It is a disservice to this book to have preceded reviewing it by dipping into, and reviewing "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell. The present matter is a nice historical novel about Harold Godwinsson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of Britain. And it is nice, and was possibly written by Parke Godwin because the name of the subject resembles his. It is an adequate entertainment, but a long way short of the quality of "the Firelord", Godwin's king Arthur novel. ( )

Godwin's writing is engaging, as always, and instructive. I feel he must have done lengthy research to trace the movements and attitudes of all the major players. Even the brief mention of Robin of Sherwood gives us some background on him before he became a legend. The tale does get quite bloody, but those are the times and our ancestors.
I enjoyed the shifting perspectives from chapter to chapter which allowed me to see events from Edith and Harold as well as from other major players. ( )