Sarum

The Novel of England

De: Edward Rutherfurd

Narrado por: Wanda McCaddon

In Sarum, Edward Rutherfurd weaves a compelling saga of five English families whose fates become intertwined over the course of centuries. While each family has its own distinct characteristics, the successive generations reflect the changing character of Britain. We become drawn not only into the fortunes of the individual family members, but also the larger destinies of each family line.

Meticulously researched and epic in scope, Sarum covers the entire sweep of English civilization: from the early hunters and farmers, the creation of Stonehenge, the dawn of Christianity, and the Black Death; through the Reformation, the wars in America, the Industrial Age, and the Victorian social reforms; up through the World War II invasion of Normandy and the modern-day concerns of a once-preeminent empire.

©1987 Edward Rutherfurd (P)1994 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Nadia May is ideal; her British accents fit the locale, and her pacing and characterizations are smooth, unobtrusive and compelling. The ease of her reading leads the listener to forget she is there, the sign of the perfect narrator.” ( AudioFile)

Probably would have been better to read this

Would you listen to Sarum again? Why?

Possibly, just to understand the stories.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sarum?

What one character does when he realizes he has the plague.

Any additional comments?

I tend to listen to audiobooks when I am doing other things. This book is just so hard for me to get into. I think it would have been better if I read it. It is hard for me to follow names and stories by listening to this.

Good story

I liked story. wish it had more on other areas of England. also more on major kings and queens time not so much on their person.

Wonderful

A wonderful combination of history and fiction writing. I throughly enjoyed every moment.
The author, Edward Rutherfurd did an outstanding job with the enormous volume of British history while combining characters that captured each time period to flesh out and make human the occurrences in the timeline. As the author explained, there are historical changes made for the story's sake, so this is a novel that gives you the essence of the times and happenings and not a dry exact historical reference. Read, listen and enjoy the ride for pleasure. Wanda McCaddon is one of my favourite narrators, so thank you!

Great Book for an Historical Angliphile

Very interesting look at Salsbury a specific place in England from pre- history thru the mid 1900s. Written and performed, pleasantly during a journey thru time.

enjoyed this book so much

i really enjoyed this book. the story line was consistent, the people and times were engaging. the movement through time was handled expertly. i learned a lot and i expect i’ll read this one again at some point. Great story!

okay, not great

I enjoyed the book but chapters and characters didn't flow very well. Okay, not great.

Absorbing read for anyone into English history

Where does Sarum rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Well, I love all the audiobooks I've listened to - if I don't, I just return it using Audible.com's amazingly generous return policy. But this is my second book by Mr. Rutherford (first being about New York) and I love his writing and detail. Yes, some of the vignettes start and are not followed through to completion, but this is not a collection of short stories. It's historical fiction and the fact that he drops off in one year and picks up a century or two later is part of the fun to me. I especially love the way that he continues the thread of a few families through history and inserts little events that casually draw you back to the ancestors of the family.One of the odd pleasures, to me, of listening to a book that is rich with a lot of detail, like Sarum, is that I am prevented from paging back and trying to re-learn every detail of that person. I don't know about you, but I guess I'm OCDC enough that I can't quit looking back and forth in a written book because I have to visualize the whole history and don't want to "miss" a detail - which makes it take about twice as long for me to get through a long history. With the spoken word, I just listen carefully and back up a minute or two if I get distracted while I'm listening. Missing tiny details doesn't bother me so much because I'm soon engrossed in the current section and they become inconsequential.On the whole, I would highly recommend this book (especially Wanda McCaddon, who has her own section below).

What other book might you compare Sarum to and why?

New York: The Novel (also by Edward Rutherfurd)

What does Wanda McCaddon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Can't imagine a better reader - she was just wonderful.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Well, it would be impossible for me, but it is definitely hard to quit listening.

Any additional comments?

If you think you just don't like history, give one of Edward Rutherfurd's books a try. I intend to listen to more books by him and also more read by Ms. McFaddon.

Very interesting and spread over millennia

The narrative is interesting by connecting characters, first through characteristics and then through names and characteristics. The stories are varied and the conclusion of chapters can bring the listener to another era, century or later generation. The reader has a clear British accent and ability to change the tone, slightly, between characters. I enjoyed the journey.

must love Wanda

(aka Doneda Peters and Nadia May) because you'll be listening to so much of her here - and from reading reviews of other books she's narrated, listeners usually have a love or hate relationship with her. She has an older-style narration (Talking Books) and she shines in classics with multiple-claused sentences and in nonfiction. I love her, and that was the tipping point for this download for me -- because although I love historical fiction, I usually can't stand anything earlier than early a 19th century setting.

I really didn't expect to like this novel - I thought it a good value for listening and learning while I did chores, etc.- but I VERY much enoyed the listen too. It's not a Ken Follet page turner, but I think the details will linger in a listener's mind more than those from a potboiler. Rutherford knits together a unique novel-docudrama

He does take century long leaps in time and in conjecture, but after about ten hours of listening, this starts to seem natural! I did not experience the technical glitches mentioned by other reviewers, BUT it does sound like an older quality recording (back when Wanda was getting paid about $15 a hour).

So know what you're getting before you hit "cart" -- or like me, if you have days to fill with listening, take a chance in case you too will be pleasantly surprised.

entertaining and educational

Very long, detailed historical fiction, brought fully to life by wonderful reading! Accents, character mannerisms, male vs female voices, old vs young, all quite believable,