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

I've been studying the Anglo-Saxon period for nearly ten years and bought this as a general reference book.It's not the most exciting read, and I'm not sure why St Wilfrid and St Dunstan each get a dedicated chapter and Brunanburh barely gets a mention. The period from Alfred to Harold is generally the most written about and there are plenty of other books that cover it in more detail. I'm glad I bought it, but I was also relieved when I finished it!

Overall I enjoyed this book but finished feeling a bit like I'd just read a very long summary of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (which is the main source refered to).The book is a sweeping history of the Anglo-Saxon period with a focus mainly on a few important kings. This is largely because that's what most of the surviving sources are about, but I think the weakness of the book is that it doesn't get into the Anglo-Saxon mindset as much as it could have.I'd say this book is a good introduction, but as someone who studied the Anglo-Saxon world at university (many years ago though) as part of a literature degree, there is so much more that could bring this world to life.I've also been reading Eleanor Parker's "Winters in the World" and this has made a great companion read, bringing the daily experience of Anglo-Saxon England to life.Tom Holland's "Athelstan" is also worth reading and is very engaging. I wanted more of this kind of bringing the historical characters to life, rather than a purely historical overview.Even where it does refer to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, more quotes directly from it would have been a nice addition, to give a flavour of the often understated (often very humourously) way the writers refer to events (especially when kings lose battles).In summary, buy this as a good medium weight historical survey, a solid meat and veg option, but to add some special sauce, read some Eleanor Parker and Tom Holland and others focussed on more specialist areas (e.g. specific kings, language, religion, etc)

A whirlwind tour of the magic of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. Easy to read and never a chore.

Marc Morris' work is great and I'm sure this will be too. Sadly my copy arrived damaged, as a lot of amazon books seem to do. I would have liked an option to partial refund as opposed to replacing as I really want to start reading and don't want to have to arrange time to be waiting around for a delivery again

Being a factual book, it’s not necessarily a casual read, but it is a fascinating one.

Very educational. I got slightly becalmed while I read a book about the Vikings but in the end this was a great primer on the kings and their activities, especially Alfred and onwards. I guess there really isn’t any kind of evidence about non-royal Anglo-Saxons, except the odd bishop or monk, but it would be nice to know how they lived. I’m not sure I understand what happened in the eleventh century even after reading about it - lots of kings and their various wives and mothers did some things and then William the Conqueror turned up. Quite tempted to read Marc Morris’s book about the Norman Conquest now.

Popular history, and a decent introduction, but for me a rather old fashioned historical synopsis of secondary and tertiary sources. For a period with such a paucity of primary written sources, there’s considerably more to be gleaned elsewhere from histories grounded in the archaeology etc. However, if you’re new to the period, or an occasional reader of history, then this is a decent place to start - the writing is direct and engaging and the narrative hangs together and propels you forward. I have an appetite for dryer, more academic stuff, but for many people that sort of history would kill off their interest before they even got started on the period.

The book provides a good overview of the 'Dark Ages' in Britain. It reads well and just about provides a clear picture of the numerous tribal leaders and kings that fought for control of the land and financial resources that provided them with wealth and power. It relies on the very few 'original' written sources that exists and critically engages with these in a way that good historians should. However, I was hoping that more archeologiocal material could be brought into the story and, equally important, more description and analysis of the operation and experience of everyday life. This is a book of kings, queens and soldiers but not really of the life of common people or the legal, economic and cultural contexts in which they lived.