A paleolithic hunter in a time when there are still a few neanderthals extant, his is the first of many family feuds that will affect the course of Sarum's history, as he encounters Tep, a sneaky little bastard who nonetheless shows him the way to Salisbury Plain and its surrounding hills, where they settle. The first arrivals are Hwll and his family, seeking high ground as the Ice Age warms and the ocean rises.

Some of them are there right from the beginning, others don't come along until Roman or Anglo-Saxon or Norman times. It does so by focusing on several families and their ups and downs over the centuries. Sarum tells the entire, and I mean entire (up to the point it was written, circa 1985) history of England via the cathedral city of Salisbury, once known as Sarum, which sits at the confluence of five rivers and has been a population center for thousands of years, as evidenced by the fact that Stonehenge sits on the edge of Salisbury Plain. I cannot vouch for its historicity (it was written in the 80s, and I think there has been a little bit more archeological evidence uncovered about Stonehenge now, plus I never trust any history written about the pre-Roman Celts because the fact is, we don't know shit about them), but Rutherfurd at least does a credible job of convincing me he did the research. I think the obvious comparisons are probably Ken Follett, James Michener, Philippa Gregory, and Morgan Llewellyn, except that to be honest, I've only read Llewellyn. Tracing historical moments from the Ice Age through to the present day, all set against the backdrop of an ever-changing England, Sarum is a novel of breathtaking scope, perfect for fans of Ken Follett and Diana Gabaldon.Really, whatever we think we know is probably bullshit. The landscape - as old as time itself - shapes the destinies of the five families. In a novel of extraordinary richness, the whole sweep of British civilization unfolds through the story of one place, Sailsbury, from beyond recorded time to the present day. Sarum weaves an enthralling saga of five families - the Wilsons, the Masons, the family of Porteus, the Shockleys, and the Godfreys - who reflect the changing character of Britain. 'A richly imagined vision of history' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE 'Supremely well crafted and a delight to read' CHICAGO TRIBUNE

'A high-speed cavalcade of our island story' DAILY EXPRESS

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd