Little Homeschool on the Prairie: Wulf the Saxon by Heirloom Audio Productions Review

I am so excited to start out our first review of the year with one of our favorite audio drama companies; Heirloom Audio Productions! This time our grand adventure is Wulf the Saxon. I received a physical CD for my family.

The physical CD copy of Wulf the Saxon has two CDs in a tri-fold case with the Inspiration Verse inside the middle of the case. Wulf the Saxon is 2 1/2 hours abridged story by G.A. Henty. Recommended for kids 6 and up in age and yes, even adults will enjoy this epic adventure.

Heirloom Audio Productions always has an amazing cast. Wulf the Saxon is no exception with Brian Blessed (Star Wars, Tarzan), Chris Larkin (Master and Commander), Helen George (Call the Midwife), Jack Farthing (Poldark), Sian Phillips (I, Claudius), and Patrick Godfrey (Les Miserables, Ever After).

The story is adapted from the collection of G.A. Henty books. G.A. Henty has 122 books that cover historical events in several eras and across many continents. His books are the apex of courage, Christian character, loyalty, and a Godly lifestyle. G.A. Henty witness many battles while traveling to report them and even ventured to America during the gold rush. G.A. Henty had the gift of storytelling that is capturing the imagination to this day with his epic adventures.

Wulf the Saxon Synopsis:

In 1065 the King of England is Edward the Confessor. England’s is fighting to not be a divided nation despite the odds against her. Normandy is waiting to take over the throne of England. Its during the Norman Conquest and the birth pains of England to become an undivided nation and a turning point in the history of England.

The main character is Wulf of Steyning a young page who becomes a thane who is loyal, courage’s, and an honorable young man. Wulf and his loyal friends gain the favor of Earl Harold Godwinson. Earl Harold is likely to be chosen as the next King of England.

Wulf and his faithful friend risk their life to protect the Earl and the country they love, but Wulf’s going to experience being shipwrecked and captured as a prisoner by Count of Ponthieu. He and his friend escape and with the help of Duke William of Normandy are able to gain the freedom of Earl Harold. Wulf fast wins the favor of Baron De Burg, his daughter Agnes, and his son Guy and a bond of friendship develops with the De Burg family.

Not everything is as it seems as some trickery is going on with the Duke William of Normandy and Earl Harold suspects it. Then the trickery is revealed when the sacred objects that were hidden are revealed. The Dukes trickery is going to have an impact in the near future. Duke William has his eyes on the throne of England.

Wulf shows his valor, courage, and nobility in battle. He captures a castle and prevents it from being retaking while suspecting a secret passage to enter the castle. A piece treaty is made and prevents another battle. As a result England doesn't have another conflict with Welsh for 100 years.

Wulf foils an assassination attempt against the King of England but, not without some consequences. Many battles of brother against brothers, country men against one another, and a nation against another nation. The Battle of Hastings has a lot of impact on England.

I’m not going to give away the rest of the story, so you will need to pick up your own copy.

How did I use Wulf the Saxon in my homeschool?

Usually as soon as a package from Heirloom Audio Productions arrives it gets ripped open within seconds and quickly inserted into a DVD player. Usually, it’s the car’s DVD player as we are heading into town for the day. Not, this time my whole family was down with the flu within days of one another. When everyone started feeling somewhat better I put on the audio drama for everyone to listen too. We had to listen to it several times as we were recovering and couldn’t keep awake long enough to take in the whole story at once. Someone in the family missed a certain portion of the story usually. It had nothing to do with the story everyone was just not quiet feeling 100% yet. Luckily, nobody minds listening to the story more than once.

Finally, after two weeks of not leaving the house we finally got to enjoy the story in full as we went to appointments and other activities throughout the day. WE LOVED IT! My kids love the adventures and exploring history with Heirloom Audio Productions. The audio drama is so realistic that it takes your breath away. I could almost feel the ocean waves crashing against the ship during the storm if I closed my eyes. The emotions that you feel with the characters are surreal as you are listening to the story. My son declares that it’s like watching a movie in your mind. My kids love the action and the history. My family loves history and revisiting something we've learned already and exploring new history. My son always has to research more facts after many of Heirloom Audio Productions audio dramas. I love that my kids are hearing wholesome stories of men and woman who have Godly character, courage, and aren’t afraid to do what is right despite the consequences. We have already listened to Wulf the Saxon in full several times. We still listen to the many of audio dramas that are available from Heirloom Audio Productions. My kids just don’t get tired of the stories.

My son likes listening to the stories sometimes when he is working on school or messing around on the computer. He has a big imagination and the adventures with Heirloom Audio Productions are priceless for this mamma when I watch him go on an adventure!

Wulf the Saxon has been a huge hit in my home. I can’t wait till the next adventure. My kids are already asking me when the next story is going to be available.

This can be more than just an audio book for enjoyment. You can add it to your history curriculum as a supplement for a certain era. Maybe you are learning about an event or person in history. You could make this as a unit study, book report, and even into a lapbook. Heirloom Audio Productions makes amazing Study Guides for their productions which will enhance the audio drama. (At this time Wulf the Saxon doens't have a Study Guide). They have more historical facts to enhance your studies, a wonderful Bible Study, and so much more.

Live the Adventure Club

If you’re not familiar with the Live the Adventure Club You should check it out. You have access to the whole library and the Study Guides that are available. You also will receive physical copies of the audio dramas three times a year. There is so much more as there is a community forum that you can share with other members, parent resources, newsletters, interesting articles, and so much more. I have really enjoyed being part of the Live the Adventure Club.

I highly recommend Wulf the Saxon and any of the other audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions. Other members of The Homeschool Review Crew have been listening to Wulf the Saxon so stop by and see what others are saying about it.