The Magic Runes: A Tale of the Times of Charlemagne

by Emma Leslie, J.W.D. (Illustrator), P.N.S. (Illustrator)

Late one day, in the summer of 782 A.D., young Adalinda is startled to come upon a Saxon family in the forest where she lives with her father. Their tribe had been captured by Charlemagne's soldiers and brought to France after they refused to convert to Christianity, but when Godrith's wife and children grew too weak to continue marching, the family had been abandoned. Godrith is suspicious of Adalinda's kindness, remembering how the "Christian" soldiers had burned his village and killed or captured so many of his people, but as she and her father offer shelter to these Saxon strangers, Godrith begins to see a new picture of Christianity, and her small acts of service have a greater impact that Adalinda could have ever imagined.

158 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2009

About the author

Emma Leslie was the pseudonym of Emma Boultwood (1838–1909), an English writer of children's books and historical fiction.

Reviews

[Lea Berryreadinbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great read aloud to enjoy with my 8 year old!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a book I would read again. We powered through it but the story was lacking. We did learn some about the time period but that was really the only positive.