The story of Oswiu reads like the best of fiction but is rooted in history. It is a beautifully told story, most enjoyable to read, exciting at times, and has expanded my knowledge and understanding of the ‘Dark Ages’. Oswiu brings to a conclusion The Northumbrian Thrones Trilogy in which Edoardo Albert has brought the past alive for me in a way that nothing has before. Reading the trilogy has been like eavesdropping on the lives of those who lived in the north of Britain in seventh century AD. Each book is complete in itself and enhanced by being part of a trilogy.
Edoardo Albert is a great story teller, has a delightful turn of phrase and uses metaphor brilliantly to capture the atmosphere of the times and events. The people, conversations, habitations, travel, countryside, weather, clothes, battles… he might have been there himself. The dialogue is convincing and I love the subtext in some conversations.
I found it interesting to read about the introduction of Christianity and the conflict with believers in the old gods. Similarly the lives of women of high birth and those people kept as slaves were a natural part of the story and described as they were without judgements based on modern values of feminism and freedom.
This trilogy has opened up my mind to the value of historical fiction. It is set at a place and time about which I knew nothing but have now gained a small understanding of what it was like and I have been left wanting to know more.
I don’t have Edoardo’s facility with words and story but I have done my best to do Oswiu justice as it such a good read and I enjoyed the whole trilogy enormously. I hope there will be more of similar ilk.

The Northumbrian Thrones 0n Edoardo Albert's Blog is most interesting if you want to know more about the history.

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy as the author sent a copy to my author husband.

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Oswiu is the final chapter in the Northumbrian kings trilogy. Oswiu is full of adventure and intrigue; a real game of thrones. There are 4 sections. The first cover Oswiu's unlikely recovering of his brother's body, and the second covers his marriage to Eanflaed. The real action and intrigue unfolds in the last two sections as Mercia and Bernicia come into conflict. The historical note at the end is excellent, explaining what we know, and from where. There isn't much to go on, but many of the events in the novel are taken from the historical record. ( )

A year after the death of his brother, Oswiu carries out a daring raid into enemy territory to reclaim his body. Coming into conflict with Penda of Mercia, Oswiu succeeds in his quest and returns Oswin's remains to his family. However not all Oswiu's advisors are true and, on advice, his sets aside his wife to make a dynastically advantageous marriage. Meanwhile Penda grows ever more strong and a final reckoning between the two is due.

This is the third in Albert's trilogy about the three brothers who became High Kings of Bernicia and many of the areas of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Weaving together history and a certain degree of spirituality, the books have been a guide to actions in the 'Dark Ages'. having enjoyed both previous books I looked forward to the final instalment but I did feel that it fell a little flat. The narrative dragged at times and seemed to be about a series of set pieces, rather than a coherent longitudinal study.
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The final volume of The Northumbrian Thrones trilogy is the story of King Oswiu of Bernicia as recounted in books three and four of Bede’s A History of the English Church and People. Albert divides his novel into four sections roughly corresponding to four major events in Oswiu’s reign.

Part One: King Oswiu of Bernicia is having a difficult time uniting the kingdoms that had wholly supported his brother Oswald. When Oswine of Deria refuses to acknowledge his authority, Oswiu has little recourse. His mother suggests that he mount an expedition to bring the body of his brother Oswald, murdered by Penda, back to Bernicia. Since there have been many miracles reported at the site of Oswald’s murder and more where his bones have been nailed to a tree sacred to Woden it would be a real achievement for Oswiu if he succeeds. The recovery of the bones of his brother, a king and a likely saint, would hopefully unite the kingdoms and prove Oswiu’s worthiness to sit on the Northumbrian throne.

Part Two: To strengthen his position in the seemingly endless war against Penda of Mercia, Oswiu puts aside his first wife and the mother of his two children to marry the Christian daughter of the king of Kent. The section covers mainly the journey of Eanflaed and her entourage from Kent to Northumbria, with miracles enroute.

Part Three: Penda escalates the war against Oswiu with the help of allies including King Oswine of Daria. The siege of Bamburgh Castle and the lifting of the siege with the help of a prayer by Bishop Aiden is the highlight of the section.

Part Four: Finally meeting in battle, Oswiu and Penda fight to the death. Only one can prevail.

In the first book of the trilogy Edwin High King of Britain, Albert adhered primarily to Bede with very little deviation from Bede’s storyline. Only a few scenes were fiction, but very plausible interpretations of the actions of the characters. The dialogue was very like a literal translation of the Latin. In the second book Oswald Return of the King, again Albert depends heavily on Bede’s account but humanizes the characters and makes the language more contemporary.

By book three Albert uses Oswiu’s entire story from Bede, but greatly changes parts of it and adds a lot of imagined scenes. The language is very contemporary. (The children call Oswiu “Daddy”, for example). These are not bad choices, necessarily. But Oswiu reads much more like a modern historical novel and less like the source material. When I was reading Edwin I was so impressed with it that I could see it being used in a history class as an example of how to use a primary source to make the period come alive. With Oswiu I felt that it was a great piece of writing but there was so much license taken with the source material that the story was not as true to the spirit of Bede. They are very different books by the same author in the same series.

I did enjoy Oswiu for different reasons. The imagery is wonderful, especially in scenes like the description of Woden’s tree where Oswald’s body parts are displayed and the final confrontation with Penda. (Oh, I do hope it happened that way, but there is not a word in Bede. It is all Albert).

Albert was right on target about the tidal wave of change caused by the acceptance of the Christian religion. No longer is dying in battle the only acceptable way for a king to die. Oswiu remarks at the end of the book that it would be quite appropriate if he were to die peacefully in bed. Good works by the king to atone for his sins are replacing the giving of gold to insure a loyal following.

I hope Albert continues to write in the period. Whether he is sticking closely to his source or filling in blanks with his wonderful narrative he is an asset to his chosen field. ( )

In this third and (currently) last instalment in The Northumbrian Thrones, the ramifications of Oswald's untimely death spread across the feuding kingdoms of Britain. It is now 642 AD and the unification that seemed within reach during the reign of Edwin has crumbled away. Even Northumbria is no longer united. Oswald's younger brother Oswiu faces a long, hard battle to secure his kingship against the mightiest ruler in the land: Penda, ambitious and ruthless king of Merica. But Oswiu has one advantage that Penda lacks: the posthumous, miracle-working reputation of the murdered Oswald.

In a sacred grove deep within Mercia, Oswald's head and arms hang upon Woden's tree, testament to a double-pronged defeat. As a man and king, he has been bested by Penda. As the champion of the new religion, he has been crushed by the greater power of the old gods. Or so Penda claims. But unsettling rumours are spreading in Mercia: it's said that earth gathered at the site of Oswald's death has worked miracles. The common people come to dig there in the hope of healing or protection. Penda's actions may have removed his main rival for the title of High King of Britain, but they've given him something far harder to conquer: a new saint. And, if Oswald's shadow lies heavily on Mercia, the same is even truer in Northumbria, where Oswiu discovers that he can't avoid comparisons with his charismatic older brother. As both kings seek to prove themselves, their struggle will bring them onto a fatal collision course, which only one man can survive...

The full review will be published on my blog on Friday 17 March at the following link:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/03/17/oswiu-king-of-kings-edoardo-albert ( )