The First King of England
The First King of England by David Woodman is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including Bloomberg, for a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedWoodman takes on one of early medieval England's most consequential and least understood rulers, and his central challenge is that the surviving evidence on Æthelstan is thin, biased, and often contradictory. What reviewers have praised most is his restraint: rather than overreaching to fill those gaps with speculation, he carefully weighs competing interpretations and shows his work.
In the press
“Readers encountering Æthelstan for the first time will be grateful for Woodman's lucid and compelling prose”
Open Letters Review
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomberg | 0.80 | 0.85 | 1.00× | 0.68 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.68 → 15 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is The First King of England on?
The First King of England appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including Bloomberg.
What is its Consensus Score?
The First King of England has a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.