Rutherfurd – Historical Fiction At Its Best
January 21st 2007 19:45
Well, here we are with the first month of 2007 nearly over, and I am still deep into a house-brick of a book with the ending far from sight. I have started Edward Rutherfurd’s Sarum
I have already read The Forest and London (also door-stoppers), a few years ago and I was transported back to wonderful times-of-yore by following fictional family lines through a factual and accurate history of these places. He applies the same format to all his books and it’s a great way of reading history. He supplies all the historical sign-posts with the added bonus of contact with believable, common folk dealing with personal and human factors of the time.
Sarum tells the history of Salisbury, Rutherfurd’s birth place and of course the ancient home of Stonehenge. He begins well before the building of this stone wonder though, and walks us through his interpretation of what came before. It’s interesting, and totally enthralling the way in which he builds the history of a region that he believes … “has a longer visible history of building and occupation than any other place in England.”
Gives me goose-bumps!
I’ll be visiting the south of England later in the year, and I’m very excited about walking amongst such history, so this reading is essential to me. I’m no historian, but I do like to have some background knowledge of places I visit. Travel guides are great, but they lack that personal touch. Rutherford acknowledges an impressive list of experts with which he consults in gathering his research, but he does not pretend that his books are anything other than a work of fiction. He has been likened to a British James Michener and I would have to agree to a certain extent. I have been a reader of Michener over the years also, but I do not remember his books having the same drawing power. To me Rutherfurd’s books are like a verbal sketchbook of places out of time that become etched in your mind - much like a memory.
That, I know, sounds a little rhapsodical, if not just plain corny. Forgive me, I shall return to my more operant self once I finish this book!
Postscript : History lovers. If you haven’t read Rutherfurd, you now have enough reading for the year!
Images: randomhouse.com
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