# Good book on Viking England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482 "2009-02-04T22:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/1 "2009-02-04T22:37:34Z")
I’m looking for a good book on the Viking invasion of England. Specifically, the kingdom of Jorvik and the Danelaw. Does anybody have any recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/2 "2009-02-04T22:39:43Z")
Actually, I’m also looking for a book on prehistoric Britain, up until the Roman invasion. Any recommendations there? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/3 "2009-02-05T00:28:12Z")
Fiction or non-fiction? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/4 "2009-02-05T02:30:57Z")
For fiction, try Bernard Cornwell’s _Lords Of the North_ books {four and counting in the series}: a first-class account of Alfred and the Danes as told by Uhtred, a Saxon raised by the Danes. Absolutely splendid for a realistic portrayal of what warfare, culture, religion and daily life was actually like in 9th Century England, with not a horned helmet in sight ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/5 "2009-02-05T03:02:34Z")
Michael Wood’s [In Search of the Dark Ages](http://www.amazon.com/Search-Dark-Ages-Michael-Wood/dp/0816047022) covers it well, or as well as one can cover a period whose name, if it is useful at all, refers to the relatively small amount of information that came out of it. If you are also interested in a later period and wish to learn more about early Medieval property measurements than you would ever want to, try his [Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England.](http://www.amazon.com/Domesday-Search-England-Michael-Wood/dp/0563551275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233802774&sr=1-1) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/6 "2009-02-05T03:10:49Z")
Another novel that touches on this, by Nobel Prize Winner Sigrid Undset, is the astonishingly, overwhelmingly absorbing\* The Master of Hestviken\*. More a Tetrology than a single novel, actually. It’s the laboriously and exhaustively researched life-story a man who lives in (IIRC) 13th Century Norway. At one point, he travels to England, and the period details are just as strong for this segment as those that take place in Norway. I cannot recommend this book enough. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/7 "2009-02-05T09:46:43Z")
Sorry, my mistake, I should have specified. I’m looking for a non-fiction book. Also, preferably one that is aimed at a more popular audience, if possible (i.e. no text books). ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/8 "2009-02-05T16:23:10Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Sorry, my mistake, I should have specified. I’m looking for a non-fiction book. Also, preferably one that is aimed at a more popular audience, if possible (i.e. no text books). I would suggest FM Stenton, **Anglo-Saxon England**. The latest revised edition is from 1971, so it is quite dated and somewhat partisan. All the same, it is an excellent book and a very good jumping-off point if your interest takes in in any particular direction. After reading Stenton’s survey, it is easier to turn to more modern and specific resources. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/9 "2009-02-05T20:40:54Z")
Cool, thanks for the recommendation! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/10 "2009-02-05T21:06:04Z")
If you’re looking for books about Britain during the Dark Ages, I was going to suggest [\*On the Ruin of Britain \*by St. Gildas.](http://www.amazon.com/Ruin-Britain-Dodo-Press/dp/140652851X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233866611&sr=1-1) However, you said you wanted something aimed at a popular rather than scholarly audience and _On the Ruin of Britain_ might be too much like something you’d read in upper-division/graduate-level Medieval European history course. Still, the English translation is fairly readable and quite short–less than 50 pages. It’s not straight history but rather Gildas’ sermon decrying the moral laxity, corruption, and general incompetence of secular and religious leadership in Britain during the sixth century as the land was steadily being taken over the pagan Angle, Saxon, and Jute hordes. Granted, the source might be biased but it does offer a first-hand account of somebody from that era who was there to describe how unstable and precarious life was in Britain during the 500s. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/11 "2009-02-05T22:29:01Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Actually, I’m also looking for a book on prehistoric Britain, up until the Roman invasion. Any recommendations there? I haven’t read it, but Francis Prior’s [_Britain BC_](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britain-BC-Ireland-Before-Romans/dp/000712693X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233872663&sr=1-1) is the obvious recent book that’s exactly targeted at your requirements here. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/12 "2009-02-06T10:46:54Z")
Thanks, that looks exactly what I’m after. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/13 "2009-02-06T10:57:19Z")
To branch out slightly, we take school parties to the [Jorvik Viking centre](http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/) in York. Well worth a visit. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/14 "2009-02-06T11:25:44Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > I haven’t read it, but Francis Prior’s [_Britain BC_](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Britain-BC-Ireland-Before-Romans/dp/000712693X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233872663&sr=1-1) is the obvious recent book that’s exactly targeted at your requirements here. I’ve read it and it is excellent. He also does Britain AD. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/15 "2009-02-06T11:36:04Z")
> [@glee](#): > > To branch out slightly, we take school parties to the [Jorvik Viking centre](http://www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/) in York. > Well worth a visit. Yeah, been there a couple of times. It stinks! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/16 "2009-02-06T12:07:25Z")
Tom Holland’s Millenium covers the whole of Western Europe in “the Dark Ages” but does have an extensive chapter on Viking/Danish rule in the UK and also puts it into a wider context (e.g. Harald Hardrada’s connections to Russia and Constantinople, the political connections to Normandy etc.) ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-book-on-viking-england/484482/17 "2009-02-06T14:31:14Z")
Although it focuses on a slightly later period than the Viking invasions, Richard Fletcher’s _Bloodfeud_ covers much more than its immediate local case study, amounting to a social and political history of north-east England in the early eleventh century. Easily the best popular book on Anglo-Saxon history in at least a generation.