Anglo-Saxon Boy

by Tony Bradman, Sam Hart (Illustrator)

An action-packed Anglo-Saxon tale of one boy's journey to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.The story of one Anglo-Saxon boy's journey to the Battle of Hastings in 1066: Key Stage 2 History brought to life as battle-packed adventure.1065: Magnus is the son of Harold Godwinson, lord of the Southern Saxons and ruthlessly ambitious claimant to the throne of England. Overnight, Magnus finds himself cast centre-stage in the blood-soaked family feud that led to one of history’s most famous battles. This is the family tragedy behind 1066: live it with Magnus, as the wolves of history close in on his Anglo-Saxon boyhood.

Genres: School, Historical Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2017

About the author

TONY BRADMAN graduated from Cambridge University and worked in journalism for many years as an editor and reviewer. Now a full-time author, he has produced several successful anthologies for young readers for Random House Children's Books, including three focusing exclusively on football: the FOOTBALL FEVER titles.

Reviews

[Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of historical novels I was brought up with Rosemary Sutcliff, Cynthia Harnett, Geoffrey Trease, Henry Treece, Mollie Hunter, Hester Burton, Barbara Willard – so I thought I would try a recent effort in the genre (2017) to compare. I'm sorry I did.

The earlier authors were novelists with stories to tell and characters to place in historical environments; education was certainly there but didacticism was kept well subdued, even despised. Most of them, perhaps not so much Henry Treece, deliberately wrote stories to appeal jointly to boys and girls – by having heroes and heroines sharing adventures with equal courage, decisiveness and skill. I know that is a generalisation but, in general, I think it is true. The era of the boys' adventure and the girls' adventure as separate entities belonged to an earlier generation or to writers of children's pulp fiction.

It seems that now style has regressed. Anglo-Saxon Boy is clearly for boys only. The only female characters with more than surface brush-strokes are the hero's mother and grandmother - young Magnus does not seem to have developed the average fifteen-year-old boy's drooling fascination with the ladies. The story is basically a history lesson about the fall of Anglo Saxon England at Hastings told through one of King Harold's sons, the aforesaid Magnus. The relevant facts are there and can probably be checked, one by one, on Wikipedia – apart from Magnus' end. I'm not convinced that a son of the recently extinguished royal house of Godwin would ride off alone into the sunset after saying goodbye to his bereaved mother. By all accounts his ferocious former Viking grandmother rounded up her surviving grandsons and began plotting a futile attempt to fight the Norman usurper.

The illustrations by Sam Hart are cartoon style. There's nothing wrong with that. However, the first one, showing Magnus being presented with a new sword and mail-shirt, shows Harold as a rather jowly ex-sergeant major type and Magnus looking as if he could be a 1950s crew-cut American teenager about to exclaim: “Aw gee, pop. You're the best!” The others are more conventional.

Call me old fashioned – and you would be right if you did so – it feels as if standards have slipped backwards. As my history teacher often said to me: Could do better.

[Lucy Lane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

[A Severs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloody and action-packed. A window into the world of never-ending feuds that fill England's history books. Based on real events there is plenty here to inspire a deeper look at the goings on of times gone by.

[Temi Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anglo-Saxon Boy by Tony Bradman is a great historical novel that depicts the life of a young male during the Anglo-Saxon period, known as Magnus.

I read this novel because it is currently being used as a guided reading text in the Year 4 class at my trainee placement primary school. The level of detail and descriptive language used throughout is great, as it has helped to assess pupils' reading and comprehension of the novel.

We have been able to extract good examples of speech, inverted commas and the use of similes that have modelled the correct Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) in a way that engages the Year 4 class. For example, the novel related the sharpness of the spears to the bristles of a hedgehog (not the exact wording used obviously).

The novel has done well to engage the pupils in our class' imagination and pull out historical pieces that can be used as cross-curricular topic starters. I would definitely recommend this novel if you are looking for an engaging story that provides a historical picture of the Anglo-Saxon period through the eyes of a young individual.

[Adam P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anglo-Saxon Boy by Tony Bradman tells the story of real-life historical figure, Magnus, son of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Set in 1065, the novel follows Magnus as he trains to become a warrior while navigating the dangers of political unrest. As the threat of Norman invasion looms, Magnus witnesses betrayal, battles and the fall of his family. The story offers a gripping view of the events leading to the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the Battle of Hastings through the eyes of a young boy.

An excellent entry point for young readers to spark their interest in a pivotal year in English history, marking the end of two great eras of European history: the Anglo-Saxon and Viking ages.

Edit: there are mentions of innocent civilians being hacked to death, with their faces split open. I’m not sure if this is appropriate for primary school students or anyone of a sensitive nature.

[Anwai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't decide between 3 stars (my most often awarded rating, meaning that I read and enjoyed it) or 2 stars.
It's historically accurate but quite wooden in style - lots of cliches and lots of action - it reads a bit like an airport action thriller for children. There is quite a lot of blood and gore, in fact, possibly too much. The KS2 unit of work on the Anglo-Saxons is often studied in Year 4, and I think the violence might be too graphic for most 8 and 9 year olds. As a Year 4 teacher, I won't be recommending it to my class when we study the Anglo-Saxons, but as English Subject Leader, I will be putting it on the shelves for the Year 6 children.
I love historical fiction but this is not my cup of mead as there is too little characterisation, and it's hard to feel any empathy with the protagonist, but then I'm not the target audience ... so two and a half stars.

[Clare Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very educational and entertaining read. Magnus is torn between family and honour, but always manages to come out on top. Perfect for Anglo-Saxon topics and excellent figurative language. I'd recommend it for anyone older than 8.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I read and taught to my year 5 class. It took some time to get into. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked that it was based on truth. I also enjoyed the discussions that it evoked in my class once we got into it.

[Henna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too little characterisation to make the story good; it is wooden and all the motives seem to be lost so I couldn't root for any of the characters. This is a decent books as a history lesson about the fall of the Anglo-Saxons, but as a story it fails to evoke much emotion.

[Jay humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it
Please make more

[Hayley Jones-Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

One boy in my class said this was the best book he had ever read.

[Laura Jordan-Patrikios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story for the kids and a lovely way to learn about history

[Kevin]

G

[Husayn · Rating 3 out of 5]

its an alright book and it actually has good fight scenes

[Daisy May Johnson]

I always have a lot of time for Tony Bradman and this is no exception; solid work delivered in a very accessible style.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressive attention to accurate historical context - I'll be using this with my Y7 history class to engage with the build up to Hastings.