Wulf the Saxon

A Story of the Norman Conquest

By: George Alfred Henty

Narrated by: Jim Hodges

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings.

When Harold Godwinson is crowned king of England in 1066, William of Normandy contests his right to be king because of an oath Harold had earlier sworn to support William's own acquisition of the throne. Henty's treatment of this critical time in history of the English people is even-handed, and his portrayal of Harold Godwinson - a king much neglected in our day - is a sympathetic one. Wulf of Steyning, a young Saxon thane in the service of Earl Harold, accompanies him on his fateful trip to Normandy and takes part in the Welsh wars, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings. Growing to manhood in such tumultuous times, Wulf's fidelity and honor earn him the respect of all he serves.

The Henty Historical Novel Collection, written by George Henty in the 1800s, covers many time periods in history throughout the world. In this collection you will learn history, geography, and vocabulary while also discovering hero characters for your children to emulate.

Public Domain (P)2011 Jim Hodges Productions

For young adults

The story wasn’t bad but the writing was wanting. I wasn’t a fan of the performance but he may have been limited by the level of the writing

Poor narration for genre

Narration does not match the genre. This story is about an Anglo Saxon thane but it sounds like a children's book narrator. Too bad because story seems cool.

Stirring adventure

This is a stirring coming of age novel set during the Norman conquest, taken from the Saxon viewpoint. As it had been written during the Victorian era, the author embraced an educate and entertain ethos which makes this an excellent book so as to gain an appreciation of these events. While some words use are no longer in common usage, eg thither, the narrator does a fine job to make the novel understandable to modern audiences. Recommended.

It felt like all the same things happened on repeat

I’ve really enjoyed a lot of GA Henty‘s books, but this one wasn’t one of my favorites. There’s lots of exciting things that happen in the story, but still it felt like the same type of stuff kept happening. I always love how Henty gives the main character so much honour and integrity and he always has good ideas and upholds chivalry and justice etc., but it felt a little unrealistic. And too much time was given to Lady Edith, when you wish there would’ve been more about Wulf and Agnes, they just tack it on at the very end saying oh yeah and they got married and live happily ever after basically.

The guys that lost their arms really bothered me, I feel like they focussed on that a little too much for a book geared towards kids. Of course you know these battles were brutal and so awful, but still it is a book that’s geared towards teens.

And the narrator’s voice even though he’s a great narrator is just hard to listen to, I wish there was some other narrators that did more of his books. Overall I’d say it just wasn’t that great, and there’s other ones of his that I have enjoyed a lot more.

New favorite

I think this is my new favorite historical fiction piece. Through the eyes of a man just coming of age, we see the end of an era and the dawn of a new one. William the Conqueror is one of the most famous historical figures, but until now, I had never read any gripping fiction concerning his campaign. This story, both sad and uplifting, is worthy of one of the greatest moments in history.

Unable to move past the reader’s performance

It’s a so-so story, but four chapters in and I absolutely cannot bare to listen to this goober reading as if it’s a children’s book. Terrible voice impressions, weak acting, unconvincing emotion, and generally sounding like a disinterested kindergarten teacher.

narrator

the narrator spumd as if he is teaching not telling a story. as if his listener are children.

Clean Story! Good for Teens!

Really enjoyed listening to this. Learned something about Saxons and their cultural perspective. Give it a try!

Another Henty History Lesson In Novel Form

Jim Hodges delivers a nice rendition of "Wulf the Saxon" with apropos inflection and dramatization. It is good to see there are more! Awesome story for building character and instilling values in young men-in-training, or a right-rousing read for slightly older adventurers.

good story, bad narrator

The story was pretty good, but I struggled through much of it, as the narrator read it like a children's story.