The Bone Chests cover art

The Bone Chests

Unlocking the Secrets of the Anglo-Saxons

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Bone Chests

By: Cat Jarman
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £15.50

Buy Now for £15.50

A TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘A diligent historian and a superb writer’ THE TIMES

A gripping new history of the making of England as a nation.

In December 1642, during the Civil War, Parliamentarian troops stormed Winchester Cathedral and smashed ten beautifully decorated wooden chests to the ground, using the bones inside as missiles to shatter the cathedral’s stained glass windows. Afterwards, the clergy scrambled to collect the scattered remains: the bones of ancient kings, bishops and one formidable queen.

Bestselling historian Cat Jarman builds on the ground-breaking work of forensic archaeologists to lead us through more than a millennium of history. Alongside the cutting-edge investigation to unlock the bones' secrets, this is a thrilling and sometimes tragic tale. It tells the story of both the seekers and the sought, of those who protected the bones and those who spurned them.

 Archaeology Civilization Europe Great Britain Medieval Politics & Activism Royalty World Middle Ages England Thought-Provoking Viking
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

A TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
‘Beguiling … I adored [River Kings] so felt like a young boy on Christmas morning when I first opened The Bone Chests … Jarman’s investigation has something of a Dan Brown quest to it … she’s a diligent historian and a superb writer’
The Times
'This is the best kind of popular history, retelling the story of early medieval England with an equally good grasp of textual sources, archaeology and forensic analysis, and a love of Winchester’
Ronald Hutton
‘Through their story, we can recapture the spirit of the Anglo-Saxon age and, as Jarman writes, learn about the ‘past lives of people who were a little bit like us, who lived, loved, and left an imprint on the generations that came after them’, and who in their vexing anonymity encourage us to find out more’
Literary Review
‘An engaging account of England’s pre-Conquest monarchs, from famous figured such as Alfred the Great to long-forgotten kings Cynegils and Centwine’
i News
PRAISE FOR RIVER KINGS:
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (September 2021)
Waterstones Book of the Month (October 2021)
‘A masterly history … River Kings is a mystery and an adventure, the tale of a quest that took Jarman from Repton to Scandinavia, across the Baltic Sea, over to Baghdad and finally to India. I was held captive … In addition to being a wonderful writer, Jarman is a skilled bioarchaeologist … River Kings is like a classical symphony, perfectly composed and exquisitely performed. Tiny trills of detail give way to pounding drums of drama’
Gerard deGroot, Times
‘Cat Jarman will transform the way you think about the Vikings’ Dan Snow
All stars
Most relevant
Just great nicely done and spokena very technical subject. It also roams through the early centuries of post Roman Britain with ease

Excellent superb account of re Norman history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great exploration of up to date archaeological and ancient DNA evidence relating to the early kings of England

Up-to-date examination of Archaeogenetics

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Cat Jarman is a good author ( I enjoyed River Kings) but an indifferent narrator she so often stresses the last word of a sentence without consideration of the sense of the story. She cannot surely listen to what she has herself read without realising this. Consequently the mind tends to.wander.
In future she would be advised to use a professional.

The poor quality of the delivery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Short chapters kept interest in the story which was told from various angles. The only down side was keeping track of the many similarily named kings and earls.

Well narrated and fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have wondered about the contents of the bone chests for decades. especially since a visit in the 1980s.
this book explains early medieval English history in a way that is enjoyable and very informative.

fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews