Resumen
Resumen de Andanzas por Wessex
Para quién es
This book will delight armchair travellers, country walkers, lovers of churches and castles, and readers of Thomas Hardy who want to stand where his fictional towns come from, or anyone who enjoys English history told through places.
De qué trata este libro
Imagine a walking tour led by a companion who looks closely, loves old stone and has plenty of opinions. Edric Holmes writes just after the Great War, and he guides you through the old kingdom of Alfred. He treats every town, ruin and village church as a clue to the story of southern England. Along the road you meet crowned kings, blasted castles, smugglers, poets, a chalk giant and a hill of sleeping knights. First, a simple question: what exactly was Wessex?
En este resumen
- 1Wessex is Alfred's realm, drawn by settlersFree
- 2Winchester is the ancient capital of England
- 3Hampshire's rivers and forest hide quiet treasures
- 4Dorset's harbour and Purbeck mix crime, castles and cliffs
- 5Dorchester and Hardy's country rest on deep history
- 6The west Dorset coast joins bays, stone and legend
- 7East Devon and the Somerset border run to the Otter
- 8Salisbury and Stonehenge crown the chalk heartland
- 9The road ends where Wessex began, at Winchester
Idea clave 1 de 9
Wessex is Alfred's realm, drawn by settlers
Holmes claims that Wessex, the realm of Alfred, shaped the England that came after it. The word is slippery, because early Wessex was small, yet by the end of the ninth century it held most of southern England.
Its true heart was the fertile valley from the Solent to Winchester. Jutes took the Isle of Wight, and West Saxons pushed inland. Holmes thinks they treated the older Britons gently, though legend says Arthur led a stand at Badbury Hill.
Because the region is loosely defined, he draws his own map. It runs from the Meon to the Otter in the south and along the chalk ridge in the north. Inside lie Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and, above all, the village church on the back road.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Questions about Andanzas por Wessex
What is Wanderings in Wessex about?
It is a guide to the old kingdom of Wessex, walking from Winchester to the Otter in Devon. Edric Holmes describes towns, churches, castles, battles and legends, using each place to tell part of the history of southern England.
Which area does Wessex cover in this book?
Holmes sets his boundary on the coast from the Meon, east of Southampton Water, to the mouth of the Otter. The northern edge is the chalk ridge from Inkpen Beacon to Hackpen Hill, taking in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and parts of Somerset, Devon and Berkshire.
When was Wanderings in Wessex written?
Holmes wrote it just after the Great War. He mentions wartime camps, memorials and events of the summer of 1921, and he describes railways, motor roads and restoration work as they stood in those years.
Does the book connect to Thomas Hardy's novels?
Yes. Holmes names the real places behind Hardy's settings, such as Dorchester as Casterbridge, Bere Regis as Kingsbere, Puddletown as Weatherbury and Salisbury as Melchester, so Hardy readers can follow the novels across the map.
Is Wanderings in Wessex easy to read?
The book is plain and friendly. It moves place by place in short passages, opens with a simple guide to building styles, and mixes dates with lively anecdotes, so you can read a chapter at a time or dip into one town.