Sarum: The Novel of England
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School Library Journal Review
YA This sprawling novel follows the fortunes and losses of five families from the Stone Age through the present time. Each of the families can be identified through genetic characteristics handed down through the agesnot simply physical characteristics, but attitudes and morals, too. There is plenty of action to keep readers motivated to finish the book. Rutherford has a style and energy all his own that should appeal to young readers of historical fiction. This book will be a hit with young adults who have the time and attention for longer works. Mary A. Williams, Harris County Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal Review
A first novel, Rutherfurd's sweeping saga of the area surrounding Stonehenge and Salisbury, England, covers 10,000 years and includes many generations of five families. Each family has one or more characteristic types who appear in successive centuries: the round-headed balding man who is good with his hands; the blue-eyed blonde woman who insists on having her independence; the dark, narrow-faced fisher of river waters and secrets. Their fortunes rise and fall both economically and politically, but the land triumphs over the passage of time and the ravages of humans. Rutherfurd has told the story of the land he was born in and has told it well. The verbosity of a Michener is missing, but all the other elements are present, from geology and archaeology to a rich story of human life. Highly recommended. BOMC alternate. Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Book Review
A first novel and 10,000-year history of England from Ice Age to present, tracing five fictional families from caveman antecedents to their present incarnations, and set in Sarum (an old name for Salisbury). Hwll the caveman, in search of the better life, leaves his polar icecap with wife and family for warmer climes and ends up in Sarum, where he competes well and flourishes. His descendants become the Porters and Wilsons, while those of his bested rival, Tep, become the Forests. Another line, founded by Nooma the mason (architect of Stonehenge), becomes the Masons, who marry descendants of Aelfwald the Dane (Shockleys), who in turn marry into the final, Godfrey, family (descended from medieval knight Richard de Godefroi). Moving quickly along to King Arthur's court, to the plague years, to the machinations of the Tudors, to the exploration of the New World, to the Revolutionary, First and Second World Wars. . . A little bust carved by Hwll is found by Nooma; the sword used by a Celtic chieftain is inherited by a Roman governor; and implements such as these, rife with portent, hold this vast fabric together as we move on to a modern Shockley (an Aelfwald descendant), in love with a modern Godfrey (a Godefroi descandant), who is robbed by a youthfully prankish Tep-descendant named John Wilson while the city of Salisbury celebrates its glorious past. The writing has an elegant simplicity that moves this bulky narrative along without too much artifice: its pace is somewhat slowed by the constant switches in scene-and-century, but, all in all, a fulsome and entertaining saga. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Citations
Rutherfurd, E., & McCaddon, W. (2011). Sarum: The Novel of England (Unabridged). Blackstone Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Rutherfurd, Edward and Wanda McCaddon. 2011. Sarum: The Novel of England. Blackstone Publishing.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Rutherfurd, Edward and Wanda McCaddon. Sarum: The Novel of England Blackstone Publishing, 2011.
Harvard Citation (style guide)Rutherfurd, E. and McCaddon, W. (2011). Sarum: the novel of england. Unabridged Blackstone Publishing.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Rutherfurd, Edward, and Wanda McCaddon. Sarum: The Novel of England Unabridged, Blackstone Publishing, 2011.
Copy Details
Collection | Owned | Available | Number of Holds |
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Libby | 2 | 1 | 0 |