52 Books in 52 Weeks - Augustine Came to Kent

This is a book by Barbara Willard and is the first I've completed in 2011.  It really is a middle school level book that I am reading with my 15 year old son.  I got to read it first, now he's reading it.  I actually read the book about 8 years ago so this is a reread.  Perhaps it shouldn't count in my 52 Books list?  My son and I were plugging through St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions and decided to go rather lighter when moving on to learning about St. Augustine of Canterbury.  The book is set in 597 A.D. when Augustine sailed to England to convert the Saxon pagans.

This is a very well written book of historical fiction.  Wolf is the son of Wolfstan, both are Angles from England who are captured and sold into slavery in Rome.  Pope Gregory is said to have been walking through the market place and had pity on these fair men from so far away.  Legend has it that when he asked who they were and was told they were Angles, he replied, "Angels not Angles."  He buys Wolfstan and Wolf and sets them free.  They convert to Christianity and Wolf and his father are reunited with his mother and sister.  They live happily in Rome.  However, Pope Gregory has charged Bishop Augustine to travel to England as a missionary of the Christian faith.  Wolfstan and Wolf get to go along.  The book relates the various difficulties that Wolf and the others encounter.  Upon finally landing at Kent, Wolf meets a young native girl there, Fritha.  A love develops between them.  The love story is understated and sweet.

I'm always a bit puzzled by the idea that Augustine gets credit for converting England.  The queen of England, married to King Ethelbert is a Christian already.  Christians had been living in England prior to the Roman retreat when all the soldiers had to return to Rome as it gradually fell to the 'Barbarians.'  I did a little research and apparently the Celtic Christian church was responsible for some of the conversions in North England but Augustine did his work in the south of England.

Willard is very good at creating a feeling of the time.  The book has suspenseful moments in it.  We see everything through Wolf's eyes, a devout boy but very human too.

I appreciated the illustrations in this book as well.

I give Augustine Came to Kent two thumbs up!