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Bernard Cornwell
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Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC Paperback – 5 Jun. 2000

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,831 ratings
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Bernard Cornwell’s new novel, following the enormous success of his Arthurian trilogy (The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur) is the tale of three brothers and of their rivalry that creates the great temple.

One summer’s day, a dying stranger carrying great wealth in gold comes to the settlement of Ratharryn.

The three sons of Ratharryn’s chief each perceive the great gift in a different way. The eldest, Lengar, the warrior, harnesses his murderous ambition to be a ruler and take great power for his tribe. Camaban becomes a great visionary and feared wise man, and it is his vision that will force the youngest brother, Saban, to create the great temple on the green hill where the gods will appear on earth. Saban’ s love for Aurenna, the sun bride whose destiny is to die for the gods, finally brings the rivalries of the brothers to a head. But it is also his skills that will build the vast temple, a place for the gods, certainly, but also a place that will confirm for ever the supreme power of the tribe that built it.

Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC is first and foremost a great historical novel. Bernard Cornwell is well known and admired for the realism and imagination with which he brings earlier worlds to life. And here he uses all these skills to recreate the world of primitive Britain and to solve the mysteries of who built Stonehenge, how and why.
‘A circle of chalk, a ring of stone, and a house of arches to call the far gods home’

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    592 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    HarperCollins
  4. Publication date
    5 Jun. 2000
  5. Dimensions
    10.7 x 3.7 x 18.6 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    9780006513865
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0006513865
  8. See all details
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Product description

Amazon Review

From the earliest times, human beings have looked at the sun and the moon, and at life and death, and have imagined gods who control such things, and looked for ways to control those gods. In Stonehenge, Bernard Cornwell, famous for his novels about Rifleman Sharpe's adventures in the Napoleonic wars and for a sequence of brutally realistic Arthurian novels, considers the men and women who built Stonehenge and Avebury. These stone circles are impressive enough today; but all the more so if you imagine shifting stones from Wales to Salisbury Plain by raft and roller, dressing them with burning fat and grindstones, hauling the lintel stones up tiers of platforms.

"The oxen were goaded again, and, finger's breadth by finger's breadth, the huge stone eased forward until half of it was poised and then the oxen tugged once more and Saban was shouting at the beasts' drivers to halt the animals because the stone was tipping at last. For a heartbeat, it seemed to balance on the ramp's edge, then its leading half crashed down onto the timbers, then the great boulder slid down the ramp to lodge against the hole's face." It is the story of Saban, made architect against his will; of his brothers Lengar, the aspiring conqueror and Camaban, the cripple-turned-magician. It is the story of Derrewynn, princess-turned-witch, and Aurenna, sacrifice-turned-priestess queen. Stonehenge is an epic tale of people as smart as us, inventing religion and mythology and forcing their wills on the world and each other. --Roz Kaveney

Review

‘An epic story told with a master’s skill. Bernard Cornwell now burrows into prehistory to suggest an answer to the puzzle of why and by whom Stonehenge was built. The result is an epic story told with a master’s skill, presenting powerful personalities, high dramas and terrific climaxes with colour and pace.’
TLS

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0006513867
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; First Edition (5 Jun. 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780006513865
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0006513865
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.7 x 3.7 x 18.6 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,831 ratings

About the author

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Bernard Cornwell

Bernard Cornwell

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Bernard Cornwell was born in London and worked in television until he met his American wife and moved to the US. Denied a work permit, he wrote a novel and has been writing ever since.

A master storyteller with a passion for history, his current bestselling series, THE LAST KINGDOM, is centred around the creation of England. It is also a major TV series on Netflix, with Bernard playing a cameo role in season three. The fourth season is currently being filmed.

He is also the author of THE GRAIL QUEST series, set in the Hundred Years’ War, THE WARLORD chronicles, set in Arthurian Britain, a number of standalone novels, one non-fiction work on Waterloo and the series with which he began, the SHARPE series.

For exciting news, tour and publication details, and exclusive content from Bernard visit www.bernardcornwell.net and like his author page on Facebook/Bernard.Cornwell

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
2,831 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Acuarella15
5.0 out of 5 stars better than expected!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2023
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Great reading and page turner! Very fast paced story and you don’t know what is coming. I really enjoyed the storyline and I learned a great deal about how people could have possibly lived during the Bronze Age in Britain. The main character is not the typical bad ass warrior as in many of Bernard Cromwell’ books, but still strong and determined.
3 people found this helpful
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Richarmi
4.0 out of 5 stars good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2024
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a gripping tale love, lust, human greed and sometimes fair retribution. Gripping. The elemental nature of humans shines through - thought provoking
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P Hoags
3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining diversion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 2020
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A story that draws you into the spiralling madness of a sorcerer’s vision to build the ultimate temple to the Gods. Why his brother chooses to help, whilst losing everything dear to him in the process - is perhaps a greater mystery than the true origins of Stonehenge itself? A distracting enough read, although somewhat obsessed with the gory details of sacrifice.
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Carolina Crossley
5.0 out of 5 stars My First Bernard Cornwall Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 October 2023
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Stonehenge is a fantastic story told by a master storyteller. I liked that the author plunges you straight in at the deep end and fills in the details as the story races along.
I am going to read more Bernard Cornwall and this book comes highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Tim Walker
4.0 out of 5 stars A Stony Reflection on Man's Search for Higher Meaning
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2023
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Mankind's evolving beliefs in spiritual deities as a way of making sense of an unpredictable and often hostile natural world are explored here, wrapped in human loves, hates, jealousy and ambitions. The author takes what he has learned from his research of Stonehenge and other neolithic/stone age and bronze age settlements and monuments to construct an intriguing narrative centred on the motivations of three brothers. His theory is that due to the peculiar complexity of Stonehenge, it could have been built in the lifetime of a driven visionary, forms the bedrock of this epic tale. The fictional architect of Stonehenge is Saban, a man whose life, loves, fears and frustrations are laid out before us, as his life's work is slowly, painstakingly achieved over many years. The temple is aligned to both midsummer sun rise and midwinter sunset, hinting at its purpose in religious ceremonies that honour and beseech favours from the gods of nature. This is ultimately an enjoyable and satisfying read, but I feel the reader is occasionally strapped to the stone harness and must grit their teeth to pull through some testing moments in the narrative. Keep going! It's completion brings a sense of spiritual satisfaction. This is another monument in a shared cultural archive that gives us greater understanding and awareness of who we are and where we have come from.
2 people found this helpful
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Mav617
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2023
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Love the monument and this work is also awesome in its scope. I would recommend to anyone who has even heard of the Henge
2 people found this helpful
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FireDancer
5.0 out of 5 stars How good was this book?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2011
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- so good I bought it twice! One of the casualties of a house move, this was one I insisted on re-buying, my collection would not be complete without it. Everyone has their favourite historical eras - mine is whatever Bernard is writing about. He draws me into pre-history as effortlessly as he tutored me about so many conflicts from Viking England to American Civil War. Every author is (apparently) capable of having an publishing disaster, but as far as I am concerned, nothing could be further from the truth on this one. His talent for creating credible, empathetic characters and immersing them in impossible situations is _______ (fill in your own superlative, I can't choose).
In Stonehenge, he gives us a credible war between two tribes building rival stone circles and as usual his characters have to suffer in ways that are totally appropriate to their timeline/lifestyle. What my family find hard is the way Bernard basically cheats them of several days of my life - there is no point asking me real-life stuff - I enter his worlds so completely it is pretty impossible to function as a wife/mother/teacher etc until the last page has been turned. Thank goodness for long school hols.
Keep it up Bernard - you did full justice to this incredible story.
5 people found this helpful
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Infinity Drive
4.0 out of 5 stars Neolithic Intrigue
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 February 2009
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What I found interesting about this book - is how the author creates a complete society and structure of neolithic times yet makes the character very easily identifiable with, which I suppose is the mark of a good author. No doubt the book required painstaking research, but there are archaeological inaccuracies in this book, however it is interesting - as it appears he has borrowed also ideas from indigenous shamanic cultures around the world to portray his artistic view of the Ancient British.

I like the way he made reference to areas in the uk, giving them different names, which you will recognise if you've been to them, Avebury, Stonehenge, Stanton Drew etc.

I found myself having to remind myself 'this is fiction' - it portrays a possible explanation of the sites, with all the mellodrama of any modern well written fiction. I feel though the book casts a negative light on our ancestral priesthoods, and what I really which really put me off was the main character 'saban' is the builder of the henge 'the mason' which then made me realise who potentially the author aiming the books at in modern times as his audience of readers. He sort of portrays the ancients in the story as maniacal zealots boardering on insanity as they build stonehenge in order to try to 'banish' winter. Whilst an excellent plot device, I found myself thinking 'no way' they cant have possibly have been as idiotic as the author presents them. However, the fluid plot and well written fiction made up for these aspects of the book. If you are realy interested in Stonehenge - have a look at the Anthropologist Gerald Simms theories which give a more rational explanation of a possible reconcilliation between ancient solar and lunar cults. I think the modern pagan would be interested in this book, but after reading it they might think it rather derogartory to ideas some people even today hold dear concerning megalithic sites.

Still I enjoyed the plot twists, developments and ideas in the book - an enoyable work of FICTION.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Tgx
Reviewed in Canada on 12 December 2020
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Good and timely service.
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Rob Jason
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible
Reviewed in Australia on 21 August 2023
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Writers work is SO impressive
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Michael Alpert
3.0 out of 5 stars Stonehenge Rocks
Reviewed in Brazil on 26 January 2015
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I'm a avid Cornwell fan, but I found Stonehenge a bit more difficult to sink my teeth into the reality of the story. Still, it's a good story and as well, a convincing arquiological version of the possiblilities of the technology at that time.
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Lino
4.0 out of 5 stars A great historical recreation
Reviewed in Spain on 9 August 2016
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The author brings back to life the ancient customs in a direct and vibrant manner. You understand the way of thinking of our ancestors and realize that it is comparable to the behavior of the more recent tribes earlier to colonization all over the world. The history is so interesting that you can not leave the reading. Although the real meaning of Stonehenge will never be known, in the end you get an idea of what the monument may have represented for its builders. Recommendable.
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Lakshmi Kanthan Muralikrishnan
5.0 out of 5 stars Cornwell's treat
Reviewed in India on 11 September 2015
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Cornwell's books are always a treat! No one tells history in this way! There isbdeep melancholy where it has to be... Bursts of happiness, sarcasm, rage, and what not? Here's another British historical fiction... Actually, the book came earlier than expected (Thanks for that!)! Gonna start right away!
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