The third book of Rutherford's that I've read of this type. Have previously read Sarum and Russka and this book pretty much followed those; nothing really surprising or extraordinary about this book.

London (novel) - Wikipedia

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”. 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. Releasing his first book ‘Sarum’ in 1987, after breaking away from his old career to start writing it in 1983, he was well on his way to becoming a fully fledged writer. Typically travelling throughout the ages, he will chart a families progress over an extended period of time, sometimes even thousands of years. For this he has gained a huge amount of acclaim, both nationally and internationally, as his books travel worldwide. Aristocrats and stonemasons, brewers and grocers, aldermen and prostitutes, forgers and bodysnatchers, every class and type is to be found in the great river of life that, like the River Thames itself, flows ceaselessly through LONDON. Spanning a duration of 1,800 years, this captures a large chunk of Russian history taking the reader on a journey, as they meet five families along the way. Focusing on the Romanovs, Karpenkos, Popov, Suvorins and Bobrovs, it tells their intertwined stories in great detail and depth, with great attention to accuracy too. Using real life stories and actual historical figures it conveys a sense of realism as it hones in on certain characters pinpointing who they are and where they fit in to the overall proceedings going on. Taking all this into account this really is Russka: the novel of Russia.Medals Awarded by the Society". SaintNicholasSociety.org . Retrieved 20 December 2015. He won for 2011. Finally, the female characters in this book were a) greatly outnumbered by men, b) less prominent than their male counterparts, and c) not treated with respect (in my opinion). 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. Hold-your-breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.” — The Times (London) Otro aspecto que me ha fastidiado es lo rápido que pasa por los últimos 100 años y sobre todo por la Primera y Segunda Guerra Mundial... Esto ya más bien es personal, porque son partes que me interesaban muchísimo y se me hicieron cortísimas. Ya de leer un libro tan extenso, no me habría importado que le hubiese dedicado unas 150 páginas más a esa parte, pero como digo, es cuestión de gustos e intereses...

Edward Rutherfurd - Book Series In Order Edward Rutherfurd - Book Series In Order

Lombard Street was named after many immigrants came from the Italian territory of Lombardy and set shop there. Tod, Mary (2013). "Edward Rutherfurd talks Paris, the creative process and the ebb and flow of historical fiction with Mary Tod". Historical Novel Society . Retrieved 5 March 2016. With awards for his work and contributions to the field in general, he has created a long and impressive legacy. Establishing himself as a key figure within the industry, this legacy will continue on for some time yet. This is something that appears not to be stopping any time soon in the near future, as his career grows from strength-to-strength.

Attending the University of Cambridge and later on the Stanford Business School, he had a strong and highly rewarding academic career, helped in part through being awarded a Sloan fellowship, which helped assist him during his time there. This then saw him move on to work within the field of political research after graduating, followed by book-selling and then publishing, as he developed his ideas on literature, all the while taking in inspiration for his future career to be in writing and fiction. Then in 1983 he finally gave it all in to return to his one true passion; writing, as he then went on to publish his first novel ‘Sarum’. His books have sold more than fifteen million copies and been translated into twenty languages. [4] Rutherfurd settled near Dublin, Ireland in the early 1990s, but currently divides his time between Europe and North America. [2] Originally published on the sixth of April in 2000, this was another standalone novel from the British author, once again spanning a vast number of years. With his now trademarked epic scope as before, it manages to recapture an accuracy and sense of character which shows a master clearly at the top of his game. Whilst the style and the tone are dramatic in nature, it’s not inaccessible either, as it allows the reader to jump in easily, getting lost in the narrative. In 2015 Edward Rutherfurd was the recipient of the City of Zaragoza's International Historical Novel Honor Award "for his body of work in the field of the historical novel." [7] Style [ edit ] Because the book spans so many centuries and stories, the individual characters and their plotlines might be simplistic, but I didn't mind that. The point of London is history, not character arcs.

London: The Novel - Edward Rutherfurd - Google Books

Edward has lived in London, New York, New Hampshire and Ireland. He currently divides his time between New England and Europe. He has two children.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?? New York: The Novel, won the Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction in 2009 [5] and was awarded the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence, by the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York, in 2011. [6] The historical details of this book are excellent. I know a bit out history and there were no obvious errors or jarring anachronisms. Sarum (also titled Sarum: The Novel of England) is a work of historical fiction by Edward Rutherfurd, first published in 1987. It is Rutherfurd's literary debut. It tells the story of England through the tales of several families in and around the English city of Salisbury, the writer's hometown, from prehistoric times to 1985. [1] Characters [ edit ]

Sarum (novel) - Wikipedia Sarum (novel) - Wikipedia

Pomalo bizarno, i razočaravajuće, delovala mi je činjenica da je isti autor na isti način napravio knjige o Londonu, Parizu i Njujorku. Nemoguće je biti toliko posvećen, temeljan i prisutan u istoriji tako različitih mesta, mislio sam i odabrao londonsku priču, pre svega zbog britanskog porekla autora računajući da je tu na svom terenu, i emotivno a ne samo književno ili naučno, i zbog činjenice da je London uvek bio san, i zbog toga što zapravo vrlo malo znam o njegovom višemilenijumskom životu. I prijalo je čitanje, više no što sam mislio, i dovoljno da se nastavi, sa druga dva dela. 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 ] Rutherfurd invents four to six fictional families and tells the stories of their descendants. Using this framework, he chronicles the history of a place, often from the beginning of civilisation to modern times – a kind of historical fiction inspired by the work of James Michener. [8] 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).'Londres" es un paseo de más de 2000 años de historia por una de las ciudades más carismáticas de Europa. Nos cuenta su historia a través de distintas generaciones de varias familias. A la vez que las vidas de estos personajes se van entrelazando, vamos aprendiendo acerca de los distintos sucesos históricos que han ido moldeando la ciudad hasta convertirla en lo que es hoy en día. Rutherfurd nos habla de arquitectura, economía, política, religión, y hasta de como la lengua fue evolucionando. Overall this book is a slog and though better than ‘The Forest’ it is not as good as ‘Sarum’ I will probably read another Rutherford but only if a suitable subject comes up. To date, his other written work is ‘Russka’, ‘New York’, ‘Dublin’ and ‘Ireland’. Rutherfurd attended the University of Cambridge and Stanford Business School, where he earned a Sloan fellowship. [1] [2] After graduating he worked in political research, bookselling and publishing. [2] He abandoned his career in the book trade in 1983 and returned to his childhood home to write Sarum, a historical novel with a ten-thousand year story, set in the area around the ancient monument of Stonehenge and Salisbury. [3]