Product Description

In a novel of extraordinary richness, the whole sweep of British civilization unfolds through the story of one place, Salisbury, from beyond recorded time to the present day. The landscape - as old as time itself - shapes the destinies of the five families. The Wilsons and the Shockleys, locked in a cycle of revenge and rivalry for more than 400 years. The Masons, who pour their inspired love of stone into the creation of Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. The Porters, descended from a young Roman soldier in exile. And the aristocratic Norman Godefrois, who will fall to the very bottom of the social ladder before their fortunes revive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5898 in Books
• Published on: 1992-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1344 pages

Review
Mammoth, sweeping (7500 BC to World War II) story of the English city of Salisbury, its environs and its people, told through the experiences of five rival families. From the ice-age to the present day, Rutherford's scope is vast. Both historical novel and adventure epic, this is a work of universal appeal. (Kirkus UK)

A first novel and 10,000-year history of England from Ice Age to present, tracing five fictional families from caveman antecedents to their present incarnations, and set in Sarum (an old name for Salisbury). Hwll the caveman, in search of the better life, leaves his polar icecap with wife and family for warmer climes and ends up in Sarum, where he competes well and flourishes. His descendants become the Porters and Wilsons, while those of his bested rival, Tep, become the Forests. Another line, founded by Nooma the mason (architect of Stonehenge), becomes the Masons, who marry descendants of Aelfwald the Dane (Shockleys), who in turn marry into the final, Godfrey, family (descended from medieval knight Richard de Godefroi). Moving quickly along to King Arthur's court, to the plague years, to the machinations of the Tudors, to the exploration of the New World, to the Revolutionary, First and Second World Wars. . . A little bust carved by Hwll is found by Nooma; the sword used by a Celtic chieftain is inherited by a Roman governor; and implements such as these, rife with portent, hold this vast fabric together as we move on to a modern Shockley (an Aelfwald descendant), in love with a modern Godfrey (a Godefroi descandant), who is robbed by a youthfully prankish Tep-descendant named John Wilson while the city of Salisbury celebrates its glorious past. The writing has an elegant simplicity that moves this bulky narrative along without too much artifice: its pace is somewhat slowed by the constant switches in scene-and-century, but, all in all, a fulsome and entertaining saga. (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Publisher
The towering story of five families through 100 centuries of turmoil, tyranny, passion and prosperity.

About the Author
Edward Rutherfurd was born in Salisbury, England, and educated at Cambridge University and Stanford University in California. His first bestselling novel, Sarum, is based on the history of Salisbury and Stonehenge. Russka, his second novel, recounted the sweeping history of Russia. London tells the two-thousand-year story of the great city, bringing all of the richness of London's past unforgettably to life. His last novel, The Forest, was set in the New Forest. A former resident of London and New York City, Edward Rutherfurd has had a home in Dublin for more than ten years. He has two children.

Customer Reviews

Can't see why.......
... so many people really rate this book. A thousand odd pages of stories tenuously linked by family bloodlines through the years. Nice idea, some interesting history but the stories are really quite bland and weak; probably because it is difficult to write about a region and its surroundings which basically is not that interesting.I gave up on this and the book has found its way to the charity shop. A very over rated book.

Excellent read
I picked up this book without having heard anything about Edward Rutherfurd, and I've gotta say, this is probably the best random buy i have ever done. The book is a fantastic combination of history and gripping narrative. I would recommend it to anyone who finds history even mildly interesting (even for people with no enthusiasm for the subject the book is so well written that it should captivate most).

Missing what other people found
Nice idea for a book - spoilt by turgid writing, uninspired characters and feeble plot lines.

Oh well - a lot of other people seem to like it.