REVIEWS
Reviews and Commendations
'The Year 1070'...Feb 2017...Set in the Northern Dales and Cumbria, this is the tale of two young people forced to flee when heir home is destroyed in William the Conqueror's brutal "Harrying of the North". Rod Flint has pulled off the difficult task of blending historical accuracy with a pacy, action-packed plot. The background detail is convincing,the dialogue consistent and linguistically plausible and the characterisation is empathetic.
This book would be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the history of Northern England, from young adult to older adult. I look forward to reading the proposed sequel.
'The Year 1070'...Mar 2017...Reviewed by Penrith Today...Look back almost 1,000 years (about 40 generations) and the Eden Valley would have been a very different place.
Whilst fells, skylines and rivers would be recognisable, the area was thinly populated, more densely wooded and far more lawless. This is the setting for Rod Flint’s book, ‘The Year 1070 - Survival’.
Teenage cousins, Hravn and Ealdgith, flee to the upper Eden Valley to escape from the murderous arrival of the Normans - who laid waste settlements on the eastern flanks of the Pennines, as part of a process of subjugation following the invasion in 1066. Although their story is fictitious, it is set amidst historical fact and peopled with well-known and more shadowy figures, such as Uther Pendragon.
The period is well-chosen as the politics of the day and shifting allegiances provide plenty of material. Differences between cultural groups - British, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Christian, Pre-Christian, Norman - and porous, shifting borders. Survival and dominance were all too often based on brawn, not necessarily brain.
The England that Duke William of Normandy conquered was already an old country. Following Roman occupation the Anglo-Saxons laid out much of the rural framework we know today, but with substantial areas of unused land – waste or forest - within settled territories. The Domesday survey in 1086 identified fewer than one hundred towns, of which only 32 had populations of more than 1,000 and seven of more than 4,000. Much of the population was dispersed and, according to some contemporary commentators, had lost its vitality over the centuries. Although it may be tempting to regard the pre-Norman period as an easier time in which to live, the brutal suppression by the Normans was superimposed on an already unequal society with its own tensions.
It is a big canvas on which to work, but Rod Flint does it justice. Authenticity is helped by allowing his characters
to follow a detailed and still recognisable way from near Richmond to Morland, and from Kirkby Lonsdale to
the high Pennines behind Cross Fell. It is a good route to retrace, even if only in the mind’s eye. This is reinforced by attention to domestic details - clothes, food and attitudes - and by linking the story to known milestones and regionally important families.
It does not give too much away to say that the cousins are a young man and woman, and there is a romantic element interwoven within their, at times, literal fight for survival. If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a good read. Available as an ebook and as a print to order paperback, Rod is now working on the sequel: ‘The Year 1071- Resistance and Revenge’.
'The Year 1070'...Feb 2017...
Well researched, evocative of the period and place, and a good read. Well recommended. I am looking forward to the sequel.
'The Year 1070'...Mar 2017...
I enjoyed this book; I am interested in the Harrying of the North and in particular, how far west it extended. This book, which is probably aimed at teenagers, goes some way to explain how offensive it was against the indigenous population.
'The Year 1070'...July 2017...Commended at the Lakeland Book of The Year Awards by Fiona Armstrong in the Art and Literature category.
'The Year 1070'...Aug 2017... Arrived well before due date. Well writen, very much a family book.
'The Year 1070'...Oct 2019... As an introduction to the topic of the Norman Conquest, which Flint discusses quite objectively in his notes, The Year 1070 – Survival is a fantastic choice, especially for its prime target demographic, but also for adults who enjoy YA (as I do). For those more well-versed too, it provides a story of humanity in the midst of violent upheaval and a glimpse into how average people, who so often are my own heroes, might have coped and sought to claim back their own future. The series continues with The Year 1071 – Resistance and Revenge, available now, and concludes with the soon-to-be-published The Year 1072 – Retribution. I’ll be looking for both...by Lisl @ before the second sleep. Read more here...https://beforethesecondsleep.wordpress.com/
