Book review: "Dunstan", by Conn Iggulden

Synopsis: Recalling the life story of St. Dunstan (909-988 A.D.), Conn Iggulden brings the reader into the world of 10th Century Wessex, and a kingdom that will one day be called "England". With the Romans having departed centuries before, the British isles is a place ravaged by internal disputes, conflicts and foreign threats. As a young man, Dunstan becomes apprenticed in a monastery, and reaches adulthood just at the point in which King Athelstan is about to subdue a rebellion in the north, and bring the whole of the island under his control...

An ambitious and driven man, Dunstan is destined to rise to the top of society at a rate that will surprise even him at times... but at what costs? After all, the life of a powerful man in an unstable and turbulent time is always exposed to treachery, deceit and the desires of those who would see him brought down. As war rages near and far, as conspiracy threatens to undermine both him and the Church, and as he outlives king after king in quick succession, Dunstan learns that the plans of God, kings and men are not always one and the same...

  Dunstan reacts to an unwelcome visitor...

Review: Conn Iggulden, a man who clearly has a lot of fun writing historical fiction, has once again delivered what feels like an authentic classic. 10th Century England is a period that often gets overshadowed by the Norman invasion of 1066, partly because that was the last time that the British Isles were fully invaded, but also because William the Conqueror (1028-1087 A.D.) is often considered to be the first "true" king of England. To add to the difficulty of studying the period, as Iggulden admits in the incredibly useful historical notes at the back, so much from that period has either been lost, was never written down, or has roots in dubious sources. But, Iggulden is able to turn lemons into lemonade by using these gaps in history as a way to test out his creative licence... and at no point does the storyline seem inconceivable or far-fetched.

One of the advantages of writing an entire book from the perspective of one person is that you can explore their psyche and personality in great detail, past present and future, and even watch it develop as the book progresses. We hear all about Dunstan's internal emotions, which he often confesses as sinful, either privately to the reader or, as in the case below, in full public view:

"Brother Casper, would you fetch me a whip?" I said. 
He looked suspiciously at me and I saw he thought I would use it on him. 
"It is for my penance, Brother Casper. St Benedict's rule forbids us to strike one another in anger. I have sinned, Brother Casper. I must suffer."

Dunstan, this Saint from over a millennium ago whose life you can read about on Wikipedia, is made into a tangible character that a modern reader can relate to. No easy task when you consider the historical context. These were, after all, times when Viking raids happened every other day, when kings were elected to rule with pretty much supreme power by a council called the Witan, and both the monarchy and Church held extensive political power, the likes of which our modern democracy would struggle to deal with. They were, to put it bluntly and to state the obvious, just very different times.

But some things never really change- human nature, for example. And Dunstan has a human nature; he often despairs at the burden caused to his life by his brother Wulfric, particularly in his younger, less forgiving years. He falls into temptation, and when he doesn't receive punishment for it, automatically labels it as "God's will". He's at times guilty of being self-righteous and judgemental, but also exercises righteous indignation, like calling out a newly crowned king for having a mother-and-daughter threesome at his own coronation (just as raunchy as it sounds). He's broken, prone to iniquity and making mistakes... as well are. It truly is a story of a man's nature in conflict with his conscience, and his often opposing morals trying to survive in a wretched and depraved world- and that is always a story worth telling!

And this is the book's strong-point; that Dunstan WAS a real man, who was declared a Saint and achieved many great works... but was human none-the-less. He comes across as comprehensible, flawed and imperfect. While the title of "Saint" can often be isolating, as it marks an immediate distance between the person and their fellow man, "Dunstan" helps take away the curtain of the title, and connect with the trials of the character himself. And Dunstan, a self-confessed imperfect man striving to lead a life dedicated to Christ in often ferocious and merciless circumstances, has PLENTY of stories to share...

This is a stand-alone book, and at times that must have been a challenge for Iggulden, who I felt really thrives in writing series books (see "Wars of the Roses" ). With this in mind, I would suggest that the author struggled a little with what ALL producers of historical fiction have to face to an extent, whether it be in books or film, which is trying to cram in an entire life without making it feel rushed or skipping huge parts. Maybe it's just me, but I could have read and enjoyed a book that was twice the length, as long as it had kept the same pace and style throughout. But it is a minor point- I was lucky enough to get a signed copy from the author himself (thanks to the patience and research of my mum! Many thanks again) and, as I've said about Iggulden's books before, it was just such fun to hold and engage with a man's incredible life reborn on the pages in front of me. But all things must pass, including the experience of hearing great stories. As Conn himself says:

"All such empires fall away, leaving stories behind: from Plato's men staring at shadows in a cave or Horatius on the Bridge, to Sir Francis Drake playing bowls and a thousand more. It has been my privilege to tell just one".

Score: 8/10