Customer Reviews

Heinrich the Fowler: Father of the Ottonian Empire

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As someone who is obsessed with dark ages history who reads any and every historical fiction novel about this period, I picked this book up recently. Similar in pacing and feel to the Carolingian novels of Diana Johnson (Pepin's Bastard and Destiny's Godchild), Mirella Patzer's novel is centered on the lives of two great personages of medieval Germany, Henry (Heinrich) the Fowler and his wife Matilda of Ringelheim. Set in the early 10th century, it tells of Henry and Matilda's marriage and of Henry's rise to power, first as Duke of Saxony and ultimately as King of Germany. The story moves along well and is an easy read. And while Patzer has clearly done her homework on the lives of these two fascinating people, the emphasis seems to be less on the history and more on the sex and romance, which at times veers into the territory of a romance novel. Moreover, the battle scenes lack any detail, authenticity or excitement, usually described in a "the Magyars slaughtered everyone" mode. It is for these reasons that I give it 3 stars instead of 4, but overall its a pleasant enough read for anyone interested in early German history. It sounds like Ms. Patzer is writing a sequel that will deal more with the children of Henry and Miranda, specifically Otto the Great, which may improve on this promising but flawed start.

This tale has everything to keep you turning the pages till you meet up with the backcover! It's nicely written and the characters are interesting and real. It's also an interesting period - a time when in the twillight of the Roman Empire and the re-shuffling of the European powers to be - the bases of todays Europe was layed. Foundations who carried Europe into its future and its destiny. You won't regret to have read this book - as it's a nice way to learn more about this early history.