If All the Swords in England: A Story of Thomas Becket (Living History Library) Summary and Reviews

If All the Swords in England: A Story of Thomas Becket (Living History Library)
by Barbara Willard

If All the Swords in England: A Story of Thomas Becket (Living History Library)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Barbara Willard
Illustrator: Robert M. Sax
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-05
ISBN: 1883937493
Number of pages: 194
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Bethlehem Books
Product features:

Book Reviews of If All the Swords in England: A Story of Thomas Becket (Living History Library)

Book Review: Good on Thomas Becket - quite a slow pace
Summary: 4 Stars

I read this in preparation for teaching Thomas Becket. Twin brothers are separated by joining two different households - the King's and Thomas Becket's. Most of the plotline deals with the journey towards martyrdom of Becket and the involvement of the brothers.

The book is enjoyable: unlike a lot of historical novels for children, it is written by a Brit and the details have a resulting authenticity in the language. What carries the story along is the historical details of the Becket plot and this seems to be very accurate, even down to the details of the church-state quarrels that lead to his death.

It feels a long book. The style is simple (so a 10 year old could easily tackle it), but the political points are detailed and the pace is slow, so this would probably suit an older child with some knowledge of medieval history.

The Becket storyline is the most interesting. After a lot of personal interest at the start of the book, the hero and his twin actually have very little to do with each other, and their involvement in the ending could have been more exciting - hence the 4. It is a bit Catholic (coming from a reformed perspective), venerating Our Lady etc, but that was how it was then and the book does not dwell on theology - Becket's Christian faith is key to the book.

All in all, great if you are studying Thomas Becket, otherwise a good Christian read for a bright pre-teen upwards.

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