The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066

Marc Morris does a great job writing this history in an interesting way. I never found myself getting bored with the narrative. In fact, I would like to learn more about this period of time. As simply a normal person who wants to learn history, I believe the author does a good job avoiding confusing details and sticking to the overview of the storyline. I read both the ebook & a physical book so I will remark on my experience with both. The maps at the beginning of each chapter are helpful in referencing that chapter's topic. At the same time, I found it confusing because certain places in the chapter are not on the map. More charts & maps would be helpful in following the narrative. I appreciate all of the pictures throughout the book, especially the glossy, color photos. They help bring the history to life where words alone may be difficult to create a mental picture. I believe books can never have enough photos, charts and maps, so I would encourage every author to include as many as possible. I got confused trying to follow all the kings and their descendants. The author has a flow chart to help with this, which was a necessary addition to the book. Even then, it was hard to follow. I didn't care to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out perfectly. Maybe others won't find it as difficult to follow as I did. I would have liked more background on the native people before the Romans invaded. Were they all Celtics? Also, I would have liked more information about where the Anglos & Saxons came from & how they mixed with the natives. There are certain words and details that the author should have better explained, but he seemed to gloss over them carelessly. I definitely recommend this book. It's very well written. Some things could have been better but they don't take away from the overall enjoyment of the book. If those details bother you then you'll have to do a little personal research to fill in the holes. Thankfully, we have technology to simplify that research. I plan to read more books from this author. 10/7/25

This author and book progresses through the Anglo - Saxon kingdoms and kings, the bloody revolts, tumult and falls of the many kings from the 5th century to the 11th century. The author does so with some clarity but without making overbroad claims for developments accomplishments and significant historical events as he progresses through history. He captures well the dichotomy and competition between Irish Catholicism and Catholicism imported from the continent, the split between monks and clerics--many of these conflicts carried into more modern history and helped shape the religious landscape of England to the present (spoiler: the Irish and the monks lost). I enjoyed this book, it filled a gap in my knowledge, as history, while giving some play to Alfred the Great, Harold Godwinson and Harold Hardrata, largely jumps from the fall of Rome to William the Conqueror. This history even informed my own genealogical studies (my family starts in Whitby). I was surprised that the epithet Aethelred the Unready may mean something different than we think. A kings list added as an appendix might have been useful, otherwise a good read.

Informative and easy to read book. Well written.

Well written. Informative.

I’m going to hazard an early review because this book sucked me in from the start. It is nicely conversational but factual, criticizing its ancient sources as it should. I bought this for $1.99, which I’m sure is worth the enjoyment I’m getting from it. I was just checking it out; I have other things I’m reading. But I might continue with this until it’s over…

Good book, a bit slow in spots and detailed. Not sure of the language, old English, of some of the odd looking names of many of the rulers A good deal of time of the Roman period was covered, the end of Harold and the entry of William the Conqueror was much less detailed 1066 had a busy September. Harold defeated one army and was defeated shortly thereafter ending the Anglo Saxon era Worth a read

This author deserves a glowing and carefully written review. I don’t have time for that, but I decided to post this anyway because there’s something important missing from these reviews. After reading this 2022 publication for the second time in April 2024, I was curious how many of Marc’s readers (or reviewers, anyway) had noticed what I consider to be his most outstanding achievement: balance, independent judgment and durability through a chaotic period in Anglo-Saxon historiography rocked by vicious political controversy and groundbreaking advancements in population genetics. I didn’t see this mentioned in the other reviews, so here I am. Since the June 2022 paperback edition was published, several landmark academic papers have demonstrated much greater mobility in ancient and Early Medieval populations than many recent historians and archaeologists had realized. In particular, Gretzinger et al (Sep 2022) and a recent preprint by McColl et al (March 2024) showed rather conclusively that large parts of England were virtually repopulated by migrants from around Germany after the fall of Roman Britain. These findings directly contradict the cultural diffusion models favored by the left. Frustratingly, they’ve also been weaponized by unsavory nationalist ideologies. So Marc was entering sensitive territory with this one. When Marc wrote this book, he would have known about some 2016-2017 papers showing a sizable genetic legacy from the Anglo-Saxons among the modern English, but this hadn’t really settled questions about the scale and process of migration, local assimilation and displacement, ethnogenesis and so on. He would have been faced with a complex, under-documented period that was getting punted around and politically weaponized by radicals on both ends of the spectrum. Somehow, he managed to draw conclusions that were demonstrably accurate in light of subsequent findings without endorsing extreme or simplistic views about ethnicity that preoccupied the opposing camps. He agrees with recent findings in his nuanced rejection of the “elite transfer” model, but he draws his conclusions primarily from archaeological and literary rather than genetic evidence, very much on his own terms, and he mentions the evolving genetic picture with cautious interest and abiding respect for interdisciplinary methods. Of course, Marc’s stance was entirely correct, but his writing also shows a studied awareness of these issues without really acknowledging, antagonizing or otherwise dignifying the political discourse, and he did it at no cost to his own sweeping and confident exposition. Wow. Just wow. Marc is smarter than he lets on. His literary talent alone is quietly brilliant, but he’s also a good historian. Thank you, Marc.

Not light reading! But the book met my expectations with its level of detail. Where details were missing (due to apparent lack of resource material) as to events, major players, etc., Morris made it clear that he was providing his own narrative interpretations and impressions, rather than any detail from original sources. My last name suggests a genetic connection with someone — named Wulfstan — from the period covered in the book, so naturally I was drawn to its narrative.