Brightfire - a tale of Sutton Hoo
Author: P.M. Sabin Moore
Publishers: Authorhouse publications / 2014
Extent: 221pp

• Sutton Hoo is near the town of Woodbridge in Suffolk, England. The site was excavated in the 1930s and it has revealed some incredibly important finds and helped to further our knowledge of theAnglo-Saxons in Britain.
• The items discovered at Sutton Hoo almost certainly date from the 7th century.One of the items discovered in a burial chamber was an entire ship and its contents. The ship almost certainly belonged to an important warrior or leader and it was hauled up the River Deben to the burial site.
• Buried with the ship were weapons, clothing, coins and valuable gold and silver items, some from the eastern Roman Empire. The remains of body did not survive because of the acidic soil.
• Many historians have concluded that Raedwald, the ruler of the East Angles, was the person who was buried with the ship.
• The ship was larger than many of today's ocean going yachts. Although much of the 90 feet long ship had decomposed, archaeologists found many of the iron rivets still intact.
• Fragments of various textiles were found in the chamber. These included cloaks and blankets, as well as bright coloured cloth, possibly imported from overseas, and a ceremonial helmet.
• There are 18 burial mounds in total at Sutton Hoo. Most were ransacked before they could be excavated by trained archaeologists. The majority of the important Anglo-Saxon artifacts were found in only a couple of mounds. Visitors are not allowed to stand on the mounds without a guide.
• The area around Sutton Hoo was occupied as long ago as 3,000 BC.
• Many of the treasures from Sutton Hoo are on permanent display in the British Museum in London. Some can also be seen in the National Trust visitor's centre near the site.
• The burial of the ship and its contents have been likened to the epic English poemBeowulf, which describes a funeral in a treasure filled ship. There are also similarities with burials in Scandinavian countries.

This book covers important events during and after the reign of King Raedwald of Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, East Anglia, UK and is set mainly in and around his homestead nearby with some scenes set in Northumbria and elsewhere.

The story is set in the period 608-633AD when Christianity is struggling to take hold on the eastern side of Britain.

The book is a sequel to Pauline Sabin Moore's earlier book, Storm Frost and focuses on Niartha, the king's lover, and her son, Richbert, the king's engraver.

Eorpwald, Raedwald's son, is hostile to Christians, jealous of other, successful young men (including Richbert) and is a cruel bully in spite of all his father's efforts to master him during his lifetime.

When Raedwald dies, no one can control Eorpwald and even his own people are in danger.

This is the background. In this context, the book is a tale of fighting and feasting, rescue and rape, cruelty and kindness, laughter and grief in a story that rises to a strong climax.

Those who still believe in the gods of old live the dying days of their religion but their humanity comes through the pages of the book. Whatever the religion, wrong is wrong anywhere and goodness is goodness anywhere.