Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Bone Thief
    Unavailable
    The Bone Thief
    Unavailable
    The Bone Thief
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Bone Thief

    Written by V.M. Whitworth

    Narrated by Laurence Kennedy

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    900 A.D. A time of turmoil. A kingdom in dispute. An unlikely hero...

    Athelfled, wife to the aging and sickly Lord of Mercia, is only too aware of the threat her brother, King Edward of Wessex, poses to her husband's kingdom. The preservation of Mercia is in her hands.

    In an attempt to unite the kingdom behind her, she seizes on the prospect of rediscovering St. Oswald's bones, rumoured to be buried in the hostile north, around Lincoln. She sends her secretary, Wulfgar, northward to retrieve them and on this perilous journey Wulfgar will be forced to use reserves of courage he was unaware he possessed.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateNov 1, 2012
    ISBN9781471209222
    Unavailable
    The Bone Thief

    Related to The Bone Thief

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hunting Monsters

      Dec 28, 2021

      Many people have heard of the grotesque Grendel, his mother and the dragon with whom the hero Beowulf contends in the great Old English epic poem. But the imaginative world of the Anglo-Saxons was populated by many more such creatures. Tim Flight’s n

      1 min read

    • Article

      Nemesis Of The Normans

      Oct 28, 2021

      Nemesis Of The Normans
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Massacre of Glencoe

      Jul 30, 2018

      The Massacre of Glencoe
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Murder Most Royal

      Oct 23, 2020

      A Murder Most Royal
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Controversial King

      Jan 7, 2022

      The Controversial King
      5 min read

    • Article

      Richard III Struggled Against His Two Brothers For The Crown

      Dec 1, 2020

      English history recounts many tales of bloody battles, but the infighting among “The Brothers York” was legendary for its ferocity.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Spice Of Life

      Dec 8, 2023

      Spice Of Life
      7 min read

    • Article

      Michael Kohlhaas

      Mar 28, 2019

      Michael Kohlhaas
      24 min read

    • Article

      The Woman At Home

      Jan 29, 2019

      From the journals of Samuel P. Perceval,bookseller: Covent Garden, Dec. 15, 1974 This spring, I found a curious letter sewn into the hem of a coat belonging to my late great-aunt Florence. Crudely enveloped in what appeared to be a page torn from

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Sands of TREGANLLAW

      May 5, 2022

      England, 1497. Henry VII, the first Tudor king, reigns, having vanquished Richard III, the last monarch of the House of York, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. A young man calling himself Richard, Duke of York has spent years striving for recogniti

      5 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two

      Oct 30, 2019

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two
      25 min read

    • Article

      Equinox

      May 18, 2022

      In this strange world, where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun, supernatural forces are at work – and they’re causing trouble… St Leonars prison was an appropriately imposing building. It rose out of the surrounding shacks and

      5 min read

    • Article

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work

      Dec 15, 2018

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Island (catullus 64)

      Mar 1, 2022

      Back then the evergreens tumbled downriverfrom the glaze-white runoff to the boot-stirred puddlesof amber young men who fulfilled our destiny,who clambered into ships, on horses, and in wagonspainting the newfound landscapes ours.Our calling was nobl

      9 min read

    • Article

      There’s No Place Like Home

      Aug 17, 2022

      NÍL aon tinteán mar do thinteán fhéin,’ Rose says (it means: ‘There is no fireplace like your own’) every time we turn in through our gates and catch a glimpse of the house at the end of the drive. We have been leading such a peripatetic existence of

      2 min read

    • Article

      MICHAEL KOHLHAAS Part Two

      Feb 26, 2019

      MICHAEL KOHLHAAS Part Two
      24 min read

    • Article

      Fredericksburg’s Wounded Warriors

      Jul 11, 2023

      Fredericksburg’s Wounded Warriors
      6 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Play Dead

      Mar 3, 2020

      There was a man, let’s call him Henry VIII. There was his wife, let’s call her Anne B. Let’s give them a castle and make it nice. Let’s give her many boy babies but make them dead. Let’s give him a fussy way of being. Let’s make her smart and sneaky,

      17 min read

    • Article

      Press Ganged!

      May 1, 2020

      Press Ganged!
      3 min read

    • Article

      FALSE IMPRESSIONS Part 3

      Apr 1, 2020

      FALSE IMPRESSIONS Part 3
      10 min read

    • Article

      Raiders From The Sea

      Sep 1, 2023

      CANNY LIFTED HER head from the swirls of gold and red and put down the brush, stretching her frozen fingers. The sun fell through the scriptorium window in warm panels, but the room was still cold, and she’d been at work on the manuscript in front of

      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Bone Thief

    3.5/5

    28 ratings3 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      3.5 Stars.

      This novel was recommended to me at a conference, mainly because it was set in the reign of Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great and Lady of the Mercians. This period is not simply one of personal interest, but of current research for me. There does seem to be a strong ‘sense’ of period, and some of the detail was very interesting.
      Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the Catholic religious beliefs of the Saxon characters are not treated with contempt, ridicule or vilified as seems to be the case in some novels.

      Mrs Whitworth is clearly familiar with the era she writes about, and can re-create it convincingly for the reader using real events as an inspiration for the story.
      The glossary was useful for the unfamiliar terms, and although its over 400 pages its not a heavy or tedious read.

      Also, I have to admit though he may not be according to everyone’s taste I did take a liking to Wulfgar- aside from often loose tongue and his unhealthy infatuation with the Viking woman Gunnvor resulting in part from a certain scene in which he sees her in undergarments.
      Yes he is weedy, was bullied by other boys as a child so has serious confidence issues, he's a whiner, green around the gill's and certainly not the sharpest tool in the shed- but I think I related to him as the unappreciated underdog who makes an unlikely hero.

      His companion Ednoth seemed to be a typical hard-man, a useful balance with Wulfgar’s lack of fighting ability- and subtlety.
      The other clerical character, Father Ronan had a grittier and more realistic outlook on life and his outlook and experiences seemed quite realistic for people for the Christians living in the Danelaw in which the established hierarchy of the church had broken down, and in which there might be nobody to perform ancient rites like baptism or confession. That said, I didn’t find him entirely likeable, perhaps because I thought him to be rather sycophantic and willing to compromise what he was supposed to stand for.

      Gunnvor, the aformentioned Viking woman I found hard to warm to. She seemed little more than eye candy or and a potential Romantic interest for Wulfgar. Her strength of character, independence and having rescue the men from potentially dangerous situations seemed something of a stereotype perhaps intended to appeal to modern notions of girl-power.

      Historically, I couldn’t find many problems, though I am not an archaeologist and so I’m not familiar with material culture and probably wouldn’t spot any errors in this regard. The main issue I had was the language, which often seemed rather too modern with characters using many contemporary terms and phrases. Perhaps this was necessary to allow for better understanding, but language which is too jarringly modern in historical fiction is an issue for me generally. Perhaps it’s just a matter of taste.

      My only gripes with the story were that it could perhaps have been resolved more quickly and seemed to drag a little and some of the characters’ actions didn’t seem wholly consistent or plausible.
      Without wanting to give away the story, it just seemed incredibly unwise for the other characters to expect Wulfgar go off on his own after all that had happened to them- and I’m really not sure that the Lady of the Mercians would have risked openly allying herself with Æthelwold, the rival claimant to the West Saxon throne.

      Overall, this was a good story with some memorable and lovable characters (in spite of their failings) which might appeal to those who aren’t so keen on novels full of battle or bedroom scenes. I’m certainly interested being re-united with Wulfgar the next book, The Traitor’s Pit and only hope his heroism doesn’t involve abandoning his beliefs and convictions.
    • 5/5
      Life is full of peculiar coincidences. Having no sooner finished the life story of Oswald Iding, King of Northumbria, than I come across this entertaining novel in which Oswald, now dead some 300 years, features prominently as St Oswald, one of the most revered martyrs in Anglo-Saxon England and whose relics are in high demand. The book is based on a brief, cryptic reference in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which notes that in around 900 AD, Aethelfleda, Queen of Mercia, obtains the bones of St Oswald from where they have been hidden since the destruction of their shrine by the Vikings and has them translated to the Cathedral in Gloucester. From this fragment, Whitworth has constructed a detailed and enthralling story centred around the fictional character Wulfgar, a young priest, who is tasked with retrieving Oswald's bones from their hiding place. With the help of a variety of companions, Wulfgar braves the dangerous journey to snatch the bones from their resting place in Bardney, despite the best efforts of Aethelfleda's rivals, Viking warlords and a particularly evil slave-trader and returns them to Gloucester. The novel is interesting not only for its deftly-handled plotting, well-developed characters and excellent moments of action, but in the way it handles the background of disordered and chaotic 10th century England, still divided into quarrelsome kingdoms and facing the continuing threat of the Danes, who have conquered large portions of eastern England and show every desire to add more territory to their domains. The tensions between English and Dane, Christian and pagan, warriors and church are always evident and inform so much of the story, and Whitworth has done a masterful job of creating the tense, uncertain atmosphere of the time, when England's future was in a state of flux and rapid change in the circumstances of everybody was possible. The book is somewhat slow in the first half and the proliferation of characters and their motivations can get confusing, but the second half is quick and sure, with events moving smoothly but rapidly to a conclusion. It seems this book is the first in a planned series, in which case I will be waiting with anticipation for the next instalment. An excellent read, not great literature by any means, but entertaining and informative. Thoroughly enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      The year is 900 A.D. and England is ruled, in part, by the Danes and the rest of the country is divided with the Kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia with Wessex being the stronger of the two. The Lord of Mercia is ill and his wife does not think she can withstand a takeover from the King of Wessex who also happens to be her brother. She thinks it would be helpful to give the Mercians a rallying point and with that end in mind, priest Wulfgar who is her friend and secretary is tasked with retrieving the bones of St. Oswald for a new church. But the bones are hidden in a churchyard in the north of England in enemy (Danish) territory and the journey there and back will be dangerous. Wulfgar has a young assistant sent with him and they encounter a priest and a woman who may or may not be trusted. There will be others that are determined to get their hands on the sacred bones of the Saint and there are secret messages to be conveyed as well. There are secrets uncovered and plots discovered. Wulfgar learns more about himself in the process of the quest. Good characters, well written, it's a period in history you don't see often in historical fiction but is so well described that you can picture it well. I learned about the book in a BBC History magazine and it was available on Kobobooks.com and i quite enjoyed it. Hoping there are more adventures for Wulfgar in the future!