The Last English King

Rating:
Summary: The Last English King: Bayeux re-woven in Words
Review: Author Julian Rathbone immediately introduces Walt, a likable character who will not only serve as guide through his 11th Century world but also acts as a participant in one of its most significant events - the Battle of Hastings. While this reader often finds books that ignore linear chronology in telling their story annoying, here the technique works quite well. We meet Walt, once guardsman to the late King Harold II shortly after the decisive battle. Injured, defeated, guiltridden, he trudges across Europe in search of either oblivion or expiation. The angst Walt carries around makes him accessible to a modern reader, but he is never made to seem either offensively anachronistic or unduly gloomy.

In brief, but compelling narrative the author recreates the sensation of traveling through the countryside in what was still, effectively, the Dark Ages. When he reaches the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire and then Constantinople itself, Rathbone cleverly sums up the wonders of the city through Walt's literally stunned reaction to a religious service he witnesses in the Hagia Sofia.

During the course of his journey, Walt encounters Quint, a quirky, nomadic character with an inquisitive nature. As he and Walt take to the road together, Quint begins to question his companion about his former life. It is in these discussions that the author sets up the social milieu in which the battle will ultimately take place. The two travelers are then, in effect, left "on the road" and Rathbone takes up the tale from the early years of Edward the Confessor's reign, focusing on his interactions with the powerful Godwin family as well as the King's relationships with his mother and his lover.

This is as far as I've gotten, and while it may seem strange to write a review before actually finishing the book, I feel that it has been such a fascinating read up to this point that I can't imagine being disappointed by what will follow. The non-linear chronology allows Rathbone to simultaneously spin multiple strands of the story thus keeping interest high on many levels: the battle itself, the perils of 10th Century travel, the tensions between Norman and English, King Edward and the Godwins, Walt and Quint, Walt and Harold Godwin. The narrative is so rich, I could continue on in this strain. Anyone appreciating historical fiction that shows a strong respect for the facts on which it was based will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Worth checking out
Review: I got this as a loaner from a friend and can say that this one is worth buying. The story opens with Walt, a survivor of the Battle of Hastings returning home to his native England. It may confuse readers at first but this is actually the end of what happens at the story. One wonders why the author may do this but at the end of the book you understand. It then jumps back in time right after the battle, Walt meets an ex-monk named Quint and from there the story becomes two in one. The adventures of Walt and Quint journeying to the holy land and then Walt telling of his times as a bodyguard to Harold Godwineson, the defeated king of England on the Hastings battlefield.

Rathbone is good at making each character disinctive. Showing different points of view very effectively. But there is very little compassion to be felt for them and I found myself to be ultimately indifferent save for Harold and that was toward the very end. He does, however, manage to make William the Conqueror a comics relief, which is a feat. Some may feel a bit of trepidation after what I just said, but he balances it very well by treating the character with respect and it's a highpoint in the book. And the way he presents Edward the Confessor is, to play on the pun, divine.

Those who are fans of this period of history (such as myself) will find his conclusions very entertianing and interesting. Where he excels again is his narrative when presenting the battles both at Hastings and Stanford Bridge. Where the book drags however is the adventures of Walt and Quint in the holy land. After they leave Turkey, it meanders. They pick up various characters along the way and the author is blatant about embodying his moderatly interesting but ultimatley unnecessary philosiphy into them.

Despite the critisms, this is a good book and great historical fiction. Just be prepared that a third of the book takes place after the Conquest and out of England. Those who are fans of Mary Renault will not be dissapointed. I'm looking forward to reading more of Julian Rathbone.

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Summary: History Is Worth Reading!
Review: One critic has called "The Last English King" a work that has embroidered fact with fiction, much as the weavers of the Bayeaux Tapistry did. That may be a comment made of whole cloth--or even pulling the wool over our heads--but nonetheless the yarn that Julian Rathbone has spun is a fascinating tale. The author pulls few punches as he needles his way through a carpet of historical myths, tales, and fact in portraying King Harold, unlucky enough to be the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England.

The year 1066 was the last time that England was invaded by land by foreign troops and but for a few quirks, William the 'Illegitimate' (B&N won't accept the other word!) out of Normandy (responding to the promise that King Edward the Confessor had made to him a few years earlier) invades to take "his" crown. The Battle of Hasting proves to be William's "day" and a new chapter of British history is born. In "The Last English King," set some three years after the invasion, we find Walt, one of King Harold's personal guards, wandering around Europe, broken, guilt-filled, despondent. He meets up with Quint, an ex-man of the cloth, and they soon decide to journey to the Holy Land, for a number of reasons, catharsis being the foremost (the guilt seems to hang around forever!).

Walt, having been the most faithful of faithful of servants to his king, was able to see first hand the plots, the intrigues, the betrayals of the two kings, as they jockeyed for the final thrust for the throne. (Harold had been quickly crowned following the Confessor's death before William could arrive from Normandy.) Clearly, Rathbone favors Harold, whom he depicts as being fair-minded, just, admirable. In turn, it's William who's the heavy, whom he labels a psychopath, among other things. Rathbone's account of the Norman invasion very cleary combines fact with fiction--but understanding this--after all, it's a novel--makes the story flow more smoothly, become more palatable. (Historians certainly will disagree on some of his assumptions and "revelations"!) That said, however, Rathbone's story is one of intrigue, of despair, of hope, of expiation. It's a book that's filled with "historical fare"--and one that should keep you attentive throughout. ([e-mail])

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Summary: Rambling
Review: The book rambles. The historical bits are fascinating but the fictional bits get in the way. I ended up skipping here and there to read the interesting bits.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I could rate it higher......
Review: The Last English King has the primary ingredients for an outstanding historical novel: Harold Godwinson, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror and the epic events which culminated in the Battle of Hastings. This is the Norman Conquest, 11th century England, political power-play and court intrigue at it's best. Yet, somehow, Julian Rathbone manages to take these ingredients and present something of a flop.

He selects Walt, a Godwinson housecarl (bodyguard), as his protagonist who fails to die with his king at Hastings and, guilt-ridden, wanders the breadth of Europe seeking to find himself. Along the way, he meets a defrocked monk who communicates in anachronistic psycho-jargon, an illusionist whose 11th-century repertoire would put David Copperfield to shame, and a wealthy, bewigged gem dealer whose intense interest in these transients is never fully explained. This wandering troupe is the audience to which Walt tells his story. Indeed, disconcertingly, an audience is all they ever become.

Rathbone chooses to employ a strictly modern vernacular which takes something away from the period setting. But, it is in Walt's recounting of events where this novel begins to find some merit. As with most historical novels, the reader can extract swaths of information about the life and times in which it is set. The Norman Conquest is a compelling story and even Rathbone's somewhat nonsensical premise cannot destroy it.

Still, The Last English King manages to conclude itself with a final nod toward mediocrity. Walt's tale finished, he abruptly bids adieu to his traveling companions in Asia Minor and hops aboard an adjacent ship loading for England. If readers haven't spotted the artifice of this traveling band of "ears" and the utter superfluousness of their trek, they will now and they will likely be disappointed.

I'd love to rate The Last English King higher because it's easy to see what it could have been. As it is, it is largely forgettable and, given the subject matter, this is a shame. 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and engaging
Review: The Last English King is, of course, a slight historical inaccuracy (Harold being half Scandinavian), but slight inaccuracies in the name of a good yarn are rife and to be tolerated if one is to enjoy this book...which I am doing. Yes, Im not even finished "reading" it (via the excellent talking book version), but can offer some insights. Having read many varying historical analyses, I am always eager to see how an author of fiction brings the tale to life , plugs the holes in fact and disentangles the embellishments and propoganda of history without creating too many of their own. Harold Godwineson, portrayed as a fair and worthy king (and why not, if we are to view the pre-conquest time as a golden age), has been dead for some years as his former housecarl (bodyguard) and friend Walt Edwinson wanders around Europe torturing his soul with guilt, as he tries to live with his failure at surviving the battle on the hill "near the hoar apple tree" near Hastings. As he unloads his tale to Quint, a slightly fallen former Saxon monk, he also schools us on the history and the intricate intrigues leading up to October 14, 1066. The personal portrayal of history brings it to life in a believable fashion, though some of the tales are a bit tall. The role of Talliefer, the magician/musician is a little too Merlinesque for me. The historical existence of this character is too doubtful to give him a role of such magnitude. Also, a royal housecarl (particularly an inner circle one such as Walt) would have to lose their head before leaving a field in battle without their king...be he dead or alive. The back and forth narrative would work well in a visual medium, but could prove difficult for a reader without a knowledge of the known history. For ease of understanding and plot development, I preferred Helen Hollicks recent "Harold the King", which seemed more plausible historically, if a little too virtuous in its portrayal of Harold (he seemed...such a great guy)and light on in the final battle scenes. For dark twists, Rathbones book has more visceral reality, but perhaps too many of them to gel (such as Edward the confessors illicit relationship with Tostig, and abortive pagan nuptials with Edith). And as a fan of Bernard Cornwells Arthurian "Warlord Chronicles" , I also found the comparison between Walt and Derfel Cadarn just a little too similar (both having been close friends of a King, having lost their hand, and telling their tale in retrospect) .