The Harrowing

so-so

An enjoyable novel of The Harrying of the North, William the Conqueror's brutal campaign to subjugate northern England in 1069-70. The characters were fairly well drawn and the story was interesting. Still, I didn't feel utterly transported back in time the way Hilary Mantel took me back to Tudor England, and the ending was rather dissatisfying. Aitcheson is a young writer, though; he may well achieve Mantelian virtuosity in due course.

TrishB I liked it enough to give the author another go! 8y

shawnmooney @TrishB Yes I'd like to too! :) 8y

TrishB I had a little look on Amaxon to see when that was likely and this was actually his 4th book 😮!! 8y

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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Ive been curious about this one - may have to check it out 8y

LeahBergen I wonder if he is planning on making this a series (and thus that unsatisfying ending)? 🤔 8y

shawnmooney @LeahBergen That may well be – it's hard to describe exactly what I was dissatisfied about, but it just didn't sit right with me. 8y

44 likes6 comments

shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

LeahBergen This sounds awesome. 😂 8y

shawnmooney @LeahBergen Yeah it kinda makes one nostalgic for a Saturday night in Calgary or Saskatoon, hey? :) 8y

LeahBergen Well, definitely the guy sprawled out all crumpled and empty-eyed. 😉 8y

shawnmooney @LeahBergen Oh my, we really are sisters, aren't we! 😘 8y

saresmoore This comment thread is not exactly an encouragement for potential Canadian tourists... 8y

34 likes5 comments

shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

What? I hope to hell this is not true or at least is wildly exaggerated, that this is not how weddings in Anglo Saxon times came to a close, but I fear it probably is. But this is certainly news to me. @LeahBergen ?

saresmoore I wouldn't be surprised at all. 950 years later and this describes just about how I felt at my own (WASPish) wedding, although, fortunately I remained clothed. Patriarchal tradition! Now I think I'd like to pick up a book on 1066. 8y

TrishB I've read this in lots of other books so I suspect there is a lot of truth! 8y

LeahBergen I've read (somewhere?) that this is how the garter and bouquet toss originated. The bride would throw things back as a diversionary tactic (to keep the crowd from ripping good luck tokens off of her). 😮 8y

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ApoptyGina69 Reminds me of the wedding scene in the film Braveheart. Also, maybe check out

1066 and All that: A Memorable History of England Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings, and 2 Genuine Dates

MrBook Good luck with that! Harrumph! 😜 8y

shawnmooney @saresmoore @TrishB @LeahBergen @ApoptyGina69 @MrBook Thanks for all the comments, insights and suggestions! The '1066 and All That' book appears to be a humorous send-up rather than straightforward history so I probably wouldn't start with it but it might be fun once I knew the history they were lampooning! :) 8y

MrBook 😊👍🏻 8y

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shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

Gah! I knew absolutely nothing about this author so I just googled him. He's a baby! I'm quite enjoying this historical novel – not sure how I will ultimately feel about it – but am I ever shocked that it's been penned by such a young'un.

TrishB I enjoyed it enough to want to try others by him 😀 8y

Donna_sBookMinute Well, he IS a baby. My "baby" was born the same year. I'm not sure why they're using this photo in his bio; but here's a more recent photo.

https://goo.gl/images/tgtjvi

That's better! ? 8y

shawnmooney @Donna_sBookMinute You're right – he doesn't look quite so adolescent that pic! :-) I think I was reacting more to his photo on that webpage than I was to his actual age. 8y

Donna_sBookMinute Yes, I think that's their objective. And he was probably that age when he was first published -- or started writing. 8y

saresmoore He's my age! 8y

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shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

33 likes

shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

Taefl refers to board games popular in Anglo-Saxon times, I've just learned. There is a lot of information about them online, such as http://www.heorot.dk/tafl/

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shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

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shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

BooksTeasAndBookishThings Ummm I need this book in my life. 8y

shawnmooney @BooksTeasAndBookishThings I'm reading it on Kindle, and when I bought it a few months back it was quite cheap – at least on the Amazon Japan site. 8y

BooksTeasAndBookishThings Awesome! Thank you 😍 8y

Suet624 I feel like that's what they're saying in D.C. right now. Lay it to waste. 8y

TrishB I loved this book 😀 8y

36 likes1 stack add5 comments

shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

LeahBergen I love this time period (and have already stacked this one!) 8y

shawnmooney @LeahBergen It's starting out really good! Sometime I want to pick your brains about other fiction and history recommends from this era. 8y

LeahBergen 👍🏼👍🏼 8y

22 likes3 comments

shawnmooney

The Harrowing | James Aitcheson

A historical novel about the Norman Conquest of 1066, anyone?

Imagineannie Yes!!!!!! Thank you! 9y

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Always! Thanks! 9y

LeahBergen I need this. Right now. 9y

38 likes9 stack adds3 comments

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