Product Description

On the Sussex Downs in 1066, the psychotic William and his gang of European mercenaries began the process which fragmented a civilisation. Walt, the last of King Harold's bodyguard, the one who survived Hastings, wanders across Asia Minor in the company of Quint, an intellectual renegade monk. On the way he unfolds the events that led up to the battle which affected the destinies of every English man and woman. With rare skill, Rathbone vividly recreates a civilisation that stubbornly remains alive in the collective memory to this day, and so identifies the roots of the still-held belief that every English person is born free and should stay free. Tender romance, savage war, courtly intrigue and some wry humour combine to make THE LAST ENGLISH KING an exhilarating roller-coaster ride into our past.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70012 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
'A rattling good story and with a plot which is gripping...superb, unforgettable' SPECTATOR 'Rathbone is a very clever writer.. scenes of such solidity no reader will easily forget them' TIMES 'A triumph... if there are echoes of I, CLAUDIUS that is a high compliment' INDEPENDENT 'A magnificent historical novel to stand alongside Rose Tremain's RESTORATION 'One of the very best story-tellers around' TELEGRAPH 'Embroidering fact with fiction, rather as the makers of the Bayeux tapestry did, Rathbone has Walt expand on the confessions of Edward the Confessor, on the megalomaniac notions of Canute's descendants, the ambitions of the Saxon thanes, and the savage empire building of William the Conqueror... powerful.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'King Harold's last surviving body-guard is the protagonists in this fascinating tale of life, war and politics in 11th century Britain. The seriousness with which Rathbone depicts his settings is humorously belied by the colloquial, often anachronistic dialogue, which features cunningly placed literary quotations from Shakespeare to Lewis Carroll.' GUARDIAN 'With remarkable imagination, cutting between the Norman side and the English, Rathbone plunges us into the gore of the battle, the heartache of hopes lost for ever, in a fiction that sings with conviction. The result is a superb story that breathes on its own, larger than text-book history, but with the savage bit that only a backbone of truth can give.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'The parade of characters is anchored by an imaginative eye- and nose- for the realities of medieval life.' THE TIMES 'Well written and employing fact and fiction to weave an intriguing story, this is a must for the more sober end of the historical fantasy field.' IRELAND SUNDAY TRIBUNE 'Lyrical and ingenious, witty and historically sound, this is a peach of a period piece.' INDEPENDENT 'THE ENGLISH KING is an entertaining novel.' TLS 'A lively read.' IRISH TIMES

TIMES
'Rathbone is a very clever writer.. scenes of such solidity no reader will easily forget them'

INDEPENDENT
'A triumph... if there are echoes of I,Claudius that is a high compliment'

Customer Reviews

The best sort of historical writing - a treat
This is a super book, a must for those interested in Anglo-Saxon England and the events of 1066. The characterisation is first class, and never becomes overblown - both Walt and Quint are quite believable characters.

The characterisation of Harold is a most impressive achievment, and the reader who does not feel sympathetic towards him has a heart of stone. It also highlighted areas of Saxon history that I was unaware of, I had never heard, for example,of Edith Swan Neck - but she has perhaps the most beautiful name I have ever encountered.

Read this, you will not be disappointed.

enthralling & enjoyable historical romp
Whilst I appreciate that it's a cliche, this really is an unputdownable book. The author cleverly uses an actual historical happening, (the Battle of Hastings and events leading up to the Norman Conquest) to weave an engrossing work of fiction. I especially enjoyed the way one of the characters comes out with ideas way ahead of his time. Among other interesting facts we discover why England ended up with the patron saint of George, despite him having no obvious connection with this 'green & pleasant land'.
Several parts of the book are laugh out loud funny. The characters are exceptionally three dimensional so you feel as if you know them personally. Despite the comic nature of the book, one feels a certain amount of sadness as the historical events familiar to all English people of 1066, draw to their conclusion. It certainly helps you appreciate that English history took on a radically different texture after the conquest.
In all, an entertaining, slightly educational book that led me to read several other of the authors novels.

Good, but mildly irritating
I have to agree with most of my fellow reviewers here - ripping yarn, educational, didactic (sp?) and very enjoyable. However, the deliberate anachronisms are irritating, sometimes in the extreem. They are largely unnecessary, and remind me of schoolboy jokes - particularly the idea of an 11th century singer going on about things 'blowin in the wind'.

I also felt the sex scenes (straight, gay or incestuous) were excruciatingly bad. Almost as bad as the one in Birdsong, which should win prizes for its naffness