Anyone for Edmund?

by Simon Edge

They dug up his bones. They didn't know he had a mind of his own.'I loved this smart and divinely wry book… what a terrific eye and ear is at work here!' ELINOR LIPMANUnder tennis courts in the ruins of a great abbey, archaeologists find the remains of St Edmund, once venerated as England's patron saint, but lost for half a millennium.Culture Secretary Marina Spencer, adored by those who have never met her, scents an opportunity. She promotes Edmund as a new patron saint for the United Kingdom, playing up his Scottish, Welsh and Irish credentials. Unfortunately these are pure fiction, invented by Mark Price, her downtrodden aide, in a moment of panic.The only person who can see through the deception is Mark's cousin Hannah, a member of the dig team. Will she blow the whistle or help him out? And what of St Edmund himself, watching through the prism of a very different age?Splicing ancient and modern as he did in The Hopkins Conundrum and A Right Royal Face-Off, Simon Edge pokes fun at Westminster culture and celebrates the cult of a medieval saint in another beguiling and utterly original comedy.

Genres: Fiction

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2020

About the author

Simon Edge read philosophy at Cambridge and had a long career as a newspaper journalist and critic. He is the author of five novels, mostly satirical comedies with a historical theme: The Hopkins Conundrum, a ‘tragic comedy’ based on the life of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins; The Hurtle of Hell, an atheist comedy featuring God as one of the main characters; A Right Royal Face-Off, about the rivalry between the painters Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds, mixed with a satirical modern story; Anyone for Edmund?, a political satire about the discovery of England’s long-lost patron saint; and The End of the World is Flat, described by novelist Jane Harris as ‘Animal Farm for the era of gender lunacy, with jokes’. He lives in Suffolk.

Reviews

[Karen Mace]

What a blast of a read!! A wonderful mix of historical and political farce!! Who knew that mix would work so well!! But it does and I found myself laughing away on many occasions as the worlds of history and politics clash in spectacular fashion!

Hannah is part of an archeological dig and they hit the jackpot with their recent find!! The remains of St Edmund are discovered and politicians start sniffing around to use this in only ways that politicians know how!!

Mark Price is a special advisor to a rising star in politics and is also cousin to Hannah! When he finds out about the link, he wants in on a way to boost his own standing in his line of work - there's lots of egos about in the offices of Whitehall - and who cares if the truth needs to be bent a little.... ok, a lot!! The art of spin is showcased in amazing fashion in this book and you just know there are people like this walking around Westminster right now!!

Using St Edmund to try and unite the United Kingdom is a bold gesture, even more bolder when the past reveals he wasn't the great uniter than many thought but all is not fair in love and politics so the wheels are set in motion to alter history! Hannah sees through it all and wonders what her cousin is playing at. As does the leading expert on St Edmund who seems to be a little baffled by all this 'new' information about an historical figure he thought he knew everything about.

Add to the mix, the voice of the dug up Saint - he doesn't seem to be a fan of the modern world! - and you're left with a hilariously absurd story that left me laughing out loud, along with being horrified of the levels that some will go to boost their own careers!

Highly recommended if you're looking for something just that little bit different to raise a smile in these strange times we find ourselves living in!!

[Snoakes]

Anyone for Edmund mixes politics, history, religion and farce.

The long lost bones of Saint Edmund are discovered during an archaeological dig under an abandoned tennis court. Edmund was the patron saint of England before he was usurped by St George, so it doesn't take long for the politicians to move in and appropriate him for their own ends. But what they don't know is that Edmund has a mind of his own, and once his bones are restored to his shrine he is ready to help his people as he always did.

It's a fun romp, light-hearted but intelligent and very entertaining.

[Frankie]

I thoroughly enjoyed Anyone For Edmund, it’s a fast-paced, edgy and clever novel, which really engages the reader from the start and with its surprising supernatural feel it’s completely different to other contemporaries.
To be honest I hadn’t known too much about him before reading this. I do love learning something new, especially when I least expected it!
On the surface, it appears to be a stereotypical political comedy, with a history element, but it soon becomes clear that this is far more than that, this is a great mix of intelligent wit, history and political manipulations with some very relevant secondary plots of Covid19, life after Brexit and trying to rebuild and unite a fractured country.
The story opens with voluntary archaeologist; Hannah who is working on a dig looking for the remains of St Edmund, once found he is then reburied in the cathedral at Bury St Edmunds. Hannah’s cousin; Mark is an advisor to the culture secretary, marina who is your stereotypical pantomime villain; ruthless, manipulative, tyrannical, control freak she is trying to ease the fractures caused by Brexit and is looking for something big that will unite the country again, something that the whole country can get behind.
Which is where Edmund comes in!
Mark comes up with the idea of reinstating Edmond as a patron saint of the United Kingdom, but how to achieve it? Mark basically makes up a whole bunch of ‘facts’ about Edmund, and this is where the trouble and the fun starts as everything just spirals out of control, but once Mark interpretation of Edmund takes hold there isn’t a lot Mark can do to slow it down.
It’s a realistic plot and one that I could see happening in these strange times after all no-one wants animosity within the country. I love the little touches to the society we now live in, such as our addiction to social media and doing your research via Wikipedia and if anything with all the false truths which Mark releases about Edmund it shows how easily we can be taken in by false news, even when we think it’s from a genuine source.
My favourite aspect of this is those brief moments when we see everything through Edmund’s eyes, it gave the whole book a fresh and original feel to it and kept me turning the pages. I thought the bitterness and toxicity between Mark and Marina were compelling to read and brilliantly real, it actually reminded me of a few offices I have worked in, in the past.
I loved the whole concept of this book, with a bit of history, intrigue, wry humour and political machinations, wonderfully imaginative characters and some very on-trend topics this is a great read, one I think many people no matter what genre you read will enjoy.

[Tim Ewins]

Such an enjoyable read, which had me laughing out loud and reading late into the night. In fact, I found myself reading it at every opportunity I could find (super market queues, making coffee at work, not driving - but I thought about it).

Simon Edge’s books never disappoint and they’re not like any other books I’ve ever read. Funny and entertaining with a hint of the educational in there too. Yup, 100% recommend.

[Leonie]

If you seek a really good read to take you out of the world as it is right now, then read on. Anyone For Edmund? is a vibrant and engaging twisty-turny tale set in the modern day. The patron saint of Suffolk County Council is the star of the show, superbly supported by a chorus of entirely likeable characters. It's been a while since I set foot in the town of my birth but Simon Edge has made me long to go back and walk the Abbey Gardens once more!

[Claire]

Anyone for Edmund? by Simon Edge is a contemporary story set in the UK, based on Saint Edmund, former patron saint of England (before Saint George).

Archaeologists have found the remains of St Edmund, after being lost for over 500 years. The new Saint is then reburied in the Cathedral at Bury St Edmunds. The story follows Hannah, who is a volunteer archaeologist on the dig, and her cousin, Mark Price. Mark is special adviser to Marina Spencer, currently Culture Secretary. When Marina demands 'something new' from Mark, on the spot he decides to suggest that St Edmund is reinstated as a patron saint, alongside St George, St Andrews, St David and St Patrick. Unfortunately, to make this seem plausible, Mark makes up facts about St Edmund — and things go rapidly downhill from there!

I really enjoyed the British setting and references to British medieval history throughout this book! Bury St Edmunds is only an hour from me, and yet I myself had never really thought about who 'St Edmund' is and his history.

While all of the political figures and journalists mentioned are all fictional, it felt all very up-to-date, with mentions of Brexit being at the front of Marina (and thus Mark's) minds. St Edmund is suggested as a way to reunite the UK, and it feels all very plausible. I especially loved this section on Twitter — which again, feels very plausible and very modern!

He took the opportunity to check his phone to see whether the Times and Mail pieces had opened up any discussion on Twitter. He was pleased to see that St Edmund was trending once again. One of The Guardian's Roedean communist columnists was trying to whip up controversy by saying it was racist to replace the foreign-born St George with a home-grown saint. Her article had become the butt of Twitter hilarity because someone had found a tweet from the same Guardianista a couple of years earlier, in which she maintained that the cross of St George was a fundamentally racist emblem. The fuss would no doubt blow itself out in a few hours, but it would be enjoyable while it lasted.

Wikipedia also plays a really big part in the story (or 'St Wiki', as it's referred to a few times, which made me chuckle!). The whole book serves as a real warning against 'fake news', lazy journalists and making sure that you check facts — just because it's on Wikipedia, it may not be true!

I really liked Mark. Marina is absolutely awful to him throughout the book, while being lovely to those externally — I think we have all met people like that in our lives, or had managers who behaved that way. It felt very relatable, particularly the way that his colleagues behave. Rather than uniting in solidarity, they try to ensure that they 'one up' each other as much as possible, which felt very realistic in a toxic workplace like this one!

The whole story is well-written, and I enjoyed the switches throughout to Edmund's point of view. It's a fairly fast-paced story that kept me engaged throughout and I read this in one sitting! If you enjoy your contemporary fiction with a lite supernatural twist or if you're a fan of medieval history, then you will love this book.

[Elena]

The books begins with archaeologists searching for the remains of the elusive former Patron Saint of England, St Edmund. There is a theory that he may be buried underneath some tennis courts in the Abbey Gardens in Bury, and the book imagines that the remains have actually been found. With his discovery begins a campaign to have him made Patron Saint once again but this time of the United Kingdom in an effort to bridge the divide between the four nations that has widened in recent times.
Mark Price, a government adviser, attempts to make this happen as a PR stunt but it proves to be more difficult than he had anticipated, with hilarious consequences!

The main characters are Mark, his cousin Hannah who is helping with the dig, Marina Spencer the government minister whom Mark advises and the elderly St Edmund scholar Brother Bernard. As readers we are taken along on a hilarious ride as they try and make St Edmund Patron Saint once again. Strange supernatural incidents begin occurring almost as soon as his remains are uncovered.

I found the book funny and informative. I had no knowledge of St Edmund at all before reading it and despite not much being known about the former King I learnt a lot about him, for example that he was killed trying to resist the Vikings that arrives in the tenth year of his reign.

There are chapters written in the first person by Edmund himself which I particularly enjoyed reading. His voice is expressed in an old-fashioned way and his commentary of modern life contrasts really effectively with the rest of the book and adds to the humour. His observations and inability to understand the various nuances of modern life are really funny and I felt quite sorry for him! I also enjoyed the dynamic between Mark and his boss the eventual Prime Minister Marina Spencer. Her character undergoes a large change and it was fascinating to see her develop. I found Mark to be quite loathsome to start off with but a long-dead former King manages to change them both by the end of the book.

[Lynden Wade]

Edmund who? That's King Edmund to you, one-time king of East Anglia, killed by invading Danes in the 9c and for many centuries the patron saint of England.

As this novel begins, his body has just been discovered under a tennis court in an archeology dig. Hannah, volunteer on the project, excitedly tells Pauline, the aunt that's more like a friend, who passes on the news to Mark, harassed advisor to Marina, up-and-coming politician who charms in public and snarls in private with her staff. Mark seizes on the discovery of the body of the former patron saint to promote him as a new figurehead for all the non-so-United Kingdom, hurriedly locating the few known facts and sticking them together with his own fabrication. But as Marina takes up the idea, it runs wildly out of control.

You don't have to know anything about Edmund (or tennis), or even Westminster, to enjoy this novel, which looks at how history can be interpreted to suit many conflicting views, and how a day is a long time in politics. It's comic but not flippant, and very readable, and when the situation has got tangled beyond belief, a crazy, wise resolution suddenly emerges.

I bought the book on whim. As I always do after an impulse buy, I wondered if I'd done the right thing. Yes, I had. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the author's backlist is now definitely on my radar.

[Jane Turner]

“For a plan born of foolhardy over-confidence and nourished by fear, it had come together extraordinarily well.”

I read this in one sitting (well, two if you count the phone call I took in the middle) and can attest that it’s truly excellent.

Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect with this one. I’m not a big fan of politics or religion, I haven’t played tennis for years, and spin-doctors simply piss me off. But what Simon Edge has given us here is a fantastical adventure, one almost seen through the eyes of a long dead saint.

Yes, Edmund is dead. Has been for 1500 years, more or less. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be useful, right?!

Simon Edge has created brilliant characters that resonate (we ALL know a Marina Spencer and a Mark Price), wrapped them in a setting of high politics and all it entails, then thrown in a bit of a religious experience… This book truly deserves devouring in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down, and I’m kind of hoping there’s more to the story! I’ll be checking out more of Mr Edge’s work, for sure.

(I spotted just two editing issues, nether of which were biggies. I’m hoping these will be caught. Let me know if not.)

This one deserves 5 stars.

Check out Anyone for Edmund?. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.

[Andrea Barlien]

On the cover of the book it records Saga magazine saying that the book is ‘rich in history and bunk’ and I loved both aspects of it. It had several laugh out loud moments and a fabulous narrative arc. The third of Edge’s novels I’ve read and this one played in a different way with the historical context. The peek into Downing St politics was wonderfully acerbic. It also references Huawei and COVID making it super current and the context of a post Brexit United Kingdom was both funny and depressing in equal measure. A great foray into the medieval juxtaposed with the mid 2020 moment makes this a great read and, of course, as usual, you can buy this directly from the publisher’s website: www.lightning-books.com

[Jessica]

Anyone For Edmund? caught my eye because of the cover. It sounded like it would be a bit quirky. There is some interesting elements of magic mixed in with a religious tone, which I found made this book intriguing to read.

I loved the characters. The quirky, witty people who are super well developed. I learned to care about them and absolutely enjoyed following their journey.

This book does require a suspension of disbelief, which I found entertaining. Lots of interesting history mixed with interesting characters.

Overall, this book was intriguing and I’d definitely recommend it.

Rating:
4/5☆

*I received a free copy of this book from Damppebbles Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*

[Ryan Frost]

This book caught my eye because I'm from Suffolk and I grew up seeing and hearing bits and pieces about Saint Edmund, without ever knowing much about him. I'm glad that I was not the only one, as this story makes great use of the lack of information surrounding the East Anglian king's life for an enjoyable political farce. It satirises a similar, real-life campaign to reinstate Edmund as a patron saint and I was expecting the usual comedic elements. However, the story took a surprising, yet welcome turn, incorporating historical and religious/supernatural themes into the mix. I would highly recommend this book to fans of both political satire, as well as historical fiction, even though this particular work is set in the present day.

[Angela Brown]

A delightful and fun read😄

A book of fiction concerning "your neck of the woods" is always going to be that extra bit special.
The mixture of politics , religion ,medieval times ,archaeology and tv reporter's was so amusing.The timeline was very interesting and helpful.
When l gifted a copy of this book to my brother ( who lives in Busy St Edmunds) , he was so thrilled to have it ,as like Simon he is enthusiastic about St Edmund and that he had heard of and read great reviews of this book! Yet another great book Simon😇👌

[Catherine]

Final Thoughts
This was a pretty interesting concept and it was well executed! St. Edmund’s discovery by archaeologists and subsequent rise to popularity through a series of minor events was an interesting concept on its own. To elevate that by having the stakes rise based on St. Edmund’s actions themselves was an even more interesting idea, and I’m glad the story developed in that direction. The ending was a bit confusing at first, but I think it also made sense. I would have liked a bit more of a climactic climax–as the one we have is a bit flat–but the story is still well rounded and well written.

[Roxy]

What a brilliant book!
I picked this up when I was on holiday in Suffolk- I wanted a funny, witty read and I was not disappointed.
It is in a post brexit world- and the people have lost trust in the major parties. So a coalition of the smaller parties is formed. A typical politician demands good news to present to the PM- so her aide creates this fabricated story of Edmund having English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish connections. To present him as the patron saint of the UK.
It is brilliant. So funny and well written. I’ll be checking out the authors other books.

[Trish]

Though the unusual plot meant that this wasn’t the story I had expected to read, it kept me engaged and interested. I was involved with the characters, especially Mark and Hannah and also with St Edmund himself! Though I only know Bury St Edmunds a little, the descriptions were so vivid that I could picture the scenarios clearly. There were a couple of nods to the current pandemic though lockdown doesn’t feature, I expect as this would have stopped the action.

[Leonie]

A reread from 16 - 19 JUN 2022 in preparation for the Ipswich Bookcrossers Zoom Book Group in memory of the much missed MrsDanvers. The book I wish I'd given her. She would've enjoyed it, particularly as I have a feeling she was going to do a Hannah and be involved in the actual St Edmund dig until it was cancelled due to Covid. And yes, I enjoyed it again, a second time around. Made me feel close to home.

[Susan]

I read this because I've visited Bury and have fallen in love with it. The premise is a clever idea, but it's just not that well-written. A little more work would have made the characters as lovable as the town, and the story less requiring of the willful suspension of disbelief. The nasty politicians were believable, of course, but the story's ending was too abrupt and too easy.

[Annarella]

Sorry for the late review. This is a very entertaining and engrossing story that made me laugh and turn pages.
It's a light romp, a mix of adventure/humour/light political satire.
The author is a good storyteller and the plot flows and never drags.
Good character development and an enjoyable plot.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Sanjay Prabhakar]

Entertaining satire that is made interesting, as a study of the tension of a cultural inheritance that history has rendered alien, by an undercurrent of the weird (in the Old English sense) that rises up to the centre of the plot. This perhaps yields too easily to the modern and familiar in the main shape of the plot, but with implications that show the power of the weird over secular modernity.

[John Sturgeon]

A well written book,on many levels. A good insight into modern Government .An interesting delve into English history. With a good sense of humour, running through the book, to keep the pages turning. A tonic to read.

[Nikki Marmery]

I loved this clever Westminster farce/avenging medieval saint mash-up (is that a genre? It should be). It's funny, bizarrely plausible, and written with great heart and warmth. Brilliantly entertaining.

[Brian Moore]

A nice easy on the mind book. Finished in one days reading I found it amusing and reasonably entertaining, but not so much as most other reviewers.

[Susan King]

Game, set and match to Simon Edge for another witty page turner.

[D Burke]

This well written romp is really enjoyable.
Great blend of history and issues very contemporary.
Saints and fake news are a winning combination, I now plan to read his previous novels.

[Luke Holmes]

Really funny and Satirical. A great read for anyone with a passing interest in history, politics or poking fun at establishments!

[Helen]

Daft, funny, and probably quite accurate where the deviousness of political spin and appropriation of culture is concerned !
📚💗📚

[Thebroadgrumps]

nup

[Rachelr]

Like The Hopkins Condundrum the influence of a character from the past on contemporary characters is explored

[Margaret McCulloch-Keeble]

What a great book. Witty, clever, easy to read, neat and tidy, a great book to end the year!