Last English King, The

Description:
On the Sussex Downs in 1066, the psychotic William and his gang of European mercenaries began the process which fragmented a civilisation. Walt, the last of King Harold's bodyguard, the one who survived Hastings, wanders across Asia Minor in the company of Quint, an intellectual renegade monk. On the way he unfolds the events that led up to the battle which affected the destinies of every English man and woman. With rare skill, Rathbone vividly recreates a civilisation that stubbornly remains alive in the collective memory to this day, and so identifies the roots of the still-held belief that every English person is born free and should stay free. Tender romance, savage war, courtly intrigue and some wry humour combine to make THE LAST ENGLISH KING an exhilarating roller-coaster ride into our past.

Review:
'A rattling good story and with a plot which is gripping...superb, unforgettable' SPECTATOR 'Rathbone is a very clever writer.. scenes of such solidity no reader will easily forget them' TIMES 'A triumph... if there are echoes of I, CLAUDIUS that is a high compliment' INDEPENDENT 'A magnificent historical novel to stand alongside Rose Tremain's RESTORATION 'One of the very best story-tellers around' TELEGRAPH 'Embroidering fact with fiction, rather as the makers of the Bayeux tapestry did, Rathbone has Walt expand on the confessions of Edward the Confessor, on the megalomaniac notions of Canute's descendants, the ambitions of the Saxon thanes, and the savage empire building of William the Conqueror... powerful.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'King Harold's last surviving body-guard is the protagonists in this fascinating tale of life, war and politics in 11th century Britain. The seriousness with which Rathbone depicts his settings is humorously belied by the colloquial, often anachronistic dialogue, which features cunningly placed literary quotations from Shakespeare to Lewis Carroll.' GUARDIAN 'With remarkable imagination, cutting between the Norman side and the English, Rathbone plunges us into the gore of the battle, the heartache of hopes lost for ever, in a fiction that sings with conviction. The result is a superb story that breathes on its own, larger than text-book history, but with the savage bit that only a backbone of truth can give.' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'The parade of characters is anchored by an imaginative eye- and nose- for the realities of medieval life.' THE TIMES 'Well written and employing fact and fiction to weave an intriguing story, this is a must for the more sober end of the historical fantasy field.' IRELAND SUNDAY TRIBUNE 'Lyrical and ingenious, witty and historically sound, this is a peach of a period piece.' INDEPENDENT 'THE ENGLISH KING is an entertaining novel.' TLS 'A lively read.' IRISH TIMES

Author Biography:
Julian Rathbone was the author of many highly-acclaimed novels. Two of which (KING FISHER LIVES and JOSEPH) were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He died in February 2008.