The Abbot's Tale

Written by Conn Iggulden

Narrated by John Curless

From New York Times bestselling Conn Iggulden comes a new novel set in the red-blooded days of Anglo-Saxon England. This is the original game for the English throne. In the year 937, the new king of England, a grandson of Alfred the Great, readies himself to go to war in the north. His dream of a united kingdom of all England will stand or fall on one field-on the passage of a single day. At his side is the priest Dunstan of Glastonbury, full of ambition and wit (perhaps enough to damn his soul). His talents will take him from the villages of Wessex to the royal court, to the hills of Rome-from exile to exaltation. Through Dunstan's vision, by his guiding hand, England will either come together as one great country or fall back into anarchy and misrule . . . From one of our finest historical writers, The Abbot's Tale is an intimate portrait of a priest and performer, a visionary, a traitor and confessor to kings-the man who could change the fate of England.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501979491

Conn Iggulden

Born in London, Conn Iggulden read English at London University and worked as a teacher for seven years before becoming a full-time writer. Married with three children, he lives in Hertfordshire. Since publication of 'The Gates of Rome', Conn has written a further thirteen books including the wildly successful 'The Dangerous Book for Boys'.  

Reviews for The Abbot's Tale

[mjwebb-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Conn Iggulden is a literary giant. I absolutely adored his Trinity and Emperor series'. However, this book was a real disappointment. I found it hard work and not very interesting, I'm sorry to say. That's a real shock as he remains my favourite author. Just goes to prove that everyone can have an off day. Or maybe it was the subject matter.....?

[john257hopper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first novel I have read by this popular historical novelist, but I think it may well be the last. While superficially a page-turner (for the most part), this didn't for me carry the feel of 10th century England, a period I have read a fair amount about - it felt too modern. The author also plays rather fast and loose with some of the details of history. While some of this is to simplify complex details, e.g. people with very similar names, and is understandable up to a point, he has some real historical characters living far longer or far shorter than in reality. He also has King Edwy committing suicide, which I think is ridiculous - even if this wouldn't have been officially recorded, there would be later rumours and gossips about something so dramatic and shocking. There are also some anachronistic names, e.g. a royal champion called John Wyatt and a monk called Father Keats. Possibly worse for most readers is that Dunstan is really a pretty unpleasant character here, and I especially disliked the way he bullies and emotionally manipulates his younger brother Wulfric from their childhood throughout their lives. As one of the leading churchman of the early Medieval period, Dunstan exerted a huge influence on England at this period when it was first coalescing into one country, building Glastonbury Abbey and being architect of the coronation of King Edgar, creating rituals still used today (well, not since 1953 at the moment, of course). However, this novel probably does not do him justice and was disappointing.

[fothpaul · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I always sort of enjoy books like this, but in my opinion they are much of a muchness. This one in particular seemed to get a bit bogged down in weaving in the historical events surrounding the real life character of Dunstan. Although a good story was filled in between the gaps I just felt the chosen style was a bit bitty. I guess that is the nature of a book spanning the whole of one characters life. Having said all that it read easily and I found myself interested to see where it would go and how Dunstan would end up at the finale. I believe that the authors other books are not historical fiction, so I may look into these to see what they are about.