Anglo-Saxon maxxing

Ever since visiting the British Museum in February I have been on an Anglo-Saxon history kick: reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts… That was certainly not on my “Reading Goals for 2026” list, but it kind of took over my media diet for the first half of the year. Early British history is not something I have ever studied before; I am an Asian Studies scholar since Grade 10, and prior to that we only learned about Britain in the formation of the Canada. But something about walking the halls of the British Museum Early Britain section captured me, and I became enthralled with the era after the Romans left and before the Normans came, otherwise known as the Anglo-Saxon period.

I knew next to nothing about the period prior to this recent reading, partly because I think in North America showing interest in (scare quotes) ✌️the Anglo-Saxons✌️ as a white man… has some problematic associations. But I am very glad I got over it since it is truly fascinating and now I have a new understanding of Britain and Europe.

I thought I would take a moment just to record what I have been reading and watching, both as a sort of marker of my progress, but also to solicit recommendations.

Books

cover of A History of Britain: Volume 1

A History of Britain: Volume 1 by Simon Schama

Very narrative flow, very easy to listen to… but hopefully you already have some grounding because he just breezes through the topics. This is like an attempt at making all the history you learned at school fun and interesting and engaging.

cover of The Anglo-Saxon World

The Anglo-Saxon World by Nicholas J. Higham and Martin J. Ryan

This one is a bit of a hard read. Each chapter is basically an academic paper that sums up the latest research in a specific field of inquiry. Tons and tons of information, but I listened as an audiobook expecting something narrative like the Schama book, which it is not. Read it in text.

cover of A Short History of London

A Short History of London by Simon Jenkins

This was a great little intro to the city, and helped me fill in some flavour. Not much specific about Anglo-Saxon times, but thought I should mention it.

Some Fiction

cover of The Buried Giant

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

This was a weird and interesting book depicting the interaction between the indigenous Brythonic peoples and the Anglo-Saxons who lived side-by-side for years. The book itself is actually about identity, cultural memory, and Brexit.

cover of Hild

Hild by Nicola Griffith

Oh my god this was a brilliant book that hit me at just the right time. I am glad I did a lot of Anglo-Saxon reading beforehand. Nicola Griffith did a ton of research and it shows. Really beautiful writing and so much detail about the daily life of people in the 7th century. I ordered the sequel as soon as I got to chapter 3.

The Rest is History Podcast

While traveling in London a mutual on Mastodon recommended I listen to The Rest is History podcast if I wanted to learn more. Wow! That sent me down a deep dive and I have now listened to dozens and dozens of episodes. What a great show. They have some Anglo-Saxon specific eps, but I also learned a lot about specific people, saints, and events. Very entertaining stuff. They have a whole curated collection of episodes on the history of Britain here →

YouTube Videos

There is so much out there but here are some highlights:

Books Blog