Glastonbury: The Novel of Christian England

I could not put this book down. I was sorry when the plane landed and I had to pack it up! You will cry over the chapter about King Arthur...you will be right there. No other book makes British history become more alive.

Through the ups and downs, the author takes all the legends and tries to put historical fact behind them, filling in with realistic fiction where needed. There aren't any tales of grand shining armor here, it's probably as close to the truth as you'll come in this life to knowing the story of England from a Christian perspective.

When we read this book in a book discussion group, I identified 3 areas that could be found in the life of each of the characters: faith, trust, and risk.From Joseph of Arimathea to Giles Lacey in Tudor England, each character moved through these three areas. Some of them were protected because of their faith, while others were killed for it. But in each case their faith, trust, and risk was rewarded. There were dark times, but each time period saw the light of faith rekindled by their actions. It also shows what can happen when faith is not followed by trust, and how God can bring repentance when the character seems oblivious to God.The author develops, with ease and plausibility, each character in his or time, and the intrigued reader follows where the author leads. It is a long book, but it could be divided into 2 or more sessions.Pluses are the maps (there could be 2 separate maps, one with the ancient placenames, and one with the modern equivalents), the glossary, and the source/reference list.We need more books like this: books which present history with optimism and encouragement.

This book was wonderful. I am a slow reader and I just could not put this book down! Mrs. Crow does a wonderful job of telling a story and teaching you history at the same time. She weaves in so many things that would have been a part of everyday struggle that we would not think of in our modern day lives. Mrs.Crow also does a great job of encouraging your Faith by the lives of these characters. Many times when you read History you don't realize the other significant events that are happening somewhere else...the author does a careful job of informing you of these events and how they affected the Political lives of the Aristocracy and commoners alike. I truely enjoyed this book because I have been to Glastonbury and been in the Tor and have walked through the Abbey ruin. Even if you are not a Christian you will gain alot of knowledge about how England was shaped thoughout history.

As a native of Britain, I grew up learning many of the ancient tales of our island nation in a somewhat sporadic form. What Donna Fletcher Crow has done is to unify all of the old legends (George and the dragon, King Alfred of Wessex, Arthur and the knights of the round table, Avalon, Camelot, St. Patrick and many more) into a chronological narrative of the introduction of the Christian faith to England. Her literary style is beautiful (well crafted) and the language changes with each suceeding era - the Celtic gives way to Roman which in turn becomes Saxon, Norman and ultimately Anglo-Saxon. The reader has a real sense of history as he moves from section to section through 1500 years of history. Personally, my heart ached as I read of the death of King Arthur, but there was always a thread of hope left even in the midst of the darkest of days because the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ had not been extinguished. All in all a very prophetic message for Britain today in these days of spiritual darkness. I hated the book to come to an end! I hope it won't be long before it's back in print, but if you have to settle for a used copy then do so! As a follow-up I would recommend her sequel "The Fields of Bannockburn" - a history of Christianity in Scotland from St. Columba to Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. It contains a great section on the life and faith of William Wallace. Conrad Beattie([email protected]), Atlanta, GA