Dunstan by Conn Iggulden

Dunstan. Conn Iggulden. Michael Joseph. June 2017. 544 pp. pb. ISBN#: 9780718181451.

Dunstan, a fatherless child, is raised by monks on Glastonbury Tor.  Intrigued by the mechanics of building towers, cathedrals and palaces, he quickly decides that knowing how to accomplish great deeds and pleasing those in power are just as important as one’s faith in God and devotional practices.  So, he quickly rises in the Church and becomes the acquaintance and friend of many Kings and Princes.

It is the year 937 and the Wessex King Aethelstan, grandson of King Alfred the Great, is trying to unite England into one kingdom.  However, there are Danes and Vikings who periodically attack England and the King spends more time away in these momentous battles than at his court.  Dunstan is no saint but realizes to attain his dream he must find favor with the King.  Highly perceptive, King Aethelstan does not totally trust Dunstan, but his son who will be King after him does trust Dunstan.  Indeed, Dunstan will become the friend of Kings who will support Dunstan’s dream of building the greatest Abbey in England.

Glastonbury Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral will indeed be built from Dunstan’s direction, but what Dunstan must do to accomplish these formidable feats is less divine and more in line with temporal machinations.  For Dunstan will murder, torture, lie, cheat, steal, betray and manipulate his way to glory!  The fascinating part of this life story is that he truly believes God will not hold these deeds against them since his goal of bringing glory to God is higher than anything else that occurs. At the same time, he also tries to bring his Order of Benedictines more in line with the plan of the founder of this well-known Order of priests and brothers.

Conn Iggulden is a Master Storyteller who knows how to wrap the reader in his plot, characters and multilayered conflicts and mesmerize him and her.  One is always sorry when a Conn Iggulden novel ends, and Dunstan is no different than the other historical novels Conn Iggulden has crafted.  This is a highly readable, magnificent work of historical fiction and is highly recommended for those who love a great story that is accurately and skillfully told!  Wonder-full!

War of the Roses: Bloodline by Conn Iggulden

Wars of the Roses: Bloodline.  Conn Iggulden. Penguin Group (USA). July 2016. 432 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9780399165382.

In 1461 three men’s heads are mounted on Micklegate Bar’s entry to York Castle: Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury; Richard, Duke of York; and Edmund, the son of Richard, Duke of York.  Queen Margaret of Anjou and her husband, the weak and mentally challenged King Henry VI, have no idea what these murders have elicited from within the hearts and minds of the York clan. 

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and his brothers mourn the loss of their father by vowing unceasing vengeance on the Lancaster enemy.  Edward of March, son of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, declares himself King and uses his grief to forge a fierce, dauntingly powerful presence in battle and an equal vow to wipe out the Lancaster forces.

This third novel in this memorable series is chiefly characterized by two major battles and strategies of the York and Lancaster contenders to grasp and hold the Crown of England. While characterization is stereotypical, the plots of both sides is superbly presented and engaging (even if the reader is familiar with the course of English history in this time period).

At the first battle of St. Albans, one can hardly believe that a change in strategy completely changes the tide of victory, a choice brought about by brutal winter weather.  The second battle at Townton is as vividly depicted with its own breathtaking surprises.  The realism of these battles is precisely conveyed by Iggulden in a way that makes the reader practically hold one’s breath from the tension and suspense, from the exhaustion and ferocious killing cycles that seem to go on and on endlessly until victory is won by Edward’s Yorkist troops.

In between these battles, one gradually gets entranced by Warwick’s growing jealousy and anger as Edward credits Warwick as “Kingmaker” but not as the power behind the throne.  Edward takes a wife, Elizabeth Woodville, whose family become contenders who would rid the country of Warwick and his family, an especially evil campaign for power. 

Conn Iggulden has again created a spellbinding, intriguing novel about these two rival families who changed the course of English history!  Stunning historical fiction by a seasoned, skilled writer that is highly recommended!

Wars of the Roses: Stormbird by Conn Iggulden

Wars of the Roses: Stormbird.  Conn Iggulden. Penguin Group (USA). July 2014. 496 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780399165368.

All agree – King Henry VI is not the man his acclaimed father was – the great Kings Henry V, victor at Agincourt!  He’s obsessed with prayer, believing his prayer can make the difference between war and peace between England and France in the late 1300s.  Two Court officials negotiate a truce promising the return of French territory to England in Maine and Anjou with the marriage of Margaret of Anjou.   The negotiations fare well but at first Margaret is married with William Duke of Suffolk standing in for the King on the wonderful wedding day! But promises are often full of unexpected debacles and the acts that follow begin a bloody war impossible to squash.  For the French move to recover their territories but do so with despicable destruction, rape and theft and the English landowners who have endured blood, sweat and tears to make a profit from these lands as farmers are not willing to sit back and be dispossessed without a fight!

Conn Iggulden possesses a tremendous talent in depicting multiple points of view.  Royalty to him is weak and spineless while Henry’s officials are a confused lot vying for profit while trying to save their own necks from the disaster their plotting has created!  At the same time, the reader experiences mixed thoughts and feelings as the rights of the English landowners seem viable and yet their own violent response goes beyond their justified refusal to surrender, a response that may eventually turn their own native countrymen against them when they travel to London, England.  How far may righteous principles go in action to earn back ownership of their land in France?  Iggulden also brings out the fact that no act of rebellion ever goes unpunished; it’s a steep, devastating price one eventually must pay when the line between patriotism and treachery disappears!

Margaret of Anjou turns out to be more than a pretty French face and is quick to protect the interests of her new husband, a determination that infuriate those who have controlled the wealth and power in England since the death of Henry V. 

Those like Derry, Suffolk, York, the Warwicks, etc. all vie for power but one wrong move winds up with the fall of many, since scapegoats must pay for the mistakes that yielded such inconceivable turmoil and death.  The people’s fury must be assuaged regardless of actual innocence of the perpetrators whose intention was peace and reconciliation. The ensuing blood shed actually reveals a cycle repeated over and over in so-called civilized England and France.

Conn Iggulden again has created a fascinating first novel in a series in which he illuminates an historical period rife with hard-fought peace and war!  Stunning debut of this latest series by this most notable author!! Highly recommended historical fiction!