Anyone for Edmund?
Under 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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
‘Edge’s sharp-edged political comedy is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud as the discovery of St Edmund’s remains underneath a tennis court sets off a farcical chain of events’
The i Paper
‘This historical and politically prescient comedy will have you chuckling long after the last page. It’s at once hilarious and painfully believable’
The Lady
‘A wildly inventive romp, rich in history and bunk’
Saga Magazine
‘I loved this smart and divinely wry book, with its perfect marriage of archaeology, patron sainthood, and Downing Street dirt. What a terrific eye and ear is at work here!’
Elinor Lipman
‘Led by flawed, lovable characters, Anyone for Edmund? delivers a dose of history with flawless comedic timing and pacing’
Foreword Reviews
‘Gripping, funny and richly entertaining. Not only a compelling read, but also grounded in real history and the genuine questions of national identity that are still thrown up by the legacies of medieval patron saints. While this book is fiction, at its heart is a truth every historian knows: the past is very much alive’
Dr Francis Young, author, Edmund: In Search of England’s Lost King
‘Brilliant – very funny’
Lesley Dolphin, BBC Radio Suffolk
‘The perfect pick-me-up – funny and uplifting’
Waitrose Weekend
‘A hugely enjoyable page-turner written with parodic panache, Anyone for Edmund? is a satirical comment on the modern world that is sure to entertain’
Yorkshire Times
‘Silly, funny but also clever. A really lovely, entertaining, pull-you-along read’
Catherine Larner, BBC Radio Suffolk
‘A skilful storyteller who reimagines the past and the present, Simon Edge is one of the best wits in British political satire’
Chez Maximka
‘The worlds of history and politics clash in spectacular fashion. What a blast!’
Books and Me
‘A pin-sharp satire that highlights how history is rewritten, re-evaluated and used to varying ends’
Dr Alice Violett
