [fictionalized] story of Stonehenge allows the reader to better understand how knowledge of astronomy evolved, and how astronomy would forever play a major role in both religious ceremonies and everyday life. Furthermore, in SARUM, the chapter about the building of Stonehenge gave me a better understanding of how similar [most] ancient societies are respective to religious rites [including human sacrifice to the Gods], and the power that high priest/spiritual men/shamans have over kings, emperors, and tribal chiefs. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you too will enjoy this amazing epic. Rutherfurd is a master story teller, and he leaves no details undone. I highly recommend that you add, SARUM THE NOVEL to your collection. Maizie Lucille James July 11, 2010

The book was long and packed with historical detail. Sometimes the history became long and tedious for someone who is not a historian. Sometimes the jumps to another time was abrupt and hard to follow. The ending was rather abrupt and left the reader confused and disconnected to the story.

I love books about the history of England so when I saw this I knew I had to read it. It sat on my wishlist for a long time, but when it went on sale, I decided it was time. It is a very long book, which I enjoy, however, I did feel at times there was too much detail about cathedral building and fabric weaving. Over all, I enjoyed the book and feel like it gave me a new perspective of English history through the eyes of several different families throughout the centuries. That said, there were so many different people, I sometimes had a hard time remembering them all. This is definitely a book that could be read more than once...just so much information, but well worth the time.

Having travelled to Salisbury and Old Sarum a few times in the past I had to have this book. And I enjoyed following the history of Sarum from its very beginning - or better still from before then. The characters in the book are most of the time merely a vehicle to transport the well researched history of Sarum. Next time I visit Salisbury and Old Sarum I will definitely see it with new eyes.

Found the derail and description well written. It took me a while to get into the storyline and from that time I found it difficult to put down Following the families and how each they made their dynasty or failures was well presented.

Livre très intéressant

Really enjoyed it. One of the best historical book I ve ever read. Each story is fascinating and tells you a lot about English history.

Interesting and entertaining historical book, integrating some known facts with great story telling, shifting through time from the ice age onwards. I appreciate historical story telling is not to everyone’s taste, plus some reviewers appear to concentrate on specific aspects of the book, e.g. that most of the leading characters are male. However most documented evidence through the ages does concentrate on the named “heads” of households which until recent times were invariably male. All I can say is I really enjoyed this book, possibly because of experiencing the places described before reading it. I read this first over20 years ago when I lived in Bath and had visited Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge, which helped me in forming pictures of events in my head. If you are able I certainly recommend visiting these sites before or during reading the book. Since that time, somewhere along the way I lost the huge paperback. With this now being available through Kindle I decided to dive into it again and am glad I did. Although one reviewer states not to buy this to read on the Kindle, due to being unable to read the maps/family trees on that device, I easily got around that problem. I first loaded it onto my iPad, printed off the maps/family trees (which gave me a larger map than in the book) then used my Kindle to read the book. Problem solved.