The Oblate's Confession by William Peak

                                                                                                                                    Publication Date: December 2, 2014

Secant Publishing

Formats: eBook, Hardcover



Genre: Historical Fiction







Set in 7th century England, The Oblate’s Confession tells the story of Winwaed, a boy who – in a practice common at the time – is donated by his father to a local monastery. In a countryside wracked by plague and war, the child comes to serve as a regular messenger between the monastery and a hermit living on a nearby mountain. Missing his father, he finds a surrogate in the hermit, an old man who teaches him woodcraft, the practice of contemplative prayer, and, ultimately, the true meaning of fatherhood. When the boy’s natural father visits the monastery and asks him to pray for the death of his enemy – an enemy who turns out to be the child’s monastic superior – the boy’s life is thrown into turmoil. It is the struggle Winawed undergoes to answer the questions – Who is my father? Whom am I to obey? – that animates, and finally necessitates, The Oblate’s Confession.



While entirely a work of fiction, the novel’s background is historically accurate: all the kings and queens named really lived, all the political divisions and rivalries actually existed, and each of the plagues that visit the author’s imagined monastery did in fact ravage that long-ago world. In the midst of a tale that touches the human in all of us, readers will find themselves treated to a history of the “Dark Ages” unlike anything available today outside of textbooks and original source material.

My Review:

Four Stars

Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for an honest review

I've been reading more historical fiction lately so this book felt very new and refreshing.  I've enjoyed the previous books I read but I thought that Peak providing a sentimental-coming-of-age aspect that I've not read about too often.  He really showed the conflict that Winwaed struggled with when he is forced to choose between two very influential forces in his life.  I found the writing to be very engaging and the plot to be original and at the same time informative. Great debut novel.

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About the Author

William Peak spent ten years researching and writing The Oblate’s Confession, his debut novel. Based upon the work of one of the great (if less well known) figures of Western European history, the Venerable Bede, Peak’s book is meant to reawaken an interest in that lost and mysterious period of time sometimes called “The Dark Ages.”



Peak received his baccalaureate degree from Washington & Lee University and his master’s from the creative writing program at Hollins University. He works for the Talbot County Free Library on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Thanks to the column he writes for The Star Democrat about life at the library (archived at http://www.tcfl.org/peak/), Peak is regularly greeted on the streets of Easton: “Hey, library guy!” In his free time he likes to fish and bird and write long love letters to his wife Melissa.



For more information please visit William Peak's website.

The Oblate's Confession Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, December 1

Review at Broken Teepee



Tuesday, December 2

Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past



Wednesday, December 3

Review at Back Porchervations

Review at A Fantastical Librarian



Thursday, December 4

Spotlight at What Is That Book About



Friday, December 5

Interview at Back Porchervations



Monday, December 8

Review at A Book Geek



Tuesday, December 9

Review at The Writing Desk

Spotlight at Historical Tapestry



Thursday, December 11

Interview at Forever Ashley



Monday, December 15

Review at Flashlight Commentary



Tuesday, December 16

Spotlight at Bibliophilic Book Blog



Thursday, December 18

Review at 100 Pages a Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Guest Post at Books and Benches



Friday, December 19

Review at Book Nerd

Review at bookramblings



Monday, December 22

Spotlight at Let Them Read Books



Tuesday, December 23

Review at Just One More Chapter



Wednesday, December 24

Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book



Monday, December 29

Review at The Never-Ending Book



Tuesday, December 30

Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection



Friday, January 2

Review at Library Educated



Monday, January 5

Review & Interview at Words and Peace



Tuesday, January 6

Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews



Wednesday, January 7

Review at A Bibliotaph's Reviews



Thursday, January 8

Review at Impressions in Ink



Friday, January 9

Review at The True Book Addict

Review & Interview at Jorie Loves a Story