Victoria, or more commonly Vix, lives in a small house her brother has muscular dystrophy her mother is unhappy, and money is scarce. In sixth grade, when Victoria Weaver is asked by new girl Caitlin Somers to spend the summer with her on Martha’s Vineyard, her life changes forever. The years pass by at a fast and steamy clip in Blume’s latest adult novel (Wifey, not reviewed Smart Women, 1984) as two friends find loyalties and affections tested as they grow into young women. Still, this is a vigorous, colorful narrative, a pleasant if unsurprising entertainment.

There are obligatory cameos by everyone from Shakespeare to Dickens. These incidents tend to be announced portentously (``England's great Peasant Revolt had begun'') and the characters, to fill in the historical background, sometimes offer speeches packed with an alarming (and unlikely) amount of information. Interwoven with the private (and rather melodramatic) adventures of a half-dozen families over a 2,000-year span are most of the events that shaped England (from the Norman invasion up to the Battle of Britain).

This latest follows the growth of London from its origins as a Celtic encampment through its emergence as the Roman capital in Britain and on to its long climb to preeminence as England's (and, for a time, the world's) greatest city. Like the work of his likely inspiration, James Michener, Rutherfurd's novels are distinguished by admirable research and a propulsive plot.

AN EPIC SAGA Tracing historical moments from the Ice Age through to the present day, all set against the backdrop of an ever-changing England, Sarum is a novel of breathtaking scope, perfect for fans of Ken Follett and Diana Gabaldon.Rutherfurd, having celebrated at some length the growth of an English cathedral town (Sarum, 1987) and the turbulent history of Russia (Russka, 1991), offers a massive survey in fictional form of London's long history.

The landscape - as old as time itself - shapes the destinies of the five families. CENTURIES OF TURMOIL AND TYRANNY In a novel of extraordinary richness, the whole sweep of British civilization unfolds through the story of one place, Sailsbury, from beyond recorded time to the present day. PRAISE FOR SARUM 'A high-speed cavalcade of our island story' DAILY EXPRESS 'Supremely well crafted and a delight to read' CHICAGO TRIBUNE 'A thundering good read' THE BOOKSELLER 'A richly imagined vision of history' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE _ FIVE INTERCONNECTED FAMILIES Sarum weaves an enthralling saga of five families - the Wilsons, the Masons, the family of Porteus, the Shockleys, and the Godfreys - who reflect the changing character of Britain.

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd