In Search of England: Journeys into the English Past

Be the first to write a review

Overview

England is the birthplace of many immortal legends told around the world: King Arthur and Camelot, the Holy Grail, Robin Hood, the mysterious Isle of Avalon. But are these famous stories based on historical events and actual people? And what do they tell us about the character and origins of the Anglo-Saxon world, a culture that helped shape American identity?
In his absorbing new book, Michael Wood examines the roots of English history. Peeling back the layers of literary and ...
See more details below
Paperback (New Edition)
$29.95
BN.com price
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (12) from $3.94   
  • New (6) from $24.25   
  • Used (6) from $3.94   
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

England is the birthplace of many immortal legends told around the world: King Arthur and Camelot, the Holy Grail, Robin Hood, the mysterious Isle of Avalon. But are these famous stories based on historical events and actual people? And what do they tell us about the character and origins of the Anglo-Saxon world, a culture that helped shape American identity?
In his absorbing new book, Michael Wood examines the roots of English history. Peeling back the layers of literary and oral material that have accumulated over the ages, he offers a fascinating series of rich stories--part history, part myth--that, directly or indirectly, touch on questions of English history and identity. He looks back at the legends surrounding Alfred the Great, King Athelstan, the lost library of Glastonbury, and more.
Wood's emphasis is the Early Middle Ages, and the first two sections of the book offer deep excursions into particular moments in the history of that era. In addition to recounting some well-known legends, Wood considers the manuscripts and other primary sources of historical information on which they are based, assessing the validity of existing documentation, fleshing out historical contexts, and considering the treatment throughout history of these stories by famous writers, poets, and moviemakers.
In the third part of In Search of England, Wood writes about places that illuminate interesting aspects of early England: Tinsley Wood, near Sheffield, which has been claimed as the site of Athelstan's great victory against the Celts in 937; a farmhouse in Devon which has been occupied since Domesday and possibly long before; and the village of Peatling Magna in Leicestershire, scene of an extraordinary confrontation with King Henry III in 1265. These are the places and events that offer a complementary version of the history that is discussed earlier in the book.
In Search of England is published at a significant moment. With the European union, and with assertions of independence within the United Kingdom, questions about English national identity have become increasingly topical both there and abroad. Wood offers a potent and revealing account of the origins of a culture that has had a significant impact worldwide. His narrative is a rich unfolding of history and legend reaching to the present day, and a delightfully readable meditation on the roots of the Anglo-Saxon world.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
A thoughtful meditation on the roots of the Anglo-Saxon world.
Times Literary Supplement
Better than any historian for decades, Wood brings home not just the ways in which buildings, landscapes and written texts may be read, but the sensual beauty of encounters with them . . . As a cameo of modern Englishness, it is brilliant; and if Michael Wood claims the cover picture, he lets this man have the last word.
New York Times Book Review
A collection of illuminating essays...with scholarly zeal, journalistic skepticism and narrative flair. Most interesting are the essays in which Wood journeys off the trampled paths, as he does in his essay on Bede, the priest and scholar who wrote the first and one of the greatest English histories in 731. A history written, as the best are, 'with the heart and the spirit as well as the intellect,' as is Wood's adroit journey through the thickets of early medieval history.
Chicago Tribune
A thoughtful meditation on the roots of the Anglo-Saxon world.
New York Review of Books
A collection of illuminating essays...with scholarly zeal, journalisticskepticism and narrative flair. Most interesting are the essays in which Wood journeys off the trampled paths, as he does in his essay on Bede, the priest and scholar who wrote the first and one of the greatest English histories in 731. A history written, as the best are, 'with the heart and the spirit as well as the intellect,' as is Wood's adroit journey through the thickets of early medieval history."(New York Times Book Review, Books in Brief)
Times Literary Supplement
Better than any historian for decades, Wood brings home not just the ways in which buildings, landscapes and written texts may be read, but the sensual beauty of encounters with them...As a cameo of modern Englishness, it is brilliant; and if Michael Wood claims the cover picture, he lets this man have the last word.
Sherie Posesorski
Most interesting are the essays in which Wood journeys off the trampled paths, as he does in his essay on Bede, the priest and scholar who wrote the first and one of the greatest English histories in 731. A history written, as the best are, ''with the heart and the spirit as well as the intellect,'' as is Wood's adroit journey through the thickets of early medieval history.
—The New York Times Book Review
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780520232181
  • Publisher: University of California Press
  • Publication date: 8/28/2001
  • Edition description: New Edition
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 434,973
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.13 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Michael Wood is a writer and historian living in England. He has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, and filmmaker, with over sixty films to his name. His book In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great (California, 1997), based on his PBS television series, was a bestseller in England and in the United States. He is also the author of In Search of the Trojan War (updated edition, California, 1998), which also accompanied a PBS series, and other books.
Read More Show Less

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii
Introduction xi
Acknowledgements xv
Part 1 Myth and History
1. The Norman Yoke 3
2. King Arthur: Lost Again? 23
3. Glastonbury, the Grail and the Isle of Avalon 43
4. Merrie Englande: the Legend of Robin Hood 71
5. When was England England? 91
Part 2 Manuscripts and Mysteries
6. Heritages and Destructions: The Troublesome Journey and Laborious Search of John Leland 109
7. Alfred the Great: the Case of the Fenland Forger 125
8. The Lost Life of King Athelstan 149
9. The Story of a Book 169
Part 3 Landscapes and People
10. The Last Bowl-Turner of England 189
11. Tinsley Wood 203
12. A Devon House: to Domesday and Beyond 222
13. Peatling Magna: August 1265 247
14. Jarrow and English History 270
15. Epilogue: An English Family 292
Bibliography 307
Index 327
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)