The Wake (novel)
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.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | Paul Kingsnorth |
|---|---|
| Language | Anglish |
| Series | Buckmaster trilogy |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Set in | The Lincolnshire Fens during the Norman Invasion |
| Publisher | Unbound Digital |
Publication date | April 30, 2015 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 384 |
| Awards |
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| ISBN | 978-1-908-71786-3 |
| Website | unbound |
The Wake is a 2014 debut novel by British author Paul Kingsnorth.[1] Written in an imaginary language, a hybrid of Old English and Modern English,[2][3] it tells of Buccmaster of Holland,[3] an Anglo-Saxon freeman forced to come to terms with the effects of the Norman Invasion of 1066, during which his wife and sons were killed.[4] He begins a guerrilla war against the Norman invaders in the Lincolnshire Fens.[3][5]
Kingsnorth financed the work through crowdfunding on the platform Unbound. After not receiving support through a mainstream publisher, he did not initially expect a large response to his work.[6] However, the book was longlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize[7] and won the 2014 Gordon Burn Prize.[8] The film rights were acquired by the actor and director Mark Rylance,[6][9] who also read a section of the book in 2014 at the Hay Festival.[1]
