"Sarum" by Edward Rutherford.
I first got this book ten years ago in 2001, and it was second hand and a bit battered back then. I've just read it for what I think is the third time, and a paperback more than 1300 pages long, I guess you can imagine the tattered state its in.
The story begins with pre-historic man roaming the tundra in the time when the land bridge still existed between mainland Britain and Europe. A hunter and his woman settle along one of the five rivers which make up the area around Salisbury. This tale is then woven around their descendants and others who arrive and settle in the area, from the descendants of Saxons (the Shockleys), the descendants of a Roman pen-pusher (the Porteus family) and descendants of a Norman knights (Godefroi). Factual events and people are interwoven with fiction and guesswork to create a truly readable and historically fascinating read.
By the fact that I've read it three times you'll guess that I've really enjoyed this book. I'm now going to pass it on through the Bookcrossing scheme, and put his other books ("Dublin", "London", The Forest", "Russka" and "New York") on to my wish list to see if they are as good!
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