Born of the Sun [Hardcover]

Joan Wolf (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this beautifully executed continuation of The Road to Avalon , her earlier depiction of sixth-century Britain, Wolf tells the story of Niniane, a Celtic princess, and Ceawlin, bastard son of the King of the West Saxons. Eighty years after the death of Arthur, the Celts are disorganized, drifting away from the cities built by the Romans. The vigorous Saxons, on the other hand, have settled down and become civilized, creating in many ways a more viable culture. Niniane and Ceawlin escape from Winchester, the West Saxon stronghold, after he kills his brother in a fight and is disinherited. With help from the Celts and some dissatisfied Saxon thanes, Ceawlin fights for and claims the Saxon crown. Throughout the years, the couple's family and love grow, as does the Saxon kingdom, more Celts realizing that Saxon rule provides stability in a dangerous age. Ceawlin also must the fight treachery of his father's wife, of his trusted adviser, his best friend and most perilously, of his Celtic brother-in-law. Wolf's vivid picture of life among the Saxons and Celts is well imagined--so little is known about the time--and given an air of authenticity with its attention to detail and acute psychological portrayals.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Sixth-century Britain hasn't often been used as the setting for a novel--little is known about the period--but Wolf has taken names and dates from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and built a story around them. The love story of Celtic princess Niniane and Saxon prince Ceawlin is the heart of the novel. When Ceawlin is forced into exile, he and Niniane find refuge with her people. Ceawlin, a gifted leader, gains the loyalty of both Celt and Briton; his destiny is to unite two peoples in one kingdom. Still missing from Wolf's work ( The Road to Avalon, LJ 10/15/88) is a strong sense of time and place, but the plotting is excellent and the main characters and their love story appealing. Buy wherever there's a demand for historical fiction; this is likely to please.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 407 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 18, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0453006663
• ISBN-13: 978-0453006668
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Wolf is a USA TODAY bestselling American writer, whose acclaimed Regency romances have earned her national recognition as a master of the genre. Her many historical and contemporary romances, some of which have been chosen as Literary Guild selections, have been highly praised by reviewers and authors alike.

Joan was born in 1951 and she grew up in the Bronx, New York. A former English teacher, she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Mercy College and Master in English and Comparative Literature at Hunter College. An avid rider and horse owner, Joan lives in Connecticut with her husband Joe and two grown children, Jay and Pam.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book, sheds light on a little-known era of history, October 19, 2001

By 

G P (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born of the Sun (Onyx) (Paperback)

This book by Joan Wolf is part of a trilogy on the making of Britain, starting with King Arthur and Morgan in The Road to Avalon, this one, Born of the Sun, and ending with Alfred the Great in The Edge of Light. Born of the Sun is about the clash between the Celts and the Saxons in the 6th century. Although it is less based on outside sources than the other two (just the the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle instead of legends or historical records), it is a powerful, moving novel about what might-have-been, and indeed probably was. The main characters, the Saxon Ceawlin of Wessex and his Celtic wife Niniane, have a beautiful love story, set against the turmoil of the times. Ceawlin did exist, and, as Wolf says in her afterword, was one of the few kings in the AS Chronicle upon which the Saxon title of Bretwalda, or "ruler of Britain" was bestowed. BUT, don't read this book for the history. Read it for the writing, as always superb - Joan Wolf is in top form. Do yourself a favor and buy this book today!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (3.5 stars) too much war!, September 17, 2006

By 

Lilly Flora "by Lilo Drandoff" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Born of the Sun (Onyx) (Paperback)

As the sequel to the best seller "The Road to Avalon" I can only imagine that with the novel "Born of the Sun" Joan Wolf hoped to firmly establish this trilogy as a view of the great Dark Age's political minds of England. That makes this book sound boring, but please don't forget that it is a romance novel.

As the author admits in her postscript the characters in this book are largely fictional-although the expansion of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex probably did go as happened in the novel, and the final merge of the British people with the Saxons did occur around this time. So the two characters in this book, Ceawlin, a [..]Saxon prince who will be king, and his bride, Niniane, a Celtic princess, didn't really exists. This is sad because this book has one of a hell of a love story about them. In that aspect the book is great, romantic, sweet and exciting.

But the book is also largely about war, and so it seems almost every 50 pages someone new was attacking the lovers, or they were at war, or they had been kidnapped, or just something was happening. It got very tiresome after a while. There was also an unresolved, unrequited love triangle thingy going on that just distracted from the main story, and I think, affected the character in a way that was unrealistic.

So, while this book is ok, even compelling at times, largely it did not meet up to the expectations that reading "The Road to Avalon" gave me. This one is good, but not great.

3.5 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful!, June 22, 2002

By 

"alliebear" (Windsor, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born of the Sun (Hardcover)

I loved this book! The characters were real and raw, the plot moved smoothly, and the elegance of the writing made the love story even more touching. I felt like I was transported into the story, and I never wanted to put the book down! I highly recommend this novel -- this is some of Wolf's best work. I cried more than once!