Sir Tony Robinson brings the Dark Ages to Farsley Literature Festival

By Daniel Brabban

Farsley Literature Festival hosted a Q&A with actor and presenter Sir Tony Robinson to celebrate the debut of his book The House of Wolf.

The Old Woollen played host to fans looking for insight into some of Britain’s best loved historical television. 

When discussing his first novel, focused on Alfred the Great during the Viking invasions, Sir Tony addressed his fears of historical inaccuracy and the reactions of his Time Team colleagues to the book. He joked that he felt it needed to be “copper-bottom history or else I’d be stoned” and that he was “mad with imposter syndrome” on writing his first novel at 79 years old. 

When asked about the violence portrayed in the book, Sir Tony countered that “In the ninth century, armies were 120 people on either side. That’s nothing compared to the scale of violence we see today”.

Although saying the book was not trying to be political, the former Labour NEC representative made cheeky reference to recent far-right demonstrations and that the novel was ultimately about the origin of England and its foundation “by groups of Germans and Danes arriving along the coast in small boats”. 

Sir Tony talked with great relish on his love of history, tracing it back to his parent’s experience of the Second World War. In the RAF and WAAF respectively, Tony said his parents mostly “mucked around playing boogie-woogie piano and amateur dramatics.

“I realised if they had larks, their parents must have had larks and so on and so on.”

This led to his realisation that history tells you “how do you know who you are, unless you know where you came from” and led to a lifelong broadcasting career focused on the past. 

The audience were given a rundown on the process of writing the book and how Sir Tony’s practice of writing by hand led to the first five chapters being stolen in the Pyrenees. This anecdote had a tragic twist, as the author’s dog’s insulin was stolen alongside the chapters, leading to the pet’s tragic demise.  

Following a dramatic reading of the book, the author took questions where he revealed his links to Leeds. As a performer in the Alan Plater play Simon Says, Sir Tony proudly recounted how he was the first actor to perform onstage at the original Leeds Playhouse in the 1960s. 

For fans of the children’s series Maid Marian and her Merry Men Sir Tony announced there was a musical revival of the series in the works, with plans to tour the production around the country.

Naturally, Blackadder was not left out and the audience were provided a behind-the-scenes anecdote on the filming of the infamous last scene of the series.  

The event ended with a queue for books to be signed, and the audience was left with a broader perspective into one of public history’s most enduring champions.

More details on Farsley Literature Festival can be found here.

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