The Wordsmith's Tale - Softcover

Surging, powerful and highly readable. It's ambitious, often witty, earthy and even meaty, rich in detail. Above all, I'd say, Stephen Edden has a fine ear for the cadences of speech. The whole book is exceptionally well-written. --Kevin-Crossley Holland, author of The Seeing Stone and translator of Beowulf

The Wordsmith's Tale... is about the origins of our collective imagination. It s an eccentric and highly entertaining history lesson, and also a compelling attempt to show the crucible of the British collective unconscious; the origins of stories that have lasted more than 1000 years. -- The Times

In 1087, Thomas the Piper sits down to recount the heartwarming, spell-binding hundred-year history of how his family of story-weaver and serfs has got by, against the odds. His young scribe - lovestruck and distracted - writes it all down. Several generations of this West Country family, from the reign of King Edgar to the Battle of Hastings, are linked by one recurring theme: the gift of storytelling, first found in Tom, the bard of King Edgar's court, whose love for Fleda saves her life and creates a legend in their son Bas, who gains a ferocious reputation as a warrior fighting the armies of King Cnut. Bas's son Harry, a storyteller like his aunt, passes the gift on to his own son Thomas, who is forced to make use of the first of three wishes endowed upon the wishing penny given to his grandfather by King Edgar. But will it save his family?

'Unique, fascinating and compulsively readable.' Alan Sillitoe

Surging, powerful, exceptionally well written.' Kevin Crossley-Holland

A remarkable, powerful and hugely enjoyable novel.' The Historical Novels Review