Edward Rutherfurd specialises in "Michener"-style books. Even tho he did not originate this type of novel, I personally feel he is the best at writing them for 2 reasons: 1) Instead of dealing with a very large area (Hawaii, South Africa, etc) as Michener does, Rutherfurd picks a small geographical area such as London or England's New Forest. This makes the focus of the story more manageable. 2) Rutherfurd is much better at characterisation & plot developement than Michener.
"The Forest" is Rutherfurd's latest 1000 year geographical epic, & altho not his best work, is eminently readable. Unlike his previous (& better) work, "London", "The Forest" deals with an area few people outside of the UK will be familiar with. This of course means the historical events he fictionalises will also be unfamiliar to the average American reader, thus adding some freshness to tales of Cavaliers vs. Roundheads, peasants relating to their feudal lords etc. In the chapter entitled "Albion Park" Rutherfurd even tries to adapt Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice" to his multi-generational narrative!
Does it work? For the most part, yes. Rutherfurd's novels are an excellent way for a reader to get a handle on history, & he makes large events personal to the reader. My main problem with his writings is his tendency to make family members thru the generations have the same appearance & mannerisms over hundreds of years. They never seem to inherit anything from their mothers; a Furzey is a Furzey whether in the 11th or the 19th century. This seems especially strange in "The Forest" as he has the same families marrying each other for the entire book without ever starting to share characteristics! I assume this is the author's way of making a protagonist instantly identifiable & not confusing the reader with too many different people to keep track of. The other fault I found with "The Forest" was starting the story at the end of the 11th century. Although the Roman period & Anglo-Saxon eras are mentioned, there is no narrative covering them as there was in "London". Personally, I would have welcomed the inclusion.
If not quite as good as "London", fans of Edward Rutherfurd will not be disappointed with "The Forest".
