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Donna Fletcher Crow
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Glastonbury: The Novel of Christian England Kindle Edition

by Donna Fletcher Crow (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 300 ratings
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Glastonbury saw it all—armies marched, cultures clashed, kingdoms rose and fell—but through it all Glastonbury remained a place of serenity, prayer and reconciliation. Sweeping through 1500 years of tumultuous Celtic, Roman, Arthurian, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Tudor history from the first confrontations between druids and Christians to the dissolution of the monasteries, this is a story of faith passed on from generation to generation. Joseph of Arimathea, Saint Patrick, Alfred the Great, Richard the Lionheart, Henry VIII… here in this epic novel of the triumph of Christianity through the darkest moments of history, many will find their own spiritual roots.
As Austin Ringwode, last of the Glastonbury monks, searches back through the pages of recorded history in a valiant quest to find meaning in the struggles those broken arches stood witness to—seeking for the Holy Grail itself—so his odyssey becomes every person’s journey for the meaning of life.
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  1. Print length
    1134 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    November 10, 2016
  5. File size
    2168 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MSK4NBC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Verity Press; 2nd edition (November 10, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 10, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2168 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 1134 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 300 ratings

About the author

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Donna Fletcher Crow

Donna Fletcher Crow

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Donna Fletcher Crow, who lives in Idaho with her husband of 52 years, is the mother of four adult children, grandmother of 14 and author of nearly 50 books, mostly novels of British history. Her best known book is the epic historical novel Glastonbury, The Novel of Christian England, which was awarded First Place, Historical Fiction, by the National Federation of Press Women.

After almost 10 years in the publishing wilderness Donna reentered the fray with The Monastery Murders, a series of ecclesiastical mysteries featuring Felicity Howard, an American woman studying for the Anglican priesthood in a monastery in remote Yorkshire. When Felicity's favorite monk is bludgeoned to death she finds herself learning about a lot more than theoretical theology. A Very Private Grave is the first in the series. The most recent is An All-Consuming Fire, book 5, where a murderer stalking the Yorkshire moors threatens Felicity and Antony's wedding.

Donna also writes the Elizabeth and Richard literary suspense series including A Jane Austen Encounter and A Most Singular Venture. The Lord Danvers series are her Victorian true-crime mysteries. The most recent is A Tincture of Murder.

She says, "I write historical novels and contemporaries that draw heavily on historical background, because I believe it is vitally important that we not loose touch with our rich historical heritage. Those who have gone before us have worked too hard and suffered too much to preserve the privileges we enjoy for us to forget their stories. Reading of the triumphs of the faithful in ages past can inspire and strengthen us for our own challenging times."

Donna is an enthusiastic gardener, enjoying the challenge of growing an English cottage garden in the Idaho desert. You can visit her garden at http://novelgarden.blogspot.com/

She also enjoys drinking tea with family and friends and hearing from her readers. You can write to her at DonnaFCrow@aol.com and follow her on Facebook at Donna Fletcher Crow, Novelist of British History.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
300 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sheila Deeth
5.0 out of 5 stars Richly fascinating, beautifully researched, gloriously evocative
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2012
Verified Purchase
An almost perfect blend of history, mythology, and excellent storytelling, Donna Fletcher Crow's Glastonbury recreates ancient Britain from the time of Druids to the dissolution of the monasteries in the Middle Ages. The story splits into separate books, each complete in itself and each contributing an essential ingredient to the whole. It's a long read, certainly, but a rewarding one with such perfect stopping points you can pick it up again week after week, following tales of slavery and Roman rule with the curious wonders of Camelot and the quest for the Holy Grail.

I've always loved English history and this novel satisfies that love as well as intriguing me delightfully with its depiction of early Christianity. Building on legends that Joseph of Arimathea came to England after the death of Christ, carrying the Holy Grail of Arthurian dreams, it invites the reader to wonder what is the grail, and who is Arthur? Is there power in the land?

Donna Fletcher Crow deftly weaves a wealth of well-researched detail into a story that continually astounds with sudden awe and the caught breath of surprised recognition. There are no glaring signposts to remembered characters here; just wise and well-drawn images that bring those characters to life before you've fully recognized who you might be seeing. Glastonbury encompasses the detail and emotional power of a Rosemary Sutcliffe novel (one of my childhood favorites), the honest faith of a Taylor Caldwell book (favorites of my teenage years), and the scope and depth of an Edward Rutherford tome (one of my more recent favorites). It is is hugely satisfying, beautifully researched and convincingly told--a novel to read and reread and happily recommend.

Disclosure: I was lucky enough to by an ecopy when it was free but I'll have to look out for it in paperback now as I want a copy for my bookshelf.
16 people found this helpful
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Nash Black
5.0 out of 5 stars A Historical That Earns its Name
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2012
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Donna Fletcher Crow's GLASTONBURY is a rich reading experience not to be missed. Through the layers of legend, myths, and history her ordinary characters tell live the establishment, growth, and final trobs of destruction of Glastonbury Abby in England.
This is not a book to be skimmed, but must be savored for the richness of period detail and the courage of faith against overwhelming odds. The story begins with the arrival of Joseph of Arimathea who brings a group of twelve people to England. He carries with him a simple ordinary olive wood cup that Jesus used at the last supper. He and his band find their way to an island that had long been a holy place of the Druids and establish a home for the ages.
The remote island with its fertile fields becomes a cross road for many people who arrive to pillage and then to stay, leave an imprint on the people, their culture, and religion.
The site of Glastonbury flowers and withers with each great passing, but it never dies.
The story flows through the lives of a thin line of descent that is one with the land and their faith. My only complaint was when I became enthralled with a set of characters time moved on and they faded into history.
Take your time and enjoy each segement of the story. Your view of the development of the island race will be forever changed.
Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH.
5 people found this helpful
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Adam Graham
4.0 out of 5 stars An Engossing Historical Epic
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2013
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This historical epic follows the history of Christianity in England from the first Century to the time of the reformation through the lens of Glastonbury, the site where Christianity first came to the British Isle.

The book is thoroughly researched by Crow who manages to separate fact from myth and craft an engaging tale of English history that falls a long line of kings and peoples through Glastonbury. Along the way, we meet such figures as Joseph of Arimathea, King Arthur, Alfred the Great, and St. Patrick.

The stories are encouraging. While some negative reviews have cited the fact that many of the characters went through similar struggles, I actually viewed this as a key feature of the book. The fact that in different ages, spiritual leaders came along had to confront the structural decline of Glastonbury as well as its spiritual decline shows that many of our problems. far from being modern inventions, are the exact same thing that holy men and women of old had to confront and by God's grace, deal with.

All sections were not equally compelling. My favorites were those involving Arthurian England and the section of the book focusing on King Alfred. The Arthurian Section makes Arthur a believable historical figure of his time rather than the more fanciful legend manufactured during the time of the Normans. I thought the Alfred the Great section was a little too short, but then again I don't if anyone could have done enough on Alfred the Great for my liking.

While not my favorite, the best piece of writing in the book is the section on Tudor England and the actions of Henry VIII. The events of the English Reformation under Henry are often reduced to caricature, but Crow is able to tell a very handed story by choosing a narrator named Giles who finds himself caught in the middle. Giles makes friends with ardent Catholics, committed Lutherans, and is trying to establish a place in the court of Henry VIII. Giles like some aspects of the Reformation such as the introduction of the Bible to people in English while at the same time recoiling at the greed and excess of Henry and Lord Thomas Cromwell, as well as the destruction of abbeys and monasteries that Henry wrought that in fact ravaged English history and heritage, and hurt the poor who depended on these monasteries for assistance.

As an American, I can see how the actions of Henry and the precedents he set ultimately would lead man English to free to the new world. Henry, in order to obtain his divorce married church and state in a way that placed the King over God. Nothing illustrated that better than Henry demanding tribute from churches and monasteries. Thus you had a king demanding a tithe of God.

Overall, the book is engaging and helps readers to understand the role that faith played in English history, and how that faith continues to effect the world today.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

D Lowes
5.0 out of 5 stars I so enjoyed this novel
Reviewed in Canada on August 17, 2019
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This story was so very interesting in a historical way. I love a novel that tell a story but is true to history. Thank you for the time an effort it took to take us back through history and bring it to life.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Revelation
Reviewed in Australia on November 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
I never knew this history of the church in England before, so read with great interest the historical background. But I also appreciated the way in which the author pulled together the threads of history that have been so interwoven with myth that it cannot have been a simple undertaking. The characters at the centre of each period were relatable and created a point of contact through which to experience history. I appreciate also the clarity with which the reality of faith in Christ is presented. As there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, there is also no Catholic or Lutheran, or even Anglican. The grace of God is given freely to all, and all who would embrace it and receive with thankful hearts draw near in sincerity of worship. Those who succumb to the temptations of greed and corruption can oppose that grace from any quarter, both religious and secular. But the grace of God is incorruptible and eternal. His Truth and Grace, embodied in Jesus Christ, will ultimately prevail!
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Paul T.
5.0 out of 5 stars A 1500 year epic!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2012
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First the downside: to be honest, I found the start a bit slow. But then, this isn't an all-action thriller. 'Glastonbury' covers a vast swathe of history, and the pace is appropriate - steady and well measured. There is a big story to tell here, and the writer tells it with depth.

Indeed, it is that depth, that thorough attention to detail which I came to appreciate as one of the strengths of this book. It's clear that a lot of research has been done. The writer not only has a firm grasp of the broad sweep of history, but also knows a lot about the small details of life - from what Romans ate for breakfast, to the latest interior decoration in the time of Henry the Eighth. However, she doesn't overwhelm the reader with too much minutiae. Instead, this information is woven smoothly into the narrative, adding authenticity without detracting from the story.

And what a story it is! From the very first coming of Christianity to Britain, through the ebb and flow of peoples, the coming and going of the Legions, the Dark Ages, the building of churches and monasteries... Kings and Bishops, knights and farmers, monks and merchants come and go, each adding their part.

Many elements are blended together here. Mysteries, romances and battles all have a part. But above all, this is a story of faith, of how individual lives have been touched by the Christian message, and how they in turn have touched their world.

So, even if it seems to start slowly, this is well worth staying with. 'Glastonbury' is a marvellously skilful weaving together of history and legend and scripture and imagination - vast in its scope, fascinating in its detail, thought provoking in its implications. I was fortunate enough to get it on a free offer, but if I'd paid the full price, I would have thought it money well spent!
9 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, inspired story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
I utterly loved this story, it is inspirational, and filled with God's love for people. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Glastonbury and it's history as the birthplace of faith in England.
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Johnsy
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at the history of Glastonbury
Reviewed in Canada on December 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
The author has done an excellent job of taking us through generations of believers and developing the thread of Christianity in that place right to modern times. This is a great book for anyone interested in following God's hand in the lives of His children
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