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A review by jmatkinson1
Edwin: High King of Britain by Edoardo Albert
3.0
After the Romans left Britain, waves of incomers travelled from Europe and conquered the native Britons in many parts of the country. The history of the times is little known, the main source being Bede. During these ‘dark ages’ Christianity was also becoming and established religion. One of the Kings whose story is told is King Edwin, one of the first High kings who brought different tribes together. Edwin was of the noble family who ruled Bernicia (North Yorkshire and Northumbria) but had been in exile for many years after the death of his father. Living with hosts and always in fear of his life Edwin makes an important alliance and regains his throne but in the political machinations of Britain few Kings live to see old age.
Albert is a new writer to the historical fiction genre and the setting of this series of novels is unusual in that little historical fact is known which gives the opportunity for a large amount of licence. Anglo-Saxon terms are used throughout and are explained within context. The approach is fairly lightweight, this book is enjoyable and pleasant rather than gripping, but that is probably no bad thing considering the level of linguistic content. Albert is definitely knowledgable about the period and wears that learning lightly but the literary content leaves room for improvement.
Albert is a new writer to the historical fiction genre and the setting of this series of novels is unusual in that little historical fact is known which gives the opportunity for a large amount of licence. Anglo-Saxon terms are used throughout and are explained within context. The approach is fairly lightweight, this book is enjoyable and pleasant rather than gripping, but that is probably no bad thing considering the level of linguistic content. Albert is definitely knowledgable about the period and wears that learning lightly but the literary content leaves room for improvement.