Why read The Wolf Age?

Book cover of The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire

Book description

In the eleventh century, the rulers of the lands surrounding the North Sea are all hungry for power. To get power they need soldiers, to get soldiers they need silver, and to get silver there is no better way than war and plunder. This vicious cycle draws all the lands…

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European history

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Wolf Age as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Valerie Nieman

Author

I'm continuing my research for the second of my Macbeth books, The Last Highland King, and this book really filled in the world of the Norse and Danes in the decades leading up to my period. Well-written and just full of the small details that add context to the recitation of events. Great use of the sagas!

From Valerie's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Andrew Varga

Author

I've read Anglo-Saxon history. I've read Viking Age history. But this is the first book I've read that combined them together to make a clear picture of the forces that drove these two people against each other.

This book covers the alliances, battles, and the people who were constantly shifting from one person's orbit to another. Although its main focus was England, the book also provides a view of the conflicts going on in Norway and Denmark, to give a holistic view of Northern Europe and what happened when huge armies of Danes and Norwegians came to England, leaving a…

From Andrew's list on The best books about Anglo-Saxon history that are detailed but still fun and easy to read.