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The Wordsmith's Tale
1st UK ed dj is fine in Mylar cover.
Hardcover
First published June 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Edden
2 books4 followersBorn in Somerset (UK).
Now living in Nottingham (UK)
After a spell as a director of a global retailer, set up (then sold) a company. Having seen off any threat of penury, I now write for a living. Not as financially rewarding as my past life, but it has its compensations!
Now living in Nottingham (UK)
After a spell as a director of a global retailer, set up (then sold) a company. Having seen off any threat of penury, I now write for a living. Not as financially rewarding as my past life, but it has its compensations!
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 28, 2011
A brief review as the previous one I wrote mysteriously vanished....Loved this book! It took me a fair bit of effort to get hold of a copy from my local library but I persevered because there are so few novels written with this historical period in mind. The style it was written it took a little getting used to. At first glance it seemed rather childish & simplistic. But actually it was quite clever, it made me think of, well, a wordsmith, a storyteller! It could've been a very dry, depressing family saga based around peasants. However the style lifted it from that into something special. Mr Edden, more please if you please...!
May 30, 2017
Another one that has sat on the shelf for ages, but so glad I finally started it! It was a wonderful Saxon tale, beautifully crafted and told, with plenty of spice, poetry and fairytale creations.
January 6, 2021
A brilliant evocation of Anglo-Saxon life from 987-1087AD, dictated by Thomas the Piper to his nephew, Aart, in a monastery in Exeter. His family of storytellers lives, starves, suffers and has a few small triumphs from the time Tom the Dwarf tracked down his love Fleda hiding in the forest, a runaway in Wessex. Succeeding generations, often living rough and subject to the vicissitudes of history and the whims of the powerful, manage to survive. Alfie, Wulfie and Emma are the best of a range of realistic characters
December 5, 2014
I don’t normally like history books, but I apparently like medieval stuff. ‘The Owl Killers’ which I read last year has gone down as one of my favourite books and it is set in the Dark Ages. The Wordsmith’s Tale is also now another firm favourite in this genre.
The Wordsmith’s Tale spans 100 years in the life of a family of serfs and storytellers. Combining myth & fable, the story begins with Tom Thumb, who I’m sure we are all familiar with. This is no fairy-tale though – the hardships this family endure are endless – but they have their share of victories too.
From page one it had me hooked. I just love Thomas Edden’s writing style – he is quite the Wordsmith himself.
In one chapter, stuttering Alfie gives advice on how to win a girl’s heart… “I suppose you sh-show her you love her… But d-don’t tell her, for Frig’s sake. And then you wait until she sh-shows you she loves you, w-without telling you. And that’s… that’s when you’re allowed to tell her w-what she already knew anyway.” …Yep. Pretty much.
“There are two sorts of men and you can tell the right sort by watching the way he looks – not at you but at other women. Some men are always hankering for more. These are the ones who’ll look you tenderly in the eye and then turn away and wonder what other women might be out there. Oh, they can love you rightly enough, but they have discontent lurking in the pit of their being. The other sort of man is the one who looks at you and counts his blessings. Thankful for what he’s got.” … Again, pretty much.
This is one of the few stories I would happily read again. I try to refrain from reading things twice, as there is so much material out there left to discover. There’s just something about books that touch on the power of storytelling. I felt it with The Book Thief and I feel it with this. It gives me a weird warm feeling inside. I think it’s called satisfaction.
The Wordsmith’s Tale spans 100 years in the life of a family of serfs and storytellers. Combining myth & fable, the story begins with Tom Thumb, who I’m sure we are all familiar with. This is no fairy-tale though – the hardships this family endure are endless – but they have their share of victories too.
From page one it had me hooked. I just love Thomas Edden’s writing style – he is quite the Wordsmith himself.
In one chapter, stuttering Alfie gives advice on how to win a girl’s heart… “I suppose you sh-show her you love her… But d-don’t tell her, for Frig’s sake. And then you wait until she sh-shows you she loves you, w-without telling you. And that’s… that’s when you’re allowed to tell her w-what she already knew anyway.” …Yep. Pretty much.
“There are two sorts of men and you can tell the right sort by watching the way he looks – not at you but at other women. Some men are always hankering for more. These are the ones who’ll look you tenderly in the eye and then turn away and wonder what other women might be out there. Oh, they can love you rightly enough, but they have discontent lurking in the pit of their being. The other sort of man is the one who looks at you and counts his blessings. Thankful for what he’s got.” … Again, pretty much.
This is one of the few stories I would happily read again. I try to refrain from reading things twice, as there is so much material out there left to discover. There’s just something about books that touch on the power of storytelling. I felt it with The Book Thief and I feel it with this. It gives me a weird warm feeling inside. I think it’s called satisfaction.
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August 27, 2012A literary book, very well written by, indeed, a wordsmith whose prose and poetry are good and very evocative of the historical era. The characterisation was very good, in which good health, life and love are key ingredients to survival, despite the squalor and poverty of the Saxon poor. Set between 987-1087, the endurance and fortitude of the serfs comes through strongly.
The power of spirituality rather than formal religion (including superstition) comes through well. It also highlights how one event, sometimes of very little really importance can change a life completely.
It was lovely to read a book about the Quantocks and Exeter - as I live in Taunton and adore this county.
My only disappointment was that it was a family saga, which tend to give mild but unsatisfactory reflections of the history of their day, and can be a bit 'samey', not keen on them (think that awful book 'The Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Follett).
The power of spirituality rather than formal religion (including superstition) comes through well. It also highlights how one event, sometimes of very little really importance can change a life completely.
It was lovely to read a book about the Quantocks and Exeter - as I live in Taunton and adore this county.
My only disappointment was that it was a family saga, which tend to give mild but unsatisfactory reflections of the history of their day, and can be a bit 'samey', not keen on them (think that awful book 'The Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Follett).
December 28, 2011
A very good read. Tells the tale of a family of medieval serfs over several generations. Life was short and extremely harsh- disease and hunger were rife and the average life expectancy was about thirty. As one historian wrote for all peasants, life was "nasty, brutish and short." but despite all this these people loved and laughed and wove beautiful stories that were passed down from generation to generation. This book left me feeling extremely grateful that I have so much and that my life is so easy.
August 21, 2011
A really compelling read. Beautifully written, cleverly structured, easy to digest but with so many layers of meaning that never intrude on your enjoyment. Lovely fusion of fast-paced plot, great dialogue and characterisation, and perfect use of language. Before this, I had a bit of a question mark over 'Historical Fiction', but this is like nothing else I've read in that genre. This book deserves a wide audience.
January 18, 2012
As Jules has said the style of writing is quite unusual. It is however baautifully written and the characters are so realistic.
I've not read anything else covering this period; this book does a great job of bringing it to life.
Nearly finished this now and I think I'm going to have to see what else Stephen has written.
I've not read anything else covering this period; this book does a great job of bringing it to life.
Nearly finished this now and I think I'm going to have to see what else Stephen has written.
May 24, 2012
I was really impressed by this novel. It had real characters and stories from the past were cleverly associated with modern tales. Modern sayings echoed old ones. I was involved and integrated with the stories. Hard to put down and have recommended it to all my friends and book club !
November 9, 2011
Really enjoyed this story.
January 18, 2012
I really enjoyed it...one of the few books where I actually liked all of the main characters & learnt some things about history. Very well written. Would definitely recommend it to others!
August 16, 2012
This was a quick choice from the Medieval summer selection at York Explore. I hope it proves to be an enjoyable one.
July 24, 2015
I remember starting this, but I forget if I finished it or just stopped reading because I was just done with it.
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October 21, 2018Gave up reading
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews