2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

Can't see why......., 15 Aug 2008
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read, 03 Jun 2008
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found, 16 Apr 2008
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.

epic, 03 Jan 2008
If you like James A Michener, Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and similar novels set in a factual past with fictional characters, you'll like this. It makes you wonder about your own ancestry. It's a good read, a bit long but worth sticking with. Enjoyable.

A triumph....eventually!, 05 Dec 2007
For me, Rutherfurd's first epic novel eventually earned its 4 stars thanks to its ambition, the author's historical research and the improving quality of the writing as the book progresses, although at the 500 page mark I would have given it only 2 stars.
The book's flaws are inherent, that is to say the author has chosen to set the story in one place and over the entire span of what we would call the time of modern man, which means that characters, and to a lesser extent plots, and time itself are forced to play subsidiary roles to place. The book loosely tracks the fortunes of four or five family groupings, from pre-christian times to the present day though the area around the five valleys of modern Salisbury, remains pre-eminent. If a character leaves Sarum he usually leaves the story, although where Rutherfurd breaks this self imposed rule, for instance following characters to America and India - the story improves and the reader can empathise more.
This primacy of place for me does not work - Rutherfurd tries to maintain continuity by reference to physical characteristics, but our loyalties too often lie with a character he has just swept into the past as he hurries the story along towards the present day and the reader is sometimes left breathless and anxious, and sometimes a little concerned for the fate of a character just discarded.
Until the book reaches the middle ages, virtually all characters are superficial, and in many cases do not really speak dialogue at all, they merely hurry the plot along with wooden statements in the style of facing the audience and crying "I will go west, and seek the rich hunting grounds of my Celtic brothers"..... "And I will go south to Gaul, and thence to Rome...." etc.
However, improved writing and character forming begin to transform the storytelling around the point at which the building of Salisbury Cathedral commences in the chronicle. Maybe this is no coincidence as Rutherfurd is clearly motivated by the cathedral as his epilogue testifies, and among all the journeys in this novel, not least is his own improving craft and confidence as a writer. By the time the English Civil War is reached characters feel more rounded and convincing, and even conversing!
Praise is due to Rutherfurd both for the historical research that has gone into this book and the way in which he uses it to inform the plots and scenes of the story without overloading us with unnecessary information - always a temptation when a writer seeks payback for all the hours spent in research.
Ultimately this is a flawed epic, but a magnificently ambitious endeavour.

When readers get into the game of comparing novelists (X writes very like Y, and so on), one writer who absolutely defies comparison with his peers is Edward Rutherford. With books such as Sarum and Russka, he created a genre that was virtually his own: the immensely researched, fascinatingly detailed epic narrative in which a sense of place was more profoundly established than in practically any other writer. This has been a hard act to follow and Rutherford has not been a prolific writer. Hopes were high for The Forest and this atmospheric tale of the New Forest is just as accomplished as Rutherford's earlier books.

Other writers have tackled the area before but this is surely the definitive chronicle, with all the stories and legends of the place woven into a narrative that has all the power and drama of Thomas Hardy filtered through a very modern sensibility. The elements that Rutherford comprehensively includes in his tale range from the savage forest laws of the Normans and their hunting pursuits to the founding of Beaulieu Abbey by the mercurial King John.

Rutherford inextricably involves us with his massive cast of adroitly realised characters, and we are taken along with them as they fear the threat of the Spanish Armada into the heart of this ancient domain, with its flocks of wild deer and horses. As before, Rutherford has the grandest ambitions for his arm-straining volume (coming in at 600 pages): from the novel's opening with a plane flying high above a cathedral in April 2000 to the 15th year of the reign of Queen Victoria, the reader is swept through a whole clutch of narratives involving the life and death struggles of the denizens of the New Forest. Certain characters stand out as particularly well drawn: the canny Brother Adam is a rare example of a virtuous man in literature who doesn't end up being simply bland and anodyne. But Rutherford is equally skilful at dealing with the violence of the Monmouth rebellion and his grasp of the shifting patterns of history has, if possible, deepened from his previous books. For those seeking the breadth and solidity of the great 19th-century novels, here is a latter-day work that will more than fit the bill. And who would have thought that the description of a fight between buck deer could be quite so vivid?

Her buck had hit firmer ground and his feet suddenly got a purchase on the grass. His hindquarters shivering, he dug in. She saw the shoulders rise and his neck bear down. And now the interloper was slipping on the wet leaves. Slowly, cautiously, their antlers locked, the two straining bucks began to turn. Now they were both on grass. Suddenly the interloper disengaged. He gave his head a twist. The jagged spike was aiming at the buck's eye. He lunged...

--Barry Forshaw

2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

Can't see why......., 15 Aug 2008
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read, 03 Jun 2008
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found, 16 Apr 2008
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.

epic, 03 Jan 2008
If you like James A Michener, Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and similar novels set in a factual past with fictional characters, you'll like this. It makes you wonder about your own ancestry. It's a good read, a bit long but worth sticking with. Enjoyable.

A triumph....eventually!, 05 Dec 2007
For me, Rutherfurd's first epic novel eventually earned its 4 stars thanks to its ambition, the author's historical research and the improving quality of the writing as the book progresses, although at the 500 page mark I would have given it only 2 stars.
The book's flaws are inherent, that is to say the author has chosen to set the story in one place and over the entire span of what we would call the time of modern man, which means that characters, and to a lesser extent plots, and time itself are forced to play subsidiary roles to place. The book loosely tracks the fortunes of four or five family groupings, from pre-christian times to the present day though the area around the five valleys of modern Salisbury, remains pre-eminent. If a character leaves Sarum he usually leaves the story, although where Rutherfurd breaks this self imposed rule, for instance following characters to America and India - the story improves and the reader can empathise more.
This primacy of place for me does not work - Rutherfurd tries to maintain continuity by reference to physical characteristics, but our loyalties too often lie with a character he has just swept into the past as he hurries the story along towards the present day and the reader is sometimes left breathless and anxious, and sometimes a little concerned for the fate of a character just discarded.
Until the book reaches the middle ages, virtually all characters are superficial, and in many cases do not really speak dialogue at all, they merely hurry the plot along with wooden statements in the style of facing the audience and crying "I will go west, and seek the rich hunting grounds of my Celtic brothers"..... "And I will go south to Gaul, and thence to Rome...." etc.
However, improved writing and character forming begin to transform the storytelling around the point at which the building of Salisbury Cathedral commences in the chronicle. Maybe this is no coincidence as Rutherfurd is clearly motivated by the cathedral as his epilogue testifies, and among all the journeys in this novel, not least is his own improving craft and confidence as a writer. By the time the English Civil War is reached characters feel more rounded and convincing, and even conversing!
Praise is due to Rutherfurd both for the historical research that has gone into this book and the way in which he uses it to inform the plots and scenes of the story without overloading us with unnecessary information - always a temptation when a writer seeks payback for all the hours spent in research.
Ultimately this is a flawed epic, but a magnificently ambitious endeavour.




So interesting, 04 Jul 2007
I loved this book, I walk my dog in all the places included, and love to learn about the history of them, but doing this in such a light hearted way was a great new way to learn. The characters are so real and delightfully rich, a complete page turner. I will certainly be reading more of Rutherford

Good, but not his best, 28 Apr 2007
Good, but not great, this is my least favourite of Rutherfurd's books, probably because I have no special interest or connection to the New Forest and less of this book impinges on nationally important events than in the others. However, it still has the author's characteristic style and ranks above much other historical fiction.

Pride of The Forest, 11 Oct 2003
Edward Rutherfurd is an author with a specialised genre all of his very own. He writes historical fiction which follows a place though the people who live there. 'The Forest' is a novel about the New Forest, as told though the stories of the families of Cola the Huntsman, The Prides, Furzeys, Grockletons, Puckles and so on from the founding of the Forest in William the Conquerors's time, right down to the present day. From the killing of King Rufus (who died in the New Forest) though to the trial of Alice Lisle, down to the family politics of Jane Austin's Bath, this is an epic tale which manages to wind together the past, present and future, pulling the reader slowly though the family trees and then swiftly though the fights, arguments and feuds of the families and the forest they have made their home.

If it has a fault, it is that the structure of the book (each chapter is a new generation, though not necessarily the generation after the one you last saw, and gaps of hundreds of years are not uncommon) lends itself to a slightly fractured plot-line, though Rutherfurd's sense of narrative continuity means that the gaps between the stories are never too shear, or that a somewhat distanced narrative can occasionally make character motivations a mystery (Though this works both ways, it's never obvious when a character's mind is being opaqued deliberately), or a tendency towards slow movement as the setup for the new generation is explained.

The Forest is an excellent book by a master of narrative, but the structure might be a little strange and distracting to some readers. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth reading especially if you have read, and enjoyed, previous works by the Author

something missing in The Forest, 24 Jun 2003
Having read the unputdownable SARUM and LONDON I was eager to get cracking on this equally weighty tome. All the same ingredients are there - the characters, the setting, the vast historical research, the imagination, the vivid writing - but something I can't quite identify is missing this time. Perhaps at 1000 years the timespan of the novel is too short (!!!) in comparison with the other two. There are also fewer characters with which to identify, and the ones there are seem less well-developed. Neither is there the awe-inspiring mystery of Stonehenge nor the bustle of London. Whilst I enjoyed this novel, it did not move me as SARUM and LONDON did, & if I had read this one first I might not have wanted to read any more of Rutherfurd's works. As a biographical portrait of the area it is outstanding, but it lacks the heart and soul of his other books.

A visit to an overlooked corner of Merry Old England, 12 Jan 2003
With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings.

Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries.

This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians.

If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there.

If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.

In this vast and gorgeous tapestry of a novel, serf and master, Cossack and tsar, priest and Jew are brought together in a family saga which unrolls through centuries of history to reveal the most impenetrable and mysterious of lands--Russia.

Through the life of a little town east of Moscow in the Russian heartland, Edward Rutherfurd creates a sweeping culture and her peoples--bleak yet exotic, brutal but romantic, land of ritual yet riddled with superstitious fears. From Russia's dawn and the cruel Tatar invasion to Ivan the Terrible and the wild Cossacks, from Peter, Catherine and the days of War and Peace to the drama of the Revolution and the extraordinary events of today--here is Russia's story in a spellbinding novel; history recreated with breathtaking detail and passion.

"Rewarding reading ... an engrossing story. The novel manages to capture and convey the vastness of Mother Russia, her story and her potential" --Boston Sunday Herald

"What's impressive about Russka is Edward Rutherfurd's audacity--and his erudition" --Washington Post

"It is a series of ingeniously linked short novels, with a great deal of history painlessly delivered ... a very good read indeed" --The Times

"...even textured, with just the right amount of spice, it is the literary equivalent of hot cakes" --Sunday Telegraph

2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

Can't see why......., 15 Aug 2008
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read, 03 Jun 2008
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found, 16 Apr 2008
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.

epic, 03 Jan 2008
If you like James A Michener, Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and similar novels set in a factual past with fictional characters, you'll like this. It makes you wonder about your own ancestry. It's a good read, a bit long but worth sticking with. Enjoyable.

A triumph....eventually!, 05 Dec 2007
For me, Rutherfurd's first epic novel eventually earned its 4 stars thanks to its ambition, the author's historical research and the improving quality of the writing as the book progresses, although at the 500 page mark I would have given it only 2 stars.
The book's flaws are inherent, that is to say the author has chosen to set the story in one place and over the entire span of what we would call the time of modern man, which means that characters, and to a lesser extent plots, and time itself are forced to play subsidiary roles to place. The book loosely tracks the fortunes of four or five family groupings, from pre-christian times to the present day though the area around the five valleys of modern Salisbury, remains pre-eminent. If a character leaves Sarum he usually leaves the story, although where Rutherfurd breaks this self imposed rule, for instance following characters to America and India - the story improves and the reader can empathise more.
This primacy of place for me does not work - Rutherfurd tries to maintain continuity by reference to physical characteristics, but our loyalties too often lie with a character he has just swept into the past as he hurries the story along towards the present day and the reader is sometimes left breathless and anxious, and sometimes a little concerned for the fate of a character just discarded.
Until the book reaches the middle ages, virtually all characters are superficial, and in many cases do not really speak dialogue at all, they merely hurry the plot along with wooden statements in the style of facing the audience and crying "I will go west, and seek the rich hunting grounds of my Celtic brothers"..... "And I will go south to Gaul, and thence to Rome...." etc.
However, improved writing and character forming begin to transform the storytelling around the point at which the building of Salisbury Cathedral commences in the chronicle. Maybe this is no coincidence as Rutherfurd is clearly motivated by the cathedral as his epilogue testifies, and among all the journeys in this novel, not least is his own improving craft and confidence as a writer. By the time the English Civil War is reached characters feel more rounded and convincing, and even conversing!
Praise is due to Rutherfurd both for the historical research that has gone into this book and the way in which he uses it to inform the plots and scenes of the story without overloading us with unnecessary information - always a temptation when a writer seeks payback for all the hours spent in research.
Ultimately this is a flawed epic, but a magnificently ambitious endeavour.




So interesting, 04 Jul 2007
I loved this book, I walk my dog in all the places included, and love to learn about the history of them, but doing this in such a light hearted way was a great new way to learn. The characters are so real and delightfully rich, a complete page turner. I will certainly be reading more of Rutherford

Good, but not his best, 28 Apr 2007
Good, but not great, this is my least favourite of Rutherfurd's books, probably because I have no special interest or connection to the New Forest and less of this book impinges on nationally important events than in the others. However, it still has the author's characteristic style and ranks above much other historical fiction.

Pride of The Forest, 11 Oct 2003
Edward Rutherfurd is an author with a specialised genre all of his very own. He writes historical fiction which follows a place though the people who live there. 'The Forest' is a novel about the New Forest, as told though the stories of the families of Cola the Huntsman, The Prides, Furzeys, Grockletons, Puckles and so on from the founding of the Forest in William the Conquerors's time, right down to the present day. From the killing of King Rufus (who died in the New Forest) though to the trial of Alice Lisle, down to the family politics of Jane Austin's Bath, this is an epic tale which manages to wind together the past, present and future, pulling the reader slowly though the family trees and then swiftly though the fights, arguments and feuds of the families and the forest they have made their home.

If it has a fault, it is that the structure of the book (each chapter is a new generation, though not necessarily the generation after the one you last saw, and gaps of hundreds of years are not uncommon) lends itself to a slightly fractured plot-line, though Rutherfurd's sense of narrative continuity means that the gaps between the stories are never too shear, or that a somewhat distanced narrative can occasionally make character motivations a mystery (Though this works both ways, it's never obvious when a character's mind is being opaqued deliberately), or a tendency towards slow movement as the setup for the new generation is explained.

The Forest is an excellent book by a master of narrative, but the structure might be a little strange and distracting to some readers. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth reading especially if you have read, and enjoyed, previous works by the Author

something missing in The Forest, 24 Jun 2003
Having read the unputdownable SARUM and LONDON I was eager to get cracking on this equally weighty tome. All the same ingredients are there - the characters, the setting, the vast historical research, the imagination, the vivid writing - but something I can't quite identify is missing this time. Perhaps at 1000 years the timespan of the novel is too short (!!!) in comparison with the other two. There are also fewer characters with which to identify, and the ones there are seem less well-developed. Neither is there the awe-inspiring mystery of Stonehenge nor the bustle of London. Whilst I enjoyed this novel, it did not move me as SARUM and LONDON did, & if I had read this one first I might not have wanted to read any more of Rutherfurd's works. As a biographical portrait of the area it is outstanding, but it lacks the heart and soul of his other books.

A visit to an overlooked corner of Merry Old England, 12 Jan 2003
With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings.

Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries.

This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians.

If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there.

If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.

Heavy-going, tiresome read, 28 Nov 2007
Having read - and thoroughly enjoyed - London and The Forest I must admit that I struggled from the start of Russka until about page 500. My friend advised "Life's too short" so I discarded Russka half way through - something I hate doing. However, it was tedious to the point where I would get to the bottom of the page and realise I hadn't really read it. Far too much detail and boring characters for whom I felt no empathy. If you haven't read London then do so but I can't recommend Russka. I've given this book 1 star because a) the historical research which must have gone into writing this book is immense and b) it might have got better in the second half, which is something I'm in no hurry to find out.

A bit tedious at times, 14 Oct 2005
Edward Rutherfurd uses his well known method to describe the history of Russia: take two families from a certain hamlet, start in prehistoric times and follow their adventures, ups and downs in a number of chapters set over the centuries. And by doing this he can give a very good description of historically important events in the area. It worked very well for London, Sarum and The Forest, but I have to say it works less for Russka: at times the stories are long, making them slightly boring and the rivalries between the families are more important than the historical events. There are some interesting chapters, notably Forest and Steppe, Ivan (the Terrible), Peter (the Great) and Revolution, but I had to struggle through some of the other chapters. And then 945 pages is quite a lot...

Another classic Rutherfurd-style history, 19 Jan 2004
Russka tells the story of the history of the Russian heartland using Edward Rutherfurd's proven style of historic novel writing. If you have not previously read a Rutherfurd offering, he cleverly describes history as a series of short stories following several fictional family trees he develops through the book, alongside historical events and characters. All in all, it's a great way to read an entertaining book and learn a lot about the subject matter in the process.

Incredibly well researched (Rutherfurd points out that it took him 5 years to write this book), I really got a sense of Russian history from reading this, both in terms of its proud heritage and how the public viewed their Royal Family there. I read this book a few months after reading Rutherfurd's London book, and although the style is similar, that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, Russka is a far bigger area than London, describing instead the Russian heartlands, using villages based near Kiev and then Moscow as the backdrow for the novel.

All in all, I strongly recommend you read this book. I didn't think it was quite as good as London which was I believe written some time later, but don't let that detract from the quality of the story.

Now I understand a little more about Russia..., 31 Dec 2003
Another one of the same. Sarum and The Forest, and now Russka. I do like the format but I did get a bit fed up three quarters of the way through.

The author constantly alludes to things which are about to happen in the next scene e.g. “Afterwards, she could never explain to herself how it was that the madness had seized her…” or “He was bound to have got into trouble sooner or later. And as Olga reminded Alexis, one didn’t have to do much to be in hot water these days”. This put me on tenterhooks and instead of relaxing with this book I was constantly waiting for the sword of Damacles to fall on the poor unfortunate whose turn it was in that part of the story.

However, and it is a big however – I shall never see Russia and its surrounding lands in the same way again. I have an understanding of the country’s history and thereby, a much better understanding of its present. Although I did get bogged down by page 700 (who can blame me) I still want to get starting on Edward Rutherford’s London as soon as I’ve finished the frothy historical novel I’ve just started (to give my brain and my blood pressure a rest).

Rutherford does it again, 08 Dec 2003
What can I say, if you liked Sarum, London and The Forest then you'll love this.
Go ahead and buy it!!!

Few authors are as ambitious as Edward Rutherford. And Dublin: Foundation, the first of a massive two-part epic, is possibly Rutherford's most challenging undertaking yet--and (on the evidence of this first book) could well be his most considerable achievement. Rutherford's sheer readability belies his obvious seriousness. His arm-straining volumes may cover every possible variety of human experience (couched in historical backgrounds of immense detail and authenticity), but he remains a storyteller of no mean skills. From the early books that made his name (notably the much-acclaimed Sarum), through to the more recent blockbuster London, the author has combined a panoramic, Homeric vision with a James-Joyce like concentration on the minutiae of everyday life; the results of this synthesis are brought to perfectly honed effect in Dublin: Foundation.

Parallels with Joyce's Dublin are not appropriate here, though. The scope is far wider and stretches back into history. Beginning in Pre-Christian Ireland as the Kings of Tara reigned autocratically, we encounter the lovers Prince Conall and the beautiful Deidre. An army sized dramatis personae surround the lovers, representing every player in a turbulent era. We are shown many of the key events in Irish history, with parts for Saint Patrick, the Nordic savagery of the Vikings and the battles with the cunning Henry VIII. As this operatic volume ends with the approach of the Reformation, the orchestration of narrative commands total respect. --Barry Forshaw

2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

Can't see why......., 15 Aug 2008
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read, 03 Jun 2008
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found, 16 Apr 2008
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.

epic, 03 Jan 2008
If you like James A Michener, Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and similar novels set in a factual past with fictional characters, you'll like this. It makes you wonder about your own ancestry. It's a good read, a bit long but worth sticking with. Enjoyable.

A triumph....eventually!, 05 Dec 2007
For me, Rutherfurd's first epic novel eventually earned its 4 stars thanks to its ambition, the author's historical research and the improving quality of the writing as the book progresses, although at the 500 page mark I would have given it only 2 stars.
The book's flaws are inherent, that is to say the author has chosen to set the story in one place and over the entire span of what we would call the time of modern man, which means that characters, and to a lesser extent plots, and time itself are forced to play subsidiary roles to place. The book loosely tracks the fortunes of four or five family groupings, from pre-christian times to the present day though the area around the five valleys of modern Salisbury, remains pre-eminent. If a character leaves Sarum he usually leaves the story, although where Rutherfurd breaks this self imposed rule, for instance following characters to America and India - the story improves and the reader can empathise more.
This primacy of place for me does not work - Rutherfurd tries to maintain continuity by reference to physical characteristics, but our loyalties too often lie with a character he has just swept into the past as he hurries the story along towards the present day and the reader is sometimes left breathless and anxious, and sometimes a little concerned for the fate of a character just discarded.
Until the book reaches the middle ages, virtually all characters are superficial, and in many cases do not really speak dialogue at all, they merely hurry the plot along with wooden statements in the style of facing the audience and crying "I will go west, and seek the rich hunting grounds of my Celtic brothers"..... "And I will go south to Gaul, and thence to Rome...." etc.
However, improved writing and character forming begin to transform the storytelling around the point at which the building of Salisbury Cathedral commences in the chronicle. Maybe this is no coincidence as Rutherfurd is clearly motivated by the cathedral as his epilogue testifies, and among all the journeys in this novel, not least is his own improving craft and confidence as a writer. By the time the English Civil War is reached characters feel more rounded and convincing, and even conversing!
Praise is due to Rutherfurd both for the historical research that has gone into this book and the way in which he uses it to inform the plots and scenes of the story without overloading us with unnecessary information - always a temptation when a writer seeks payback for all the hours spent in research.
Ultimately this is a flawed epic, but a magnificently ambitious endeavour.




So interesting, 04 Jul 2007
I loved this book, I walk my dog in all the places included, and love to learn about the history of them, but doing this in such a light hearted way was a great new way to learn. The characters are so real and delightfully rich, a complete page turner. I will certainly be reading more of Rutherford

Good, but not his best, 28 Apr 2007
Good, but not great, this is my least favourite of Rutherfurd's books, probably because I have no special interest or connection to the New Forest and less of this book impinges on nationally important events than in the others. However, it still has the author's characteristic style and ranks above much other historical fiction.

Pride of The Forest, 11 Oct 2003
Edward Rutherfurd is an author with a specialised genre all of his very own. He writes historical fiction which follows a place though the people who live there. 'The Forest' is a novel about the New Forest, as told though the stories of the families of Cola the Huntsman, The Prides, Furzeys, Grockletons, Puckles and so on from the founding of the Forest in William the Conquerors's time, right down to the present day. From the killing of King Rufus (who died in the New Forest) though to the trial of Alice Lisle, down to the family politics of Jane Austin's Bath, this is an epic tale which manages to wind together the past, present and future, pulling the reader slowly though the family trees and then swiftly though the fights, arguments and feuds of the families and the forest they have made their home.

If it has a fault, it is that the structure of the book (each chapter is a new generation, though not necessarily the generation after the one you last saw, and gaps of hundreds of years are not uncommon) lends itself to a slightly fractured plot-line, though Rutherfurd's sense of narrative continuity means that the gaps between the stories are never too shear, or that a somewhat distanced narrative can occasionally make character motivations a mystery (Though this works both ways, it's never obvious when a character's mind is being opaqued deliberately), or a tendency towards slow movement as the setup for the new generation is explained.

The Forest is an excellent book by a master of narrative, but the structure might be a little strange and distracting to some readers. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth reading especially if you have read, and enjoyed, previous works by the Author

something missing in The Forest, 24 Jun 2003
Having read the unputdownable SARUM and LONDON I was eager to get cracking on this equally weighty tome. All the same ingredients are there - the characters, the setting, the vast historical research, the imagination, the vivid writing - but something I can't quite identify is missing this time. Perhaps at 1000 years the timespan of the novel is too short (!!!) in comparison with the other two. There are also fewer characters with which to identify, and the ones there are seem less well-developed. Neither is there the awe-inspiring mystery of Stonehenge nor the bustle of London. Whilst I enjoyed this novel, it did not move me as SARUM and LONDON did, & if I had read this one first I might not have wanted to read any more of Rutherfurd's works. As a biographical portrait of the area it is outstanding, but it lacks the heart and soul of his other books.

A visit to an overlooked corner of Merry Old England, 12 Jan 2003
With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings.

Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries.

This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians.

If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there.

If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.

Heavy-going, tiresome read, 28 Nov 2007
Having read - and thoroughly enjoyed - London and The Forest I must admit that I struggled from the start of Russka until about page 500. My friend advised "Life's too short" so I discarded Russka half way through - something I hate doing. However, it was tedious to the point where I would get to the bottom of the page and realise I hadn't really read it. Far too much detail and boring characters for whom I felt no empathy. If you haven't read London then do so but I can't recommend Russka. I've given this book 1 star because a) the historical research which must have gone into writing this book is immense and b) it might have got better in the second half, which is something I'm in no hurry to find out.

A bit tedious at times, 14 Oct 2005
Edward Rutherfurd uses his well known method to describe the history of Russia: take two families from a certain hamlet, start in prehistoric times and follow their adventures, ups and downs in a number of chapters set over the centuries. And by doing this he can give a very good description of historically important events in the area. It worked very well for London, Sarum and The Forest, but I have to say it works less for Russka: at times the stories are long, making them slightly boring and the rivalries between the families are more important than the historical events. There are some interesting chapters, notably Forest and Steppe, Ivan (the Terrible), Peter (the Great) and Revolution, but I had to struggle through some of the other chapters. And then 945 pages is quite a lot...

Another classic Rutherfurd-style history, 19 Jan 2004
Russka tells the story of the history of the Russian heartland using Edward Rutherfurd's proven style of historic novel writing. If you have not previously read a Rutherfurd offering, he cleverly describes history as a series of short stories following several fictional family trees he develops through the book, alongside historical events and characters. All in all, it's a great way to read an entertaining book and learn a lot about the subject matter in the process.

Incredibly well researched (Rutherfurd points out that it took him 5 years to write this book), I really got a sense of Russian history from reading this, both in terms of its proud heritage and how the public viewed their Royal Family there. I read this book a few months after reading Rutherfurd's London book, and although the style is similar, that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, Russka is a far bigger area than London, describing instead the Russian heartlands, using villages based near Kiev and then Moscow as the backdrow for the novel.

All in all, I strongly recommend you read this book. I didn't think it was quite as good as London which was I believe written some time later, but don't let that detract from the quality of the story.

Now I understand a little more about Russia..., 31 Dec 2003
Another one of the same. Sarum and The Forest, and now Russka. I do like the format but I did get a bit fed up three quarters of the way through.

The author constantly alludes to things which are about to happen in the next scene e.g. “Afterwards, she could never explain to herself how it was that the madness had seized her…” or “He was bound to have got into trouble sooner or later. And as Olga reminded Alexis, one didn’t have to do much to be in hot water these days”. This put me on tenterhooks and instead of relaxing with this book I was constantly waiting for the sword of Damacles to fall on the poor unfortunate whose turn it was in that part of the story.

However, and it is a big however – I shall never see Russia and its surrounding lands in the same way again. I have an understanding of the country’s history and thereby, a much better understanding of its present. Although I did get bogged down by page 700 (who can blame me) I still want to get starting on Edward Rutherford’s London as soon as I’ve finished the frothy historical novel I’ve just started (to give my brain and my blood pressure a rest).

Rutherford does it again, 08 Dec 2003
What can I say, if you liked Sarum, London and The Forest then you'll love this.
Go ahead and buy it!!!

Ireland Awakening - A History that can be Understood, 22 Jul 2008
For all that I have a history degree and have studied various periods and aspects of history quite extensively, I have always struggled to get a clear understanding of which Irish hero or villain did what. Whom exactly was Cromwell fighting against when he paid his historic visit in the early 1650s? What was Wolfe Tone, a man now honoured by a statue at one corner of St Stephens Green, actually fighting for? Which of the many battles were sectarian, which for the whole of Ireland? Etc.

A friend recommended Rutherfurd's Ireland Awakening, and I am writing this review to say that his recommendation was spot on. As soon as I had finished reading the book I passed it on to my wife. She went further than me, in that as soon as she had read it she ordered Dublin, covering an earlier period. For the record, she was as keen on that as she had been on Ireland Awakening.

Ireland Awakening starts in the early 17th century with a rather nasty planted Protestant, and follows the fortunes of various families in Ireland for the next 300 years. These families between are a good representation of the several different peoples inhabiting that small island: Irish, Anglo-Irish, planted Presbyterian etc. It shows their attitudes, their allegiances, how they were treated (or how they treated others) down the years. Some are nice people, several are bigots and thoroughly unpleasant. It all seemed very real. And I felt I could really give, and understand, the answers to the questions I posed at the start of this review.

One small point. The families that had been in Ireland in the previous centuries had appeared in the earlier books. I had no problem whatsoever reading Ireland Awakening without having read its prequels. In fact, the first pages of the book are devoted to giving a summmary of what had taken place in those earlier books, just so that we could know the background of these families.

The writing was never less than absorbing. I can enthusiastically recommend this book.

One small quibble, not nearly enough to take away one of the stars, but the book was far too big for the binding. Long before I had finished reading the book, odd pages (I am talking about the paperback edition) had come loose.

Typically absorbing, 16 Dec 2006
A typically absorbing Rutherfurd epic, though it's not clear why he decided to end the narrative in 1923. I learned a lot about Irish history from this and it has sparked my interest to read more.

Other minor criticism: unlike most of his other works, there is no author's note saying which parts are fact, which fiction.

A real disappointment, 18 Oct 2006
This is such a shame. Fans of Rutherfurd, like myself will know what to expect, a tale that follows the action based in Dublin through history charting the development of the city and surroundings through a number of dynasties.

I first tried Rutherfurd with the publication of London and loved it, some great historical insights combined with cracking good self contained yarns. I quickly bought Sarum and Russka and loved them too. The Forest continued his excellent form - you really did not notice how long the books were as they were such page turners.

You will understand my great excitement when this book was published and i found................. a painful read. For the first time Rutherfurd is plodding and ponderous, it seems as though he has padded his stories extending our stays in each time period with the result being that this book is such hard work.

If you have suffered through Dublin please don't judge Rutherfurd on this look at his earlier work and you will appreciate what a talented author this man is.

Over-long but readable, 13 Sep 2006
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of Edward Rutherfurd's previous novels. I therefore approached this one expecting it to be as enthralling and spellbinding as (most of) the others. Unfortunately, by the time I had struggled with the first 200 or so pages (out of 863) I found myself wishing it was over. Rutherfurd always follows the same formula for his novels - tracing various families through the centuries and observing their fluctuating fortunes. But until this one, he has always contained the saga within one volume. This one follows on directly from his previous novel, Dublin, and more than once while reading it I found myself wondering if the whole story could (should?) have been condensed into one volume. Rutherfurd obviously has a very powerful point to make about the suffering of Catholics in Ireland over the centuries, and does so very well (which actually makes me wonder what sales figures are like in Northern Ireland...). His characterisation of members of the Budge family, for instance, rather turns the old British press 'image' of the Irish republican back on the Ulster loyalists. So overall, a good read, but over-long.

History at last!, 26 Apr 2006
Edward Rutherfurd in his books on Russia, Sarum, London, and the Forest captures a mood, the mood is not always positive but positively believeable like all true history, and great fiction, should be.
It would not take much to be frightened of writing a balanced history from ALL the different perspectives when dealing with an often turbulent past as has Ireland. A brave, balanced and brilliant effort.
Thank you Mr Rutherfurd for giving us a history!

2000 years of history in bite sized and palatable chunks, 21 Nov 2008
I found this a fascinating sweep through some 2000 years of English (and most particularly London's) history.

Some reviewers have complained about Rutherfurd's rather static interpretation of Darwinism - i.e. very little genetic mutation/variation across a 2000 year history of the major 'families' in the book - however, its a very useful device to help weave the history of London together, using the framing device of a set of characters and their descendants to take us on the journey, and, because there are some quite big jumps in generations its helpful to be able to say 'oh, a red haired person - one of the Barnikels - aha! the white streak again - hello the Duckets and Doggetts etc. Some of his plotting devices may be a little obvious, but overall this was a splendid way to take the reader at a fairly brisk trot through 2000 years of history. I learned a lot of interesting information about our language, customs, architecture, medicine, trade, politics, industry etc etc - sure, i could be picking this up through studying factual texts on each and every one of these; what Rutherfurd has done is given me a more visceral sense of how life felt and was lived, by using narrative and character.

A really enjoyable read - a more rumbunctious and 'ordinary' James Clavell (probably because what Rutherfurd is recounting is the story of this country, and its capital city, so it is much more familiar to me than the history of Asia)

But you need a big bag if you want to read this on your daily train tube or bus journey to work - and it might last you months!

Very enjoyable and very long, 18 Sep 2007
If you have a short attention span then this may not be for you. Rutherford's style is distinct but in a story made ou of so many stories rarely does it feel as if he is repeating himself. This is not serious history, this is very well written historical fiction. It is probably the easiest and most enjoyable way to learn about London's glorious and inglorious history. From little details like how streets and areas got their names to piesces of historical fact that were nearly forgotten. A very enjoyable read that should keep you going for some time.

What a treat!, 17 Aug 2007
I have just finished "London" with a real sense of loss and wish that there had been another 1000 or so pages to read. The book is an absolute delight from start to finish, and please do not be put off by the number of pages (1300) - they simply fly by.

The author introduces you to the various characters and their families in such a way that you are immediately familiar with future generations as and when they appear which really helps the book flow. As well as being a highly entertaining novel, the historical facts it presents are always enlightening so one gets the best of both worlds; also there is always a convenient place to stop with relatively small passages within each chapter.

I was not overly keen on Russka, but Sarum was excellent and London better still.

In short, I cannot recommend this book too highly.

Fantastic!, 16 Jun 2007
This book is absolutely fantastic! I have read "Sarum" and "Dublin" as well, and I love those books as well. Maybe I prefer "London" because I have always been very interested in the history of London. What I really like, is that Mr Rutherfurd starts the story thousands of years back in time. And it's really clever, they way we're able to follow the history of some families. You will learn a lot from this book!

Excellent!, 18 May 2007
I am somewhat of a history buff and in particular, UK history. The amount of turmoil, discovery, excitment and detail this small but important region of the world has seen in the past 2000+ years is staggering. This novel, through the eyes of generations of the same families, captures many of the highlights of London's history and cleverly plays these characters into the factual plot - bravo. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of rutherford's work.

Can't see why......., 15 Aug 2008
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read, 03 Jun 2008
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found, 16 Apr 2008
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.

epic, 03 Jan 2008
If you like James A Michener, Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and similar novels set in a factual past with fictional characters, you'll like this. It makes you wonder about your own ancestry. It's a good read, a bit long but worth sticking with. Enjoyable.

A triumph....eventually!, 05 Dec 2007
For me, Rutherfurd's first epic novel eventually earned its 4 stars thanks to its ambition, the author's historical research and the improving quality of the writing as the book progresses, although at the 500 page mark I would have given it only 2 stars.
The book's flaws are inherent, that is to say the author has chosen to set the story in one place and over the entire span of what we would call the time of modern man, which means that characters, and to a lesser extent plots, and time itself are forced to play subsidiary roles to place. The book loosely tracks the fortunes of four or five family groupings, from pre-christian times to the present day though the area around the five valleys of modern Salisbury, remains pre-eminent. If a character leaves Sarum he usually leaves the story, although where Rutherfurd breaks this self imposed rule, for instance following characters to America and India - the story improves and the reader can empathise more.
This primacy of place for me does not work - Rutherfurd tries to maintain continuity by reference to physical characteristics, but our loyalties too often lie with a character he has just swept into the past as he hurries the story along towards the present day and the reader is sometimes left breathless and anxious, and sometimes a little concerned for the fate of a character just discarded.
Until the book reaches the middle ages, virtually all characters are superficial, and in many cases do not really speak dialogue at all, they merely hurry the plot along with wooden statements in the style of facing the audience and crying "I will go west, and seek the rich hunting grounds of my Celtic brothers"..... "And I will go south to Gaul, and thence to Rome...." etc.
However, improved writing and character forming begin to transform the storytelling around the point at which the building of Salisbury Cathedral commences in the chronicle. Maybe this is no coincidence as Rutherfurd is clearly motivated by the cathedral as his epilogue testifies, and among all the journeys in this novel, not least is his own improving craft and confidence as a writer. By the time the English Civil War is reached characters feel more rounded and convincing, and even conversing!
Praise is due to Rutherfurd both for the historical research that has gone into this book and the way in which he uses it to inform the plots and scenes of the story without overloading us with unnecessary information - always a temptation when a writer seeks payback for all the hours spent in research.
Ultimately this is a flawed epic, but a magnificently ambitious endeavour.




So interesting, 04 Jul 2007
I loved this book, I walk my dog in all the places included, and love to learn about the history of them, but doing this in such a light hearted way was a great new way to learn. The characters are so real and delightfully rich, a complete page turner. I will certainly be reading more of Rutherford

Good, but not his best, 28 Apr 2007
Good, but not great, this is my least favourite of Rutherfurd's books, probably because I have no special interest or connection to the New Forest and less of this book impinges on nationally important events than in the others. However, it still has the author's characteristic style and ranks above much other historical fiction.

Pride of The Forest, 11 Oct 2003
Edward Rutherfurd is an author with a specialised genre all of his very own. He writes historical fiction which follows a place though the people who live there. 'The Forest' is a novel about the New Forest, as told though the stories of the families of Cola the Huntsman, The Prides, Furzeys, Grockletons, Puckles and so on from the founding of the Forest in William the Conquerors's time, right down to the present day. From the killing of King Rufus (who died in the New Forest) though to the trial of Alice Lisle, down to the family politics of Jane Austin's Bath, this is an epic tale which manages to wind together the past, present and future, pulling the reader slowly though the family trees and then swiftly though the fights, arguments and feuds of the families and the forest they have made their home.

If it has a fault, it is that the structure of the book (each chapter is a new generation, though not necessarily the generation after the one you last saw, and gaps of hundreds of years are not uncommon) lends itself to a slightly fractured plot-line, though Rutherfurd's sense of narrative continuity means that the gaps between the stories are never too shear, or that a somewhat distanced narrative can occasionally make character motivations a mystery (Though this works both ways, it's never obvious when a character's mind is being opaqued deliberately), or a tendency towards slow movement as the setup for the new generation is explained.

The Forest is an excellent book by a master of narrative, but the structure might be a little strange and distracting to some readers. Nevertheless, it's definitely worth reading especially if you have read, and enjoyed, previous works by the Author

something missing in The Forest, 24 Jun 2003
Having read the unputdownable SARUM and LONDON I was eager to get cracking on this equally weighty tome. All the same ingredients are there - the characters, the setting, the vast historical research, the imagination, the vivid writing - but something I can't quite identify is missing this time. Perhaps at 1000 years the timespan of the novel is too short (!!!) in comparison with the other two. There are also fewer characters with which to identify, and the ones there are seem less well-developed. Neither is there the awe-inspiring mystery of Stonehenge nor the bustle of London. Whilst I enjoyed this novel, it did not move me as SARUM and LONDON did, & if I had read this one first I might not have wanted to read any more of Rutherfurd's works. As a biographical portrait of the area it is outstanding, but it lacks the heart and soul of his other books.

A visit to an overlooked corner of Merry Old England, 12 Jan 2003
With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings.

Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries.

This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians.

If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there.

If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.

Heavy-going, tiresome read, 28 Nov 2007
Having read - and thoroughly enjoyed - London and The Forest I must admit that I struggled from the start of Russka until about page 500. My friend advised "Life's too short" so I discarded Russka half way through - something I hate doing. However, it was tedious to the point where I would get to the bottom of the page and realise I hadn't really read it. Far too much detail and boring characters for whom I felt no empathy. If you haven't read London then do so but I can't recommend Russka. I've given this book 1 star because a) the historical research which must have gone into writing this book is immense and b) it might have got better in the second half, which is something I'm in no hurry to find out.

A bit tedious at times, 14 Oct 2005
Edward Rutherfurd uses his well known method to describe the history of Russia: take two families from a certain hamlet, start in prehistoric times and follow their adventures, ups and downs in a number of chapters set over the centuries. And by doing this he can give a very good description of historically important events in the area. It worked very well for London, Sarum and The Forest, but I have to say it works less for Russka: at times the stories are long, making them slightly boring and the rivalries between the families are more important than the historical events. There are some interesting chapters, notably Forest and Steppe, Ivan (the Terrible), Peter (the Great) and Revolution, but I had to struggle through some of the other chapters. And then 945 pages is quite a lot...

Another classic Rutherfurd-style history, 19 Jan 2004
Russka tells the story of the history of the Russian heartland using Edward Rutherfurd's proven style of historic novel writing. If you have not previously read a Rutherfurd offering, he cleverly describes history as a series of short stories following several fictional family trees he develops through the book, alongside historical events and characters. All in all, it's a great way to read an entertaining book and learn a lot about the subject matter in the process.

Incredibly well researched (Rutherfurd points out that it took him 5 years to write this book), I really got a sense of Russian history from reading this, both in terms of its proud heritage and how the public viewed their Royal Family there. I read this book a few months after reading Rutherfurd's London book, and although the style is similar, that's where the similarity ends. For one thing, Russka is a far bigger area than London, describing instead the Russian heartlands, using villages based near Kiev and then Moscow as the backdrow for the novel.

All in all, I strongly recommend you read this book. I didn't think it was quite as good as London which was I believe written some time later, but don't let that detract from the quality of the story.

Now I understand a little more about Russia..., 31 Dec 2003
Another one of the same. Sarum and The Forest, and now Russka. I do like the format but I did get a bit fed up three quarters of the way through.

The author constantly alludes to things which are about to happen in the next scene e.g. “Afterwards, she could never explain to herself how it was that the madness had seized her…” or “He was bound to have got into trouble sooner or later. And as Olga reminded Alexis, one didn’t have to do much to be in hot water these days”. This put me on tenterhooks and instead of relaxing with this book I was constantly waiting for the sword of Damacles to fall on the poor unfortunate whose turn it was in that part of the story.

However, and it is a big however – I shall never see Russia and its surrounding lands in the same way again. I have an understanding of the country’s history and thereby, a much better understanding of its present. Although I did get bogged down by page 700 (who can blame me) I still want to get starting on Edward Rutherford’s London as soon as I’ve finished the frothy historical novel I’ve just started (to give my brain and my blood pressure a rest).

Rutherford does it again, 08 Dec 2003
What can I say, if you liked Sarum, London and The Forest then you'll love this.
Go ahead and buy it!!!

Ireland Awakening - A History that can be Understood, 22 Jul 2008
For all that I have a history degree and have studied various periods and aspects of history quite extensively, I have always struggled to get a clear understanding of which Irish hero or villain did what. Whom exactly was Cromwell fighting against when he paid his historic visit in the early 1650s? What was Wolfe Tone, a man now honoured by a statue at one corner of St Stephens Green, actually fighting for? Which of the many battles were sectarian, which for the whole of Ireland? Etc.

A friend recommended Rutherfurd's Ireland Awakening, and I am writing this review to say that his recommendation was spot on. As soon as I had finished reading the book I passed it on to my wife. She went further than me, in that as soon as she had read it she ordered Dublin, covering an earlier period. For the record, she was as keen on that as she had been on Ireland Awakening.

Ireland Awakening starts in the early 17th century with a rather nasty planted Protestant, and follows the fortunes of various families in Ireland for the next 300 years. These families between are a good representation of the several different peoples inhabiting that small island: Irish, Anglo-Irish, planted Presbyterian etc. It shows their attitudes, their allegiances, how they were treated (or how they treated others) down the years. Some are nice people, several are bigots and thoroughly unpleasant. It all seemed very real. And I felt I could really give, and understand, the answers to the questions I posed at the start of this review.

One small point. The families that had been in Ireland in the previous centuries had appeared in the earlier books. I had no problem whatsoever reading Ireland Awakening without having read its prequels. In fact, the first pages of the book are devoted to giving a summmary of what had taken place in those earlier books, just so that we could know the background of these families.

The writing was never less