He is best known as a writer of epic historical novels which span long periods of history but are set in particular places. His debut novel Sarum set the pattern for his work with a ten-thousand-year storyline. Edward Rutherfurd belongs to the James Michener school: he writes big, sprawling history-by- the-pound.
His novel, London, stretches two millennia all the way from Roman times to the present. The author places his vignettes at the most dramatic moments of that city's history, leaping from Caesar's invasion to the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire to of course the Blitz, with many stops in between.
London is a historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd published in , which charts the history of London from 54 B. Segovax becomes the ancestor of the Ducket and Dogget families, prominent fictional families woven into the novel. Great book, London pdf is enough to raise the goose bumps alone. Add a review Your Rating: Your Comment:. The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd.
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd. The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd. Paris by Edward Rutherfurd. Dublin by Edward Rutherfurd.
New York by Edward Rutherfurd. I am still planning on trying Rutherfurd's novels "New York" and "Russka", to see whether "Paris" was the shining light in a group of books not for me, or whether "London" was the lone anomaly I couldn't get through.
Maybe if I like both of them, I'll go back and try "London" again one day. In the meantime, I'll try not to feel too guilty about giving up I really hate to do that. Life is too short and filled with too many great books to waste time with ones you aren't loving! View 2 comments. I read this as a crash course in London history before studying abroad in the old English city. While I do feel much more familiar with the city's and England's basic history, the book didn't have as much merit as literature.
There are a few things I want to specifically address: -Character development is lacking, which makes sense because the book takes place over thousands of years. I want to read all thousand-plus pages of Gone with the Wind, for example, because of its strong writing and characters. Not so for this book. It took some time to get through, partly because it began to feel like a chore rather than a pastime. Also, London has a lot of history and Rutherfurd chose to include most of London's big moments in history.
There's a difference between writing in a historically accurate manner women in the sixteenth century would be concerned with finding husbands because of the time period, regardless of author and in a male-dominant way.
I'm not familiar enough with the role of women in British history to say whether Rutherfurd's portrayal of women was historically accurate I think it was , but his descriptions of the female characters that almost always were limited to just physical characteristics especially boobs and his tone when narrating sections about female characters both felt at least subtly sexist to me. Which, as you can tell from the length of this paragraph was annoying at best.
All in all, it's not a pleasure read, but it is good if you have a specific interest in London and want to commit a good chunk of time to learning about the history of the city without picking up a textbook. Dec 25, Mary JL rated it liked it Recommends it for: any fan of historical fiction or hisotry. Shelves: fiction-classics. This is a long book--I will be a few days on this one. Looks good so far. Now on page of London.
Still good. Will review when finished. The historical details of this book are excellent. I know a bit out history and there were no obvious errors or jarring anachronisms. The chapters each covered a different era--making it more like a chain of short stories than a novel.
The one criticism I have--which is why it gets a 3 and not 4 stars is: it is uneven. It starts out very well and reads fast. Then for about three chapers it drags and I had to force myself to continue.
Thien, it picked up for several chapers, then 2 dragging ones again, then the book ended well. When characters I liked were "on stage" as it were, I read much faster. That said, I do not want to turn people away from reading this wook.
It is a very, good solid three stars--just can't give it four. But the patient readerespecially if you like history --will find much to enjoy here. If you are a faster reader than I--I am quite slow--you might finish it in less time.
Also, for anyone with an interest in English history. A Book for All Seasons: published during a milestone year May 09, Lady Mayfair rated it really liked it Shelves: historical-fiction , reflections , fiction , longreads. When speaking of long tomes-historical fiction Edward Rutherfurd is King. He has his own recipe, no different than Ken Follet, Philippa Gregory or Hilary Martel, but he is in a league of his own, an unsurpassed master storyteller, unpretentious and erudite.
A set of short stories, set in chronological order, beginning with a River Thames and ending with London, there is much complaint over a lack of character development, but there is no need for more of it here as this is not historical fi When speaking of long tomes-historical fiction Edward Rutherfurd is King.
A set of short stories, set in chronological order, beginning with a River Thames and ending with London, there is much complaint over a lack of character development, but there is no need for more of it here as this is not historical fiction about people or events per se, here Rutherfurd provides a well researched biography of a city, the greatest city in the world, structured around the lives of members of a handful of families and their lineage across time.
Each generation of characters develops just enough for one to become invested and Rutherfurd provides just enough information to satisfy the reader's curiosity whilst painting a full, realistic, engaging picture of a moment in the life of London, the main Character.
With each chapter and generation passed, the Character of London develops, grows, matures, hurts and unfolds in front of one's eye, as old photographs that would speak their minds. Ergo, it could deserve 5 stars, however this reader has become a nitpicker that appreciates neither the cheap mention of Pepys or Pocahontas nor the much literal gold mystery ending. That being said, his Sarum is next. From my notes: 1. Mithras the bull-slayer.
The Persian god of heavenly light; the cosmic warrior for purity and honesty. Mithras fought for truth and justice in a universe where, in common with many Eastern religions, good and evil were equally matched and locked in an eternal war.
The blood of the legendary bull he killed had brought life and abundance to the earth. The birthday of this Eastern god was celebrated on 25 December. Blodmonath, the month of blood, the Saxons called November. Blodmonath, when the oxen were slain before the winter snows. The Bayeux Tapestry is the first known example of English state propaganda. Brothels are still often known by their Saxon name — the horhus. In 13th century, the bishops owned and regulated most brothels.
Lombard Street was named after many immigrants came from the Italian territory of Lombardy and set shop there. Foul-mouthed women were sometimes sentenced to wear the little iron cage that fitted over the head, with a cruel iron bit that went in the mouth to immobilise the tongue.
Encased in this, unpopular women would be paraded about, in the same way as other malefactors were put in the stocks. Their liking for such culinary delicacies as snails might seem strange, but other dishes they brought with them, such as oxtail soup, were soon popular with the English. Their skills in making furniture, perfumes, fans and the newly fashionable wigs were welcome. The law was mild concerning duels.
The courts were run by gentlemen who understood these matters. There was no question of murder, since, by definition, both parties were consenting to the business.
Rutherfurd's got a schtick of writing massive doorstoppers following one family over the course of millennia. There's intimate domestic dramas and high points in history all mixed together. A fine formula, but once is enough. I tried reading his Russka: The Novel of Russia soon after this and suffered burnout and boredom from the formulaic repeat. Haven't been tempted to pick up another of his books. May 25, Daniel Villines rated it it was ok.
With over eleven hundred pages, I was anticipating London to be both entertaining and educational. I was hoping for that magical merging of history and fiction, which gives life to history and historical significance to life.
Rutherfurd's book, however, misses this anticipation by a wide margin. London covers almost two thousand years of history and focuses on a few familial hereditary lines throughout that span of time. Each period of history that is selected by Rutherfurd is complemented by sto With over eleven hundred pages, I was anticipating London to be both entertaining and educational.
Each period of history that is selected by Rutherfurd is complemented by stories that focus on these families. But the stories are mostly rooted in domestic issues. Domestic problems such as infidelity, disobedient spouses, and marriage arrangements dominate every time period covered by Rutherfurd. The history is often provided in narrative form along side the domestic tales and, as a result, life and history move forward on parallel paths.
These two vital components seldom merged into that powerful combination known as great historical fiction. I'll also add that Rutherford stories tend to be prosaic. While he touches on the harsh conditions that humans have endured throughout history, his characters rarely express their suffering that accompanied these hardships.
While narratives and positive happenstances occupy spans of pages, descriptions of the tragic or horrific are limited to brief sentences. While this approach makes for a pleasant reading experience, it does not give justice to the realities of our existence.
Aug 16, Helio rated it it was ok. Then I realized I had read the whole book before - that is how unmemorable the stories and characters are. Jan 03, Anna rated it really liked it. I know that some people are deterred from reading 'big' books. It doesn't bother me. I see a thick tome as something of a challenge. Aug 09, M. Mason rated it liked it. Edward Rutherford writes mammoth books where the central character is a place and the people in them are incidental and used to drive the plot across a given time period usually several thousand years.
It is a formula that has worked well and gained critical and popular acclaim. I much prefer the former as it gives the novel more of an authentic feel. He also skips over too many important events in the first half. I know this is a novel about London but some events would have had an impact on the city.
Then it ignores the withdrawal of the legions and the Anglo-Saxon migrations and drops us into the 7th century where again not much is happening after Christianity is well established. We see nothing of the turmoil of the conversion period, the establishment of Lundenwic, or the effects of the Viking attacks. The book limps toward the Norman invasion which is the first good chapter. Into the second millennium and though the Henry II-Thomas Beckett event is dealt with well, the Black Death and its after effects on society is given little coverage a stark contrast to Sarum.
The second half is better with more integration. The most impressive chapter centres around the design and building of St. Then we feed through the world wars, including the blitz and to date of publication of the book with a short epilogue. I am assuming that the novel was finished and published before the two major events of that year: the election of Tony Blair and the death of Princess Diana. A shame almost that he did not hold off long enough to write a chapter on the millennium celebrations at The Dome to bring it full circle.
See more book reviews at my blog View all 6 comments. To kick things off, I've decided to pick up Rutherfurd's 'London', after having enjoyed two of his previous works.
Unfortunately, not so much here. Look, I love the way that Rutherford makes everything interconnected within families, and it's fascinating to watch the city change and develop. However, I didn't really connec 2. However, I didn't really connect or feel anything for the characters, and at various times throughout the chapters, I grew bored with whatever small plot line was being developed.
And when you're reading a novel this size, you need to be invested in some way in order to get some level of enjoyment out of it. It was okay, but not great - not for me, anyway. Still, it probably won't prevent me from checking out s0me of Rutherfurd's other work, and I just hope that I'm able to enjoy it better than my experience here. Jul 01, Patricia rated it it was amazing. Hot summer days between the move and the arrival of household goods - no better time to start a long epic by Rutherfurd.
I discovered this book was loaned to me about ten years ago by someone who doesn't want it back. I love these Michener-like authors who start with the creation of the earth and bring it through the centuries to modern day time, especially when, like Rutherfurd, they have families who intertwine through the epochs and are followed from earliest times to the present.
I also love Hot summer days between the move and the arrival of household goods - no better time to start a long epic by Rutherfurd. I also love his theme that there really are no pure-breeds, that we are all the result of rivers of population changes, influxes of immigrants, plagues, intermarriages, inter-breeding outside of marriage No!
LOL and random attractions. And how quickly we forget - two centuries later, people have legends about their beginnings that have little or no relationship to the truth!
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