Book Review: Seven Kings of England by Geoffrey Trease

Pages: 164
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Released: Originally published 1955, re-released 2017
Received: Netgalley
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I like non-fiction history books that are broken up into snippets that focus on different historical figures. I also like non-fiction that reads practically like a novel. I also like books with nice covers.

Well, two out of three isn't bad, and clearly it's the nice cover that Seven Kings of England lacks. I almost didn't download this from Netgally but then I saw that little "read now" button and for some reason the fact that I didn't need to wait was the final push I needed to commit to an impulse read.

I'm glad I did. His writing style was easy, enjoyable, and fun. Each section focuses on a different king, and they seemed to be chosen randomly based on the author's liking of them. The focus of each section was also random, though the flavor of each king's life was generally communicated with a linear narrative that highlighted selected facets of their lives. Nothing is super in depth, but it was all pleasant to read. There really wasn't a section I didn't enjoy.

I'm mentally adding Geoffrey Trease to my small but beloved group of historical non-fiction authors who I enjoy reading just as much as fiction (joining Thomas B. Costain, Robert Lacey, Carolyn Weber, and Dan Jones). He has a book about queens (or two books? It's not clear if it's a re-issue of the same book or two separate books) that I wish was available, though as of now I can't locate a copy.




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