The House of Wolf (Hardback) - Sir Tony Robinson
Our very own Sir Tony Robinson - actor, presenter, historical expert and star of Time Team and Blackadder - makes his adult fiction debut with this earthy, entertaining and gloriously witty recreation of the Anglo-Saxons, Alfred the Great, and the making of England.
Rome.
Father Asser is waiting to die. His idealism has landed him in a papal prison on false charges of heresy, but then salvation arrives in an unexpected form. Cardinal Balotelli also dreams of a better Europe, free from the ravages of the Norlanders. He has an important job for Asser, one that will take him home to Wessex.
Wessex.
King Aethelwolf's power is fading, but none of his feckless children are fit to rule. His eldest sons would rather fight each other than the blood-thirsty Norlander invaders. His daughter, Swift, is clever and cunning, but sometimes blinded by her ambition. Finally there's Alfred, his once-promising younger son, whom nobody has seen in years.
Then Wolf meets a young priest with a proposition from Rome that could change everything.
Lindisfarne.
Rhiannon is a slave who wants to see her Saxon captors punished for their crimes. So when she meets Guthrum, a Norlander hell-bent on wiping Wessex from the map, she sets out on a journey of destruction.
So begins an epic struggle between greed and idealism, ambition and betrayal, freedom and tyranny. Because change always meets with resistance and, on the path to power, nobody can be trusted.
Reviews
- The House of Wolf sweeps you up into its wonderful Anglo Saxon world and never lets you go. Sir Tony's debut novel is entirely brilliant, a story and a world, vividly evoked with characters who hold tight to your heart. - Kate Williams, historian
- A compelling historical epic, rich in character and detail. Every bit as wise, witty and hugely entertaining as you would expect from one of our greatest storytellers. I can't wait for the next in the series - Mark Billingham, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Tom Thorne series
- Pacy and vivid, bloody and funny, The House of Wolf brings to life a medieval world on the brink of sweeping change. This is a page-turner full of unforgettable characters - underpinned by historical intelligence, wit and heart. - Dan Jones, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Essex Dogs
- Driven by a riveting cast of characters, Robinson takes us on a thrilling tale of ambition, betrayal and power, bringing the almighty thrills and terrors of the Anglo-Saxon world vividly to life - Alice Loxton, historian and Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen
- A riveting epic that brings the Anglo-Saxon world riotously to life. Fizzes with energy, humour and imagination. - S. J. Parris, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Giordano Bruno series
- The Anglo-Saxons have never seemed so alive! Immersive, rich in detail and epic in scale - not to mention very funny. A great read! - Harriet Tyce, bestselling author of Blood Orange
- Tony Robinson delights in conveying all of the wonder and horror of early medieval Europe in flux. Epic and earthy, The House of Wolf effortlessly brings together serious religious and political debate with vivid historical detail, and left me desperate for more! - Danielle Giles, author of Mere
- This is such a clever - and at times very funny - reimagining of the making of England. I loved it as much for its authentic picture of early medieval life as for its gripping action. This is a rich world, lovingly created. - Andrew Ziminski, author of Church Going and The Stonemason
- Immensely entertaining - THE TIMES
- A bawdy, bloody retelling of Anglo-Saxon power struggles. Ambitious and irreverent. - THE i PAPER
- [A] hugely enjoyable series opener set among the family of King Alfred. With plenty of wit and entertainment amid the epic history, it's best thought of as George RR Martin meets Terry Pratchett - OBSERVER
Additional Details:
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9781408731536
- Number of pages: 560
- Dimensions: 236 x 160 x 48 mm
- Weight: 800 g
- Language: English
- Reading age: 18 years and up
