I wonder how many thousands of books I’ve read in my life-time – when I was about nine or ten I wrote the title and author of every book I read – and I’d probably done that even earlier. Sadly I don’t have that book, it disappeared many many years ago but how fascinating it would be to see it now. In those days most of my reading was fiction, although I did have some general knowledge books, and one about heroes with a picture of Leif Erikson on the cover. I still do mostly read fiction, but I do read quite a few other books, possibly more than my other reading friends.
I am reading an absolutely gripping book at the moment – often when I’m really involved with a book I skip-read because I’m so desperate to find out what happens next, well, not in this book! I am reading – and even rereading as I go, every word, and look at the foot-notes, maps, tables, charts and summaries as I go. It is so well written that even though it’s dealing with quite fact-loaded episodes, I don’t gloss over the ‘hard bits’ but reread just to make sure I’ve got it. When i pick up this book to read, I sometimes check back – revise what I read last time, just to make sure I have continuity.
So what is this excellent book that I’ve persuaded my book group to read? written by Charles Boundy, Ice to Athelstan – The Emergence of England: A 10,000 year journey from the Last Ice Age to England’s first Crowned King:
With such concentration on the Tudors onwards, the English risk losing sight of their nation’s roots. Ice to Athelstan fills that gap by presenting the story of the country’s origins in a succinct and accessible way. In twelve short chapters the book covers some 10,000 years from the time of the last Ice Age, when Britain was a frozen desert, until the short reign of the first king of England. It tells the story of who came, when, from where, why, and what effect they had, as the country was populated, taken over, abandoned, contested and assaulted before the House of Wessex prevailed. In the process it examines the emergent England’s links with Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Scandinavia as England’s neighbours underwent their own national evolution. In bringing together a summary of how England emerged, Ice to Athelstan delves deeper into many of the underlying issues, such as the significance of Iron Age monuments, the extent to which people changed or were replaced, the growth of early tribes and kingdoms, and the origins and actions of the successive waves of incomers who went to make up the country’s 10th century population.
I’ve noticed that Mr Boundy has written another book which I guess might be called a sequel: “Conquest to Charter, subtitled – The Resilience of England: How the Danish and Norman Conquests ultimately led to Magna Carta and a powerful new England“. It’s due to be published in July this year, but with no date noted for an e-read version, but it is definitely on my list! So who is Mr Boundy? This is what Google Books says:
After a busy professional career, latterly including media articles, six years as Legal Director for a major publishing group, and taking an MPhil in leadership studies, Charles Boundy here brings his legal experience to bear on a lifetime love of history with a challenging but entertaining investigation into English origins. Living on the Oxfordshire borders, he is also involved in local environmental work and exploring the glorious Chilterns.
Lois Elsden 