Dunstan

Dunstan, a fatherless child, is raised by monks on Glastonbury Tor. Intrigued by the mechanics of building towers, cathedrals and palaces, he quickly decides that knowing how to accomplish great deeds and pleasing those in power are just as important as one’s faith in God and devotional practices. So, he quickly rises in the Church and becomes the acquaintance and friend of many Kings and Princes.It is the year 937 and the Wessex King Aethelstan, grandson of King Alfred the Great, is trying to unite England into one kingdom. However, there are Danes and Vikings who periodically attack England and the King spends more time away in these momentous battles than at his court. Dunstan is no saint but realizes to attain his dream he must find favor with the King. Highly perceptive, King Aethelstan does not totally trust Dunstan, but his son who will be King after him does trust Dunstan. Indeed, Dunstan will become the friend of Kings who will support Dunstan’s dream of building the greatest Abbey in England.Glastonbury Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral will indeed be built from Dunstan’s direction, but what Dunstan must do to accomplish these formidable feats is less divine and more in line with temporal machinations. For Dunstan will murder, torture, lie, cheat, steal, betray and manipulate his way to glory! The fascinating part of this life story is that he truly believes God will not hold these deeds against them since his goal of bringing glory to God is higher than anything else that occurs. At the same time, he also tries to bring his Order of Benedictines more in line with the plan of the founder of this well-known Order of priests and brothers.Conn Iggulden is a Master Storyteller who knows how to wrap the reader in his plot, characters and multilayered conflicts and mesmerize him and her. One is always sorry when a Conn Iggulden novel ends, and Dunstan is no different than the other historical novels Conn Iggulden has crafted. This is a highly readable, magnificent work of historical fiction and is highly recommended for those who love a great story that is accurately and skillfully told! Wonder-full!

Excellent, typical Conn Iggulden making history exciting, adventurous and real. I enjoyed every page, roll on Conn's next work.

Dunstan is not a likable character. The time period was interesting, and Iggulden is a good writer, but this book wa a hard slog. I did manage to finish.

Immediately everyone should be aware that this same book exists under another title. That title is "The Abbott's Tale". Been reading this book I learned quite a lot about a period of History I had little knowledge of. Each major character in this book is a real historical character. That's exactly what I love to read. The book itself is actually based upon the autobiography that Dunstan wrote. That speaks quite a bit to the accuracy of all the elements within the book. It's a much more fun way to learn about history than to read those dry history sources that simply relate names, dates, events, and other bare facts. Read, enjoy, and as another benefit, learn. That certainly a treat to find a book that let you do all three.

This fellow must be the most unpleasant fellow I’ve ever read. No not you, Conn.Duplicitous, devious, conceited and generally wholly egotistical. Several times I would have punched his lights out had he been in the same room.

Iggulden brings us along to witness history, firsthand.

This is typical Conn Iggulden writing. I could not put the book down until I had finished reading it all.However, one book instead of a series was a big disappointment. It was closure before I was ready!Absolutely worth adding to anyone's collection.

An easy enjoyable read

I loved this book and look forward to reading others by this author. I love British history and this doesn’t disappoint. The author has brought to life key figures and endowed them with humanity and all their vanity and errors.

Conn Igulden hat aus uralten Quellen die Geschichte von Dunstan, einem Mönch, erzählt mit vielen Höhen und Tiefen. Wer sich für englische Historie um das Jahr 950ff interessiert, findet hier eine spannende Lektüre.

Dunstan arroja luz sobre un período muy oscuro de la historia de Inglaterra. Excelente narrativa donde el autor separa claramente hechos de hechos novelados. Gustará a quienes disfruten con Bernard Cornwell.

What a man Dunstan must have been. As always Conn Iggulden brings alive a story, a thousand years old, such that you can walk with the tonsured black garbed engineer monk, who engineered cathedrals and destinies of kings. Brilliant work once again. And Glastonbury is on my travel list on my next trip to England.

I was in the fortunate position a couple of days ago - rediscovering this book on my Kindle. Bought when it first came out and then forgotten amongst all the other books I had bought at the same time !This jewel of a book was waiting for me, unread. And what a book it is too! Highly, highly recommended...