London: a Novel: Edward Rutherfurd

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At the end of the Wars of the Roses, London had perhaps fifty thousand people; by Elizabeth’s last years, four times that number. Historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, and Pocahontas, make appearances alongside fictional characters and historical kings and queens of England. This landing place they now called Lundenwic: Lunden from the old Celtic and Roman name of the place, Londinos, and -wic, meaning in Anglo-Saxon “port” or, in this case, “trading post”.

Edward Rutherfurd - Wikipedia

I suggest reading this book for more of the historical facts than any sort of story-telling. As a history of London (and England) it's nice in that it's not too dry and involves a little bit of fictional aspects. However, the fact that the characters change every couple of chapters (as the narrative jumps forward in time) hurts the flow of the story and stops you from developing any sort of attachment to the characters. Really, who cares if a character gets what they want, achieves their dreams, are the good guy/bad guy, when you know that in the next chapter you'll jump ahead to their descendents where their circumstances might have completely changed?? Una novela maravillosa, que a lo largo de varios relatos situados en distintos periodos, cuenta la historia de Londres.With confidence and skill, Rutherfurd has separated those layers and produced a remarkable story of a great city. Once or twice the social, political and economic factors overshadow the fictional families, but that is almost inevitable when even the best fiction comes up against such an impressive spectrum of historical fact.". [2] Publication details [ edit ] I was reluctant to read Rutherfurd’s work when I learned the typical timespan involved in each novel. How to compress 1,000 years into the covers of a book and make it awesome reading is not a common skill. Rutherfurd has it in spades. Have read all his efforts. Bravo!! Reply

London by Edward Rutherfurd | Goodreads

En este caso (y que los ingleses no londinenses me perdonen), la historia de Londres se superpone a la Historia de la isla, y es una buena escusa para darle un buen repaso. También vamos asistiendo al desarrollo de la ciudad, con sus épocas de esplendor o decadencia, a su desarrollo urbanístico y haciendo especial hincapié en los hechos históricos más relevantes, que en ella acaecieron. El libro es ameno (no deja de ser un "tocho" de casi 1200 págs), los personajes son interesantes, así que, desde mi punto de vista merece la pena. 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 reader---especially if you like history --will find much to enjoy here. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth This was like a cross between a history textbook and One Hundred Years of Solitude. It's the history of London since before the Roman invasion till modern times told through life stories of generations upon generations of a few of the same families. So, 2000 Years of Solitude in London, if you will.

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. ‘London’ is the third such novel of his I have read; the other two are ‘Sarum’ and ‘The Forest’. This article about a historical novel of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Rutherfurd, having celebrated at some length the growth of an English cathedral town (Sarum, 1987) and the turbulent history of Russia (Russka, 1991), offers a massive survey in fictional form of London's long history. Like the work of his likely inspiration, James Michener, Rutherfurd's novels are distinguished by admirable research and a propulsive plot. This latest follows the growth of London from its origins as a Celtic encampment through its emergence as the Roman capital in Britain and on to its long climb to preeminence as England's (and, for a time, the world's) greatest city. Interwoven with the private (and rather melodramatic) adventures of a half-dozen families over a 2,000-year span are most of the events that shaped England (from the Norman invasion up to the Battle of Britain).'