A masterpiece that is breathtaking in its scope, SARUM is an epic novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history. This rich tapesty weaves a compelling saga of five families who preserve their own particular characteristics over the centuries, and offer a fascinating glimpse into the future.


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Easily the Best Historical Fiction Novel on Great Britian.
Comment: As a fan of James A. Michener's historical fiction novels, a friend recommended "Sarum" to me. Since I always wanted to understand how England's history developed, this novel was received favorably.

I found Rutherfurd's writing to be just as much compelling as Michener. In fact, he tells a wonderful story with rich characters without bogging down the reader in excessive historical detail (as Michener sometimes is prone to do). I found this novel to be a real page-turner, and although it is over a thousand pages long, it is really a fast read, as the story-line is so interesting. One learns a lot of history along the way as well. It is very well written and offers a capsulization in chapters by era of the island's rich history.

If you enjoy history, but don't like dry historical textbooks, try this book on the history of Salsibury, England. It is a wonderfully interesting book and you will remember the distictive characters for years to come. Thge chapter on Stonehenge is worth the price alone.

Welcome to the world of historical fiction Mr. Rutherfurd! I will look forward to reading your other works as well.

Jim Koenig

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the most memorable books I have ever read.
Comment: Sarum was simply one of the most memorable books I have ever read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in English history.

There were no parts of this book that I didn't enjoy. You live and remember with the characters. The book actually makes you feel like you are a local of Salisbury England.

Since I read this book I have read every Rutherford book except Russka and The rebels of Ireland. I have however purchased both and plan to read them soon.

Again, I highly recommend this book. It is an outstanding work.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A "Living" History
Comment: This is a much more enjoyable way to gain an appreciation of the complex web of English history than reading history books. After all, it is more palatable AND memorable to observe the lives of individuals and families rather than just kings and battles, even if most of them are fictional! Like its language, the country's history has varied and tangled roots that, like the book, span millennia.

Mr. Rutherford display not only a grasp of the events of England's past, but its important themes and cultural strands. He bravely suggests origins and purposes of Stonehenge, and also suggests how such disparate peoples as Viking and Norman invaders ultimately blended into the human landscape. The centrality of the rise and fall of a city's cathedral provides an excellent focal point. I give him particularly high marks for the way he follows several lineages over many centuries, showing how some family characteristics pass through the generations but the top dog spot changes over time. Thankfully he provides a genealogical chart to help us follow the lines of descent!

The scope, depth, and creativity of Mr. Rutherford's novel is truly impressive. Few books of this length hold the reader so well. My usual concern about where the historical facts end and the fabrication begins pertains to this book like others of its genre, so it is not a substitute for a rigorous study of "real history", if that what you seek. It is, however, far more entertaining and perhaps, in the final analysis, insightful that many traditional history books. Unless you are cursed with a short attention span or an affinity for trite plots, this book will not disappoint.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: I love historical fiction but this was not for me!
Comment: I am just putting it out there that I am an avid reader, I love historical fiction, and sweeping epics are my favorites. I read a couple of books a week and I cannot remember in recent history not finishing a book. Sarum is slow and contrived. A great way to learn history? Not quite. Try actually LEARNING history. It is much more interesting. The author's style was so annoying that I found myself skipping pages, then chapters, and then finally slamming it closed late last night after getting to page 500 or so. The author uses big lead ups such as: Then two things happened that would forever change their lives... He continually introduced paragraphs like this that ultimately had little to no pay off other than minor plot twists. I wanted so much to like this because I find the underlying idea of this book very interesting. The writing style totally put me off, I found it mind-numbingly slow, and the characters completely forgettable.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting saga and history lesson
Comment: Rutherfurd uses an interesting formula for telling the entire history of this area of England. He starts with several families during the age of primitive man, weaves a tale of their lives, then fast-forwards several decades, where we pick up on the lives of their descendants. This is repeated over and over, with the timeline jumping forward anywhere from 50 to 150 years each time. We learn what is happening in England with regard to invasions, wars, cultural growth, and politics at each stage. Eventually we arrive at modern times, still following these same families. What a great way to learn history! The book does not have a great plot, but is well worth reading if you'd like to increase your understanding of the rich tapestry of England's history. I had previously read Rutherfurd's LONDON, and while (of course) the country's history was the same, the issues that most affected the city of London were at different time periods in the history of England from those that affected the area around Salisbury (Sarum). I highly recommend both books.

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