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Review by the HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
The Testament of Leofric The Black volume one
The Testament of Leofric the Black: Volume One, 1040-57
Written by Edward Cartwright Beard
Review by Cindy Vallar
It is 1071, and William the Bastard has taken the Isle of Elig after an 18-month siege. The betrayer is Leofric the Black, or so rumors say. Now on the run from Norman and Saxon alike, Leofric vows to find the real traitor. Should he die before he succeeds in proving his innocence, he begins writing a testament so all will know the truth about him and how he and other Saxons fought to free Englaland from Norman invaders.
His tale begins in 1040, when he has seen nine winters. Leofric wishes two things from life: to be a warrior and to gain his father’s respect. But life rarely grants such wishes, especially to a timid cripple. Others think him better suited to take holy orders and work as a monastery’s gifted illuminator. But the old gods and a sorceress foretell a different destiny, one closely tied to four different kings. Against the odds, Leofric overcomes his handicap. His penchant for helping underdogs, however, gains him enemies who thwart his desires and lead him on a path rife with treachery, murder, kidnapping, and death.
This first volume of the testament spans 1040 to 1057. Beard spins a poignant tale that tugs at the heart strings, eliciting a wide gamut of emotions with which readers will identify. He seductively weaves history with fiction to craft a gripping tale of intrigue, war, perfidy, and love. His vivid descriptions of characters and places make the latter days of the Dark Ages seem all too real, yet Leofric’s honest telling of events compels readers to return for the next book.
Discovering Diamonds
Through Leofric’s eyes the author paints a vivid, often cruel and vicious, but also emotional and compelling, picture of eleventh century England. This is a debut novel, I believe, and the first of a trilogy – comparable, I would say to any of Bernard Cornwall’s novels, or Helen Hollick’s acclaimed novels of the same pre-1066 period.
Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
© Anne Holt
e-version reviewed
Amazon
D. Murphy
*****Great history, great characters and very well told story.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2020
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Really is an excellent novel that is hard to put down. The characters are interesting and well described through their actions rather than long-winded exposition. A good balance of flat and well rounded. The story is carefully developed, again via the action rather than in your face exposition.
The story has many twists and turns and some very unusual plotting.
Many of the novels written about Anglo-Saxon England are likened to Bernard Cornwell, but this is the first I have come across that is genuinely comparable. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series.
Jill
***** Great Viking read.
Reviewed in the United States on 1 January 2020
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This is a very well written book. I enjoyed reading it.
Todd
***** Excellent read if you like medieval historical fiction
Reviewed in the United States on 29 August 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I have been reading historical fiction of this genre for years, consuming everything by Bernard Cornwall, Griff Hosker and Patrick O’Brien I could find. Leofric the Black is as entertaining as anything I’ve read from Cornwell, with excellent character development of the lead, and real storytelling chops. Just surprised I can’t find anything else from Beard. Hard to believe this is his first book; writing was very good and I strongly recommend if you like this type of literature. Now just have to wait for part two...
England without an heir is like a lamb in the lair of wolves.’
FIVE KINGS, THREE BATTLES, ONE VICTOR.
1066 Arguably the most famous date in English history.
The Norman conquest of England.
How did it happen?
What were the circumstances that led to such events?
How did around seven thousand Normans and their allies conquer a nation of over two million people?
Leofric knows he was there!
Leofric the Black, still on the run from both Normans and his own Saxon comrades, relates how he was drawn into multiple conflicts with the Scots, Welsh and Normans. Also, how an aging king, with no heir, relinquished his royal responsibilities for heavenly ones. And how rebellion, personal ambition and greed endangered England’s freedom from foreign warlords.
Leofric struggles with his club foot and his own personal inner conflicts. Still hurting from the death of his wife Astrid and set on revenge for the murder of his father, Leofric is torn between his new home in the north and his friendship with Harold Godwinson, Earl Of Wessex. Faced with a rebellion of the northern thegns he must choose which to support.
Amidst all this is Mair, the so-called sorceress, convinced her and Leofric are destined to be together and fight to free Britain from its oppressors.
Leofric has scores to settle, debts to repay and an encounter with William, the Bastard Duke of Normandy, that will change his life forever.
England without an heir is like a lamb in the lair of wolves.’
FIVE KINGS, THREE BATTLES, ONE VICTOR.
1066 Arguably the most famous date in English history.
The Norman conquest of England.
How did it happen?
What were the circumstances that led to such events?
How did around seven thousand Normans and their allies conquer a nation of over two million people?
Leofric knows he was there!
Leofric the Black, still on the run from both Normans and his own Saxon comrades, relates how he was drawn into multiple conflicts with the Scots, Welsh and Normans. Also, how an aging king, with no heir, relinquished his royal responsibilities for heavenly ones. And how rebellion, personal ambition and greed endangered England’s freedom from foreign warlords.
Leofric struggles with his club foot and his own personal inner conflicts. Still hurting from the death of his wife Astrid and set on revenge for the murder of his father, Leofric is torn between his new home in the north and his friendship with Harold Godwinson, Earl Of Wessex. Faced with a rebellion of the northern thegns he must choose which to support.
Amidst all this is Mair, the so-called sorceress, convinced her and Leofric are destined to be together and fight to free Britain from its oppressors.
Leofric has scores to settle, debts to repay and an encounter with William, the Bastard Duke of Normandy, that will change his life forever.
Reviews
Amazon
Colin Burke Milner Boardman
*****
Extremely well researched, well written, well worth a read.
The second of a promised trilogy, I found this even better that’s its predecessor, mainly because it covers what is surely the most significant action in British history, namely the 1066 invasion by William the Conqueror resulting in his taking as his own both this country’s throne and its land (a significant amount of land in the UK remains in the ‘ownership’ of the descendants of William and his bloodthirsty pals who committed numerous war-crimes to secure their spoils.)
The author cleverly deploys third-party observations to explore the intricate details leading up to the defining battle at Hastings, but this use of ‘faction’ should not deflect from fact that this is an opus resulting from a huge amount of research which was once only reserved for text books, providing some aspects and background which I had not previously come across in my wide studies of the period.
So if you want a fast moving and informative account of how and why the Normans became the ‘bosses’, intertwined with one individual’s personal journey through the intricacies and horrors of the time, this is a work for you.
I very much look forward to the final part of the trilogy.
Information:
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Release date:1.2.2019
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Paperback: £10.95
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Kindle: £2.95
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Number in series: Vol one
