Tenth century England: a divided and broken country of misrule. Yet King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, seeks to unite the kingdom under one crown. By his side is Dunstan of Glastonbury – priest, soldier, visionary and, some insist, traitor – whose task is to steward seven kings through fire, war, murder and fury to see Athelstan s dream come true. But what stain will it leave on his mortal soul?

Iggulden has created an intriguingly complex saint – flawed, spiteful and unreliable as the teller of his own tale. Through his eyes we watch the story of the making of England The Times