‘’Good historical fiction requires more than just a sense of time and place. You need to immerse your readers in the lives of your characters and the events which befall them in such a way as to make the reader believe they were actually there.’’ - Chris Bishop
All About Me
Chris Bishop was born in London in 1951. After a successful career as a Chartered Surveyor, he retired to concentrate on writing, combining this with his lifelong interest in Anglo Saxon history. His first novel, Blood and Destiny, was published in 2017 and his second, The Warrior with the Pierced Heart, in 2018 followed by The Final Reckoning in 2019 and Bloodlines in 2020. Together they form a series entitled The Shadow of the Raven, the fifth and final part of which - The Prodigal Son – was published in 2023.
Chris has also published numerous blogs about his work, including:- Alfred and the Vikings – a five part series:- Alfred’s troubled realm
So, who were the dreaded Vikings? Why did the Vikings first invade England? The (almost) forgotten battle
The ways of war at the time of King Alfred; Warhorses – the use of horses in battle at the time of King Alfred the Great; Wareham’s past as a Saxon stronghold; Was King Alfred really the father of the English Navy? So, did Alfred really burn the cakes? These and others can be viewed on his website www.chrisbishopauthor.com
You can also follow him on Twitter @CBishop_author
Chris is a member of the Historical Writers Association.
His other interests include travel, windsurfing and fly fishing.
My HP Books
OSCAR’S TALE is the story of a Saxon boy who sets out to find and rescue his father who has been taken by Viking slavers.
Set in 877 as the people of Wessex are forced to fight not just for their very lives, but for their freedom, their religion and for their right to live as Saxons, Oscar relates all that which befalls him on his all but impossible quest. This is set against the backdrop of King Alfred’s desperate attempt to regain his kingdom which culminates in a victory at the Battle of Edington which is very much against the odds.
But this is not just a story about bloody battles and fearsome warriors, it’s about a boy struggling to live up to his father’s reputation as a warrior and trying to find his place in a turbulent and uncertain world. For that, Oscar is forced to confront many dangers, earn the respect of others far above his station and even find love – albeit the cost to him is far higher than most men would have been willing to pay.
‘For is it not the wish of every man that his son will achieve more in life than he did?’
Book excerpt
PRELUDE - BOOK ONE
Who are you who dares disturb my grave? Who is it that scrapes back the soil from my bones to leave me naked to the eyes of strangers? Surely only the lowest of God’s creatures would pick at a carcass so long dead that even the maggots and the worms go hungry!
You say you seek only the knowledge of who I was and how I came to rest in such a lonely grave as this. Well, know then that I am Edward, third born son of Edwulf who was both Ealdorman and counsellor to kings. As to how I ended here is a story worth the telling but it’s not for the ears of those who would grub in the earth with their bare hands and sift the soil with their fingers! Yet I see some profit here. You have clearly wandered so far from the righteous path of your forebears that your hearts are now as cold as stones and your souls withered like fruits in winter. Have you forgotten that your past is as much a part of you as is the blood which courses through your veins? Therefore I will speak of my time if you will listen; but you must first know that I had then but sixteen years of age and cannot tell of that which was beyond my wit or understanding. My dear brother Edwin could tell you more for he had older eyes than mine and a wiser head, but his memory now is not near as sharp as the sword which he once wielded. Know then that he and I lived at a troubled time when the shores of this land were ravaged by fierce, blood-crazed raiders who feared nothing, not even death itself. Having secured a small victory against these heathen hordes, our King, Lord Alfred, retreated to Chippenham to rest his weary army for the winter knowing that, come spring, war would begin in earnest. It was whilst Edwin and I were wont to join him there that we came upon the news which, had we but learned of it in time, might well have changed the course of all our lives – and yours. Thus it was that on the tenth day after Christmas in the year of our Lord 878 that we—
But there, I go too quick. To loose a knot you must needs find an end and so it is with my tangled tale that I must find a thread which may be pulled and then, with patience, all may be unravelled…
Book Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Coming of age in Wessex
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2024
I enjoyed this fun simple story of the resurgence of Alfred of Wessex told through the medium of Oscar, a lad with a gift for strategy.
Given, the realism of crediting him with tactical genius is a bit far fetched, but the story and characters were fun and the plot moved along briskly.
As with any tale involving a young man there is the inherent coming-of-age element and moments of self-discovery in the face of outside pressures, but again, not a surprise and it wasn't overdone to the point of spoiling the adventure.
I enjoyed reading this book, and am curious to see how the story of Oscar ends.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars A really good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2024
Oscar’s Tale is first and foremost a good story well worth reading simply as a novel. But its placement in the turbulent, but comparatively unchronicled period around 877 CE paints an absorbing and well researched picture of real life in England at that time. Neatly woven into the story are elements of personal relationships which add breadth and interest to the scope of this book.
Well recommended.
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