The Edge of the World fits into my A to Z Challenge today, with a book review, plus one of my book illustrations, which fits the location of the book.
I’m Jemima Pett, author, blogger, illustrator and guinea pig wrangler. My interests are in fantasy, environment, science (inc. fiction) and thrillers, to name a few things. This is my nth AtoZ Challenge. Mostly I talk about books. This time I’m talking about something I do without much thinking about… my illustrations.
The Princelings books and the two for younger readers, Messenger Misadventures and Cavies of Flexford Common all have illustrations. Most are chapter headings. Cavies is designed for younger readers (c 7 yrs old, Key Stage 1 in UK educational parlance). That has illustrations throughout.
This month I’m picking out one or more illustrations each day to talk about. Except Sundays — we skip Sundays in the A to Z Challenge. Some will be from the books, some from other sketching projects.
Feel free to comment below!
And … the A to Z is a blog hop, so do go to other people who are doing it. You can find the links (and join in until 5 April) here
The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are
by Michael Pye
Michael Pye’s The Edge of the World is an epic adventure: from the Vikings to the Enlightenment, from barbaric outpost to global centre, it tells the amazing story of northern Europe’s transformation by sea.
This is a story of saints and spies, of fishermen and pirates, traders and marauders – and of how their wild and daring journeys across the North Sea built the world we know. […]
In this dazzling historical adventure, we return to a time that is largely forgotten and watch as the modern world is born. We see the spread of money and how it paved the way for science. We see how plague terrorised even the rich and transformed daily life for the poor. We watch as the climate changed and coastlines shifted, people adapted and towns flourished. We see the arrival of the first politicians, artists, lawyers: citizens. From Viking raiders to Mongol hordes, Frisian fishermen to Hanseatic hustlers, travelling as far west as America and as far east as Byzantium, we see how the life and traffic of the seas changed everything.
Drawing on an astonishing breadth of learning and packed with human stories and revelations, this is the epic drama of how we came to be who we are. [Goodreads]
My Review
Edge of the World is certainly epic in scale. What I hadn’t realised: this is a big book packed into a medium-large paperback. That means the typeface is uncomfortably small. I could only read it in small chunks, but that probably helped with the digestion of the contents anyway.
Having bought it when I was living in Norfolk, I was disappointed how little attention Norfolk gets in the book. As a major centre for weaving in the middle ages, and several other things afterwards, I expected more. Especially since the Viking adventures in Ireland, Iceland, Greenland and Vinland took up a lot of space. It may complete his Viking research, but didn’t really seem to be that North Sea related. Fun, but…
Michael Pye has certainly written a tour de force. This history leaves hardly a stone unturned, and he seems to bring minor pieces from different texts together in a logical manner to create a real sense of the life and times of the people concerned. His piece on Bede (the Venerable one), brought his whole era to life for me. Ironically, this was also the area where, talking about the way monks studied the ancient writings to discuss and argue and tease out their meanings, he managed to write several paragraphs with multiple subclauses that didnt conclude the statement he started with. I wondered whether he suffered from picking up the style of his sources when he was writing his own account.
In the end, I think there are too many negatives about this book for me to recommend it to any but the most ardent history fan. But it’s got tons of references in it.
Today’s Illustration
I have several illustrations that involve the sea (particularly in the Princelings and the Pirates). It’s in nearly all the views of Castle Marsh, since beyond the line of dunes in the background is the North Sea.
I’ve chosen a picture from book 9 The Chronicles of Marsh, showing the prototype flying boat George has developed, coming down the edge of the coast, before turning in over the dunes to land on the cleared lanes within the marsh.
A greatreview Jemima.
I often wonder if the quality of your illustrations comes from having followed your father’s career in the AirForce as a child. Did You often draw air planes as a child?You seem to have the prspectives spot on. Huge Hugs
I like the idea, David, but no. My mother was the talented one, although she always denied it. My efforts as a young girl were almost entirely of horses!
I think I read this book or something very similar. I’ve to look it up and see. If not, I will add to me TBR list!
I think with so many good books of history out there these days, I’ll take your recommendation… and pass on this one :).
I like that illustration 🙂
I love the book you chose to illustrate. And of course your drawings. I think I need to get that book.
Yeah, I’ve found that ebooks of reference books work best for me these days with the small font they use in print messing with my eyes too much. And reading various books on a subject makes for a fuller experience, especially for research purposes. Thanks for the recommendation (now I know what not to read).
Ronel visiting for A-Z Challenge Everlasting Life & My Languishing TBR: E #AtoZChallenge2025 #Books #Bookreview