In 10th century England, one of the most extraordinary men that long left a legacy on the nation that has become England in modern times is Dunstan of Glastonbury, a man who became an abbott and made Christianity (Catholicism) what it is today. Yet THE ABBOT'S TALE by Conn Iggulden is not a religious text or a treatise, but instead is historical fiction that fully fleshes out Dunstan of Glastonbury as a man and a child to both love and revile yet continue to see him with all too human eyes.
At the start of the tale, in 934 C.E., Dunstan is a curious and rebellious young chap who consistently mistreats his younger brother Wulfric as well as someone who is curious about the masonry, smithery and eventually metalworks to expand his knowledge. Also at the start, Catholicism is different than today, namely that priests and nuns were allowed to be married and to serve Jesus.
Throughout the tale, up to 978 C.E., Dunstan grows, matures but at the same time the qualities he showed as a rebellious and angry youngster never fully leave him and continue to play into his future acts. He also grows in becoming devoted to the abbey he has to lead, eventually transforming it into an abbey that will long be known past his lifetime.
I admit to having a little familiarity with Dunstan of Glastonbury, namely that Annie Whitehead's ALVAR THE KINGMAKER, begins with Dunstan seeing a recently coronated king in a very compromising situation. THE ABBOT'S TALE by Conn Iggulden, however, expands more on Dunstan, presenting to the reader long curious about England prior to the 11th century the kings and the men that shaped the nation into what it became for more than a thousand years.
What I have to applaud Conn Iggulden on is the realism of England of the 10th century as well as a painting of Dunstan of Glastonbury of a man far ahead of his times.
For readers that are seeking a novel that speaks of something other than the popular WW2 or for those longing to see where the idea of England originated from, the reader can't go wrong with choosing THE ABBOT'S TALE by Conn Iggulden to read and too long get lost.
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 . . .
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