Synopsis
This is a witty and often profound view of how the English came to be the way they are.
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Review
In 1460, during the War of the Roses, the Lancastrians and Yorkists are busy chopping each other into little pieces and, during time out, amusing themselves with a game called "footie", which involves kicking an inflated bladder around a field. Into this unlikely idyll walks a bunch of tourists from the East who have come to search for a missing Kinsman. In no time at all, they are horrified by the weather and confused by a series of appalling European idiosyncrasies (in particular, the fact that the Emperor of the Romans lives in Germany and the Christina High Priest in Rome). Julian Rathbone's follow-up to the bestselling The Last English King is a hugely enjoyanle amble into a most gruesome period of history (THE TIMES)
Although Kings of Albion is packed with jokes it is a serious book ... The Wars of the Roses never seemed so strange - or so real ... whether describiing a journey through London by boat or country fields in winter, so strange to an oriental eye, Rathbone has evoked the sights and smells of fifteenth-century England ... the result is a historical novel of charm and intelligence (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)
A superb adventure story. The battle scenes combine excitement with an overwhelming squalor, and there are moments of real tragedy and pathos (INDEPENDENT)
From the Publisher
PRAISE FOR THIS BOOK
‘There are moments in this novel when one could be watching an episode of Blackadder. Frivolity abounds ... But beneath the gags, a serious historical novel is lurking. Julian Rathbone has had the excellent idea of viewing the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of some visitors from India. Their reactions to what they see, ranging from disgust to bemusement, shed unexpected light on 15th Century England’, Sally Cousins SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘This is a tale of high imperial adventure ...A superb adventure story.’ INDEPENDENT
‘KINGS OF ALBION, although packed with jokes, IS a serious book. Rathbone has so deeply immersed himself in his period, the 15th century, that the reader gets a very powerful sense of that period ... The wars of the Roses never seemed so strange – or so real ... The result is a historical novel of charm and intelligence’ David Robson, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘If you’re going to rewrite history, then this is a great way to do it ... A boisterous adventure, brilliantly told in this rather different novel’ MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
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