The year is 1016 and England burns while the Viking armies blockade the great city of London. King Ethelred lies dying and the England he knew dies with him; the warring kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex and Northymbria tremble on the brink of great change. One man lives to bear witness to the upheaval: Godwin, barely out of boyhood and destined to become one of his country's great warriors. When Ethelred's son Edmund takes the throne, determined to succeed where his father failed, he plucks Godwin from domestic peace to be right-hand man in his loyal shield wall. Godwin must traverse the meadows, wintry forests and fogbound marshes of Saxon England, raising armies of monks, ploughmen and shepherds against the Viking invader. With epic courage and ferocity, Godwin and Edmund repel the butchering Danes in three great battles. But an old enemy, the treacherous Earl Eadric, dogs Godwin's footsteps, and as the final battle approaches, around the valiant English the trap begins to close.
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About the Author:
Justin Hill has been the winner of the Betty Trask, Geoffrey Faber and Somerset Maugham awards, and his books have been translated into fifteen languages.
Review:
'Exciting, gripping and imaginative'
―The Times
Written in supple, intelligent prose . . . Shieldwall is a vivid historical novel . . . Entirely convincing―Sunday Times
Truly compelling―Sunday Times
Hill's sense of place, landscape and home is really good. His particular discovery is how he makes his characters' internal lives. I shall be waiting for the next novel in the trilogy―Observer
'Inspired . . . With wonderful, poetic passages, Hill reaches beyond the limits of the genre and ... harks back to the halls of our Saxon forebears in those dark days'―Guardian
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherLittle Brown and Company
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 1408702789
- ISBN 13 9781408702789
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages402
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Rating