The Damask Rose Blog Tour

 

Today we're delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Damask Rose, the second of Carol McGrath's new historical fiction series, The She Wolves.. It's the story of Eleanor of Castile, wife of  Edward I, an unusual queen with a 'modern' outlook, not content with domestic accomplishments, but  interested in creating beautiful gardens, in supervising her ever-growing property portfolio, and whenever possible accompanying her husband on campaign at home or on Crusade to the Holy Land.

Here's Carol herself to tell us more

Introducing Eleanor of Castile

 

I loved writing The Damask Rose, second novel in The She Wolf Series of books about medieval queens who were regarded as difficult by their contemporaries. This book’s heroine is Eleanor of Castile who gathered up a large property portfolio thus annoying Barons who when in debt sold manors and lands to her. She bought up their properties and debts cheaply. Many disliked this able thirteenth century business woman and queen. Her husband, however, adored her and when she died Edward I erected the famous Eleanor Crosses to commemorate her final funeral journey. Charing Cross derives its name from one of the Eleanor crosses. I off set Eleanor’s story with that of a medieval female gardener in The Damask Rose. See the blurb below.

Eleanor loved gardens and introduced many ideas and now popular flowers such as hollyhocks into English gardens from Castile. Stone Masons from Aragon constructed water features and statues in Eleanor’s castle gardens. Eleanor enjoyed beautiful objects and comforts in her many homes. She loved books and was a blue-stocking. It is said she was responsible for floor carpets as well as gorgeous hanging woven tapestries, ideas brought from Spain.

 

The Blurb for The Damask Rose

1266. Eleanor of Castile, adored wife of the Crown Prince of England, is still only a princess when she is held hostage in the brutal Baron's Rebellion, and her baby daughter dies. Scarred by privation, a bitter Eleanor swears revenge on those who would harm her family - and vows never to let herself be vulnerable again.

As she rises to become Queen, Eleanor keeps Olwen - a trusted herbalist, who tried to save her daughter - by her side. But it is dangerous to be friendless in a royal household, and as the court sets out on crusade, Olwen and Eleanor discover that the true battle for Europe may not be a matter of swords and lances, but one fanned by whispers and spies . . .

 

To Buy Link :  tinyurl.com/dk2att32

 

Bio

Carol McGrath is the author of the acclaimed She-Wolves Trilogy, which began with the hugely successful The Silken Rose and continues with the brand new The Damask Rose. Born in Northern Ireland, she fell in love with historical fiction at a young age, when exploring local castles, such as Carrickfergus, and nearby archaeological digs- and discovering some ancient bones herself. While completing a degree in History, she became fascinated by the strong women who were silenced in record. Her first novel, The Handfasted Wife, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards, and Mistress Cromwell was widely praised as a timely feminist retelling of Tudor court life. Her novels are known for their intricacy, depth of research and powerful stories.

For more news, exclusive content and competitions, sign up to Carol’s newsletter at: www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk.
Follow her on Facebook: /CarolMcGrathAuthor1 and on Twitter: @CarolMcGrath

Also, please do follow her here on amazon.co.uk.

You can read Mary's full review here at OurBookReviewsOnline

and check out the rest of the blog tour as detailed below

The Damask Rose by Carol McGrath

1266. Eleanor of Castile, adored wife of the Crown Prince of England, is still only a princess when she is held hostage in the brutal Baron's Rebellion, and her baby daughter dies. Scarred by privation, a bitter Eleanor swears revenge on those who would harm her family - and vows never to let herself be vulnerable again.

As she rises to become Queen, Eleanor keeps Olwen - a trusted herbalist, who tried to save her daughter - by her side. But it is dangerous to be friendless in a royal household, and as the court sets out on crusade, Olwen and Eleanor discover that the true battle for Europe may not be a matter of swords and lances, but one fanned by whispers and spies . . .

Carol McGrath's latest series The She-Wolves continues with the story of  Eleanor of Castille, wife of Prince Edward (later to become Edward I of England). Married when Eleanor was barely a teenager, their relationship grew into one of great love, though their early years together were marred by the death of children in infancy, and the time Eleanor spent as a hostage, held in impoverished circumstances with barely enough money for food, by Simon de Montfort during the Baron's Rebellion.

From these inauspicious beginnings, Carol McGrath shows us a woman growing in determination, power, and love for her husband. In many ways Eleanor seems a remarkably 'modern' woman, not content to stay home, rear children, and quietly embroider. Vowing never to suffer such the trauma of imprisonment and poverty again, she resolves that whenever feasible she will stay by Edward's side, accompanying him on campaigns against the rebels, then further afield on Crusade. At the same time she sets about accumulating lands and wealth to protect herself against future hardship.

Intertwined with Eleanor's story is that of (totally fictional) Olwen, her herbalist. The two come together to create gardens of herbs and flowers, of healing and relaxation, for  Eleanor's new manor houses and the castles Edward builds as part of his campaign against the Welsh.

Throughout there's a wealth of historical detail, sprinkled unobtrusively to not mar the progression of the story, but underpinning it, giving it a real feel for the world of Eleanor and Olwen.

Next week, I'll be taking part in the blog tour for The Damask Rose but meanwhile check out the other posts here - 

The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath

In 1236, young Ailenor of Provence arrives in England to be married to a man she hasn't met - the king, Henry III. Despite being only thirteen years old, she has to quickly learn how to manage her relationship with Henry, and negotiate the undercurrents of court life. As she starts to find her feet in this foreign land, she finds herself  treading a narrow path though the political mire; torn between friendship with Henry's sister, Nell, and Henry's displeasure with Nell's husband, Simon de Montfort; and seeking to, understandably, surround herself with the familiar faces of her uncles, she's accused of putting family ties before suitability for the job.

Great for lovers of historical fiction, The Silken Rose is an interesting look at the workings and machinations of the English court at a somewhat forgotten time in history.

Where Carol McGrath excels is in adding personality to the scant descriptions of history books, and in capturing of the minutiae of daily life at Court. Descriptions of feasts, and the embroideries worked by Queen Ailenor and her ladies fill, maybe not every page, but quite close. In this novel, the life of Queen Ailenor is intertwined with that of her favourite embroideress, Rosalind, the craftswoman behind the many hangings that adorn Ailenor's castles. Through her eyes we see another side of Medieval London - the prominent merchants and guildsmen of the city who bankrolled many of the king's projects.

The Silken Rose is the first of a new trilogy from Carol McGrath, which will follow the lives of three medieval queens who were regarded by their contemporaries as 'she-wolves' - mainly because they upset the nobility. Ailenor was accused of favouring her family, particularly her uncles, with titles and benefits; her daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Castille, subject of the second book, of greed; and Isabella of France (Eleanor's daughter-in-law) of being 'not one of us'. The author believes all of them deserve a better appreciation.

The Woman in the Shadows by Carol McGrath

review by Maryom


Elizabeth Williams is newly widowed, after a love-less marriage arranged by her father. She's still young, has a head for trade and figures, and is determined to keep her independence by taking over her husband's cloth business. It's not an unknown course of action for a widow, but Elizabeth has opponents among London's cloth merchants and, closer to home, in her father who thinks she should do no such thing, but either let him merge the business with his, or marry again. An arson attack on her premises leaves her shaken but still firm in her intentions, though concerned that someone may have uncovered her late husband's secrets ...
Meanwhile, she finds herself attracted to Thomas Cromwell, cloth merchant turned lawyer, who represents a chance for both love and security.


I think anyone with an interest in historical fiction will be aware of the huge number of books out there set in the Tudor period, but most focus on Henry VIII's court, and, of course, his multitude of wives. In The Woman in the Shadows, Carol McGrath approaches the matter from a different angle - that of a woman from the merchant class, involved in trade both at home and abroad, seeing the noblemen and women of the court as potential customers for her finer stock but little concerned with their lives. Once she marries Thomas Cromwell her life begins to change - for Thomas is intent on furthering his career, and in Tudor times that means becoming involved with the court and its politics. If you've read, or watched the TV version of, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, you'll know what happens to him later in life, but here we're concerned with him BEFORE he became a major player on the Tudor political scene. Seen through Elizabeth's eyes, he's ambitious, a little too secretive, and definitely too radical in his views! Elizabeth is portrayed as a modest, religious woman, not wholly comfortable with some of her husband's ideas or his growing involvement with the movers and shakers of Henry's court. In one respect I wasn't comfortable with her outlook - along with no doubt many others at the time, she sees homosexuality as a sin, condemned by the church, and punished after death, but it's important to bear in mind that she's a Tudor woman with the attitudes and opinions of her time, and influenced heavily by the Church's stance.
The insight into everyday Tudor life is fascinating. From the details of Elizabeth's clothes, cleaning and decorating a house, to dressing up and celebrating feast days almost every aspect is covered as Elizabeth and Thomas go about their daily lives. It's also interesting to see that long before celebrity magazines the public were eager for news of the famous folk of the day - Henry's longing for a son, and his extra-marital affairs are pretty much public knowledge, and discussed eagerly among the cloth merchants' wives (and I suspect by their husbands too). All these details help bring the period to life, a living backdrop to Elizabeth's personal story.

You can also read a guest post from Carol McGrath talking about Elizabeth Cromwell and Women in Tudor Times here


Maryom's review - 4 stars 
Publisher - Accent Press
 Genre - adult historical fiction

Carol McGrath - The Woman in the Shadows - blog tour

Today we're delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Carol McGrath's The Woman in the Shadows, the story of Elizabeth Cromwell, the wife of Tudor statesman Thomas, with a piece from the author on the role of women in Tudor times ...


Elizabeth Cromwell and Women in Tudor Times


My new novel The Woman in the Shadows will be published on 4th August. This novel’s protagonist is Thomas Cromwell’s wife Elizabeth Cromwell. It was difficult to find recorded history about Elizabeth Cromwell, so to bring the wife of Henry VIII’s infamous statesman to the page, I undertook an enormous amount of research into the lives of Tudor women and, in particular, into the lives of women belonging to London’s merchant class. Here are snippets of what I discovered and integrated into the world of The Woman in the Shadows.

Marriage
Elizabeth was a young widow when she married Thomas Cromwell circa 1514. The age at which a first marriage took place varied depending on social background. The average would have been twenty to twenty-six. I suggest twenty-two. He would have been twenty-eight. A marriage was the joining of whole families and, as the Cromwells business interests expanded, relatives were drawn in. In fact, it was a relative who helped Cromwell get employed by Cardinal Wolsey. Widows could choose their second husband. They could inherit their husband’s business interests and a third portion if they had children by that husband. Once married, her property became her husband’s property even if they parted. I like to think there was love and mutual respect between Elizabeth and Thomas. It is recorded fact that his friends admired Elizabeth.

Childbirth
This was an important function of marriage. Elizabeth was not continually pregnant but she had three children with Thomas Cromwell. There was little pre-natal care. Dietary advice was based on the humours. Fish and milk, for instance, were considered phlegmatic. On birth the belief in talismans was common. Eagle-stones and the St Catherine’s belt were popular. Many churches apparently possessed this reliquary or its imitation and lent the belt out to women for their labour. A pregnant woman took to her chamber four weeks before the birth. It was hung with best hangings and the shutters were fastened up against fresh air. After the birth, the mother was confined to bed for three days and then to her chamber until her churching, a simple thanksgiving service, over a month later.

Education
Both middle-class boys and girls had an informal education including instruction in religion. Girls were taught to be good, obedient faithful wives and to raise children as devout Christians. Children of Elizabeth’s class were taught to make themselves pleasing in company and useful to those above them. Even apprentices were taught good manners. Elizabeth had to be capable of looking after her house and children properly, and above all to have a care for her husband’s comfort. She was, as many women were, involved in their business interests, even if Thomas was the main bread-earner. Even though she could be a female merchant the professions such as the legal professions were closed to her. Women often did the accounts, and she may well have done these in the early days of their marriage. Yet, even if she was clever she was expected to be soft and delicate, and could never think of herself as a man’s equal.

Hygiene
Tudors washed more frequently than given credit for. Bathing was a wooden tub for most. They strip-washed every day and it was a matter of pride to have clean linen. Women made scented washing balls from expensive imported olive oil soap by adding herbs and flower scents to them. A respectable Tudor never sat down to eat without washing hands first as they ate with fingers. Cleanliness about the household was vital. The dairy especially must be clean. General cleaning was an extremely time-consuming task. Elizabeth would have had servants and cooks but it was her responsibility to train them.

Food and Cooking
A good display at meal times was important. Thomas Cromwell was exceptionally social and apparently good company. He was witty and possessed a phenomenal memory. The family would lose face if the house-wife could not present guests with a variety of dishes. These would include plain boiled and roasted meats accompanied with fancy spiced sauces. Exotic ingredients could be found in Elizabeth’s kitchen. One example mentioned in the novel is Russian isinglass - an expensive, pure form of gelatin found in the swim bladders of sturgeon. White leach was made by boiling new milk with isinglass and leaving it to cool and set firm until it could be cut into squares that might be gilded.

There is much, much more and limited space here. The book’s world is packed with a woman’s life in the Early Tudor period. At this time the exact nature of a woman was under debate as was the effect of education on women. I like to think that as a Humanist, a man of the new learning, a Renaissance man, Thomas Cromwell was enlightened and in favour of education for women, just like Thomas More who famously had his daughters educated. Tudor women, in general, none the less, had skills that even though not completely acknowledged, were as essential to society as those belonging to their brothers, fathers, and husbands. They, like today’s women, were true multi-taskers. They were both similar and different, and, for me, incorporating this concept into Elizabeth’s story was the novel’s real challenge.

The Betrothed Sister by Carol McGrath

 review by Maryom

After the death of her father, King Harold, at the battle of Senlac (Hastings), Thea's family has been split up - her mother has retired out of the world's eye to a convent, her sister Gunnhild is wasting her life away in another; of Thea's brothers, the youngest, Ulf, is being held hostage in Normandy, Magnus has died in an attempt to win back their lands, while the others, with their grandmother and Thea herself, have fled overseas vowing revenge on William the Bastard. In exile at the court of Danish king, Sweyn, Thea and her grandmother work towards finding her a 'match' worthy of her royal blood. When an offer is made on behalf of Prince Vladimir of Kiev, it seems like Thea's dreams are about to come true - but her troubles aren't over yet ....there are many obstacles in her way, years of waiting, first in Denmark, then in Novgorod, while she's 'trained' to become a suitable wife for a Russian prince, and while the power-struggles in Russia are resolved for its a country almost as divided by war-fare as her English home.


This last book in Carol Mcgrath's Daughters of Hastings series tells the story of Thea, daughter of Harold Godwinson and his 'handfasted' wife Elditha. Thea has appeared as a minor character in the previous books but now her story is fully explored. I found this a fascinating read in several ways - Thea's personal story as a homeless wanderer, still cherishing both hopes for happiness and a family, and a grievance against England's Norman conquerors, plays out against the backdrop of Danish and Russian history of the early eleventh century, of which I knew nothing.
It's fiction, of course, so maybe not absolutely 'true' in all ways, but the characters are brought to life as real, breathing people rather than names from a history book (I particularly liked the plain bitchiness of the Danish princesses, even though they made life difficult for Thea), it gives a flavour of the period in general, and the customs of Denmark and Russia at that time - both of which are strange to Thea; she's used to a lot more freedom than the courts of these countries allow women - and doesn't find sitting quietly sewing very suitable to her temperament! Even so, she does come across as more content to wait and let things happen to her, than either her mother (in The Handfasted Wife) or her sister Gunnhild (in The Swan Daughter) but as an outsider,living on the good-will of others, Thea's actions are fa more restricted.
The series as a whole has left me thinking about the lives of these princesses - of how they were caught up in events beyond their control, separated from family, and their lives planned out for them by others. I wonder if any of them found true happiness at all/



 Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Accent Press
 Genre - adult historical fiction

The Swan Daughter by Carol McGrath

review by Maryom

Following her father King Harold's death at the Battle of Hastings, Gunnhild has remained at Wilton Abbey and looks likely to spend her life there in quiet devotion. The nuns would love her to stay, if only for the sake of her inheritance, but as the time for committing herself approaches, Gunnhild feels increasingly repelled by the idea; she longs for a life in the larger, outside world, for the fine gowns and stately halls she remembers from her childhood, and, above all, for love. Her chance of escape comes in the shape of Alan of Richmond, one of the new Norman lords now holding English lands. Although he's older than she is, and once offered for her widowed mother's hand, Gunnhild is willing to risk everything and run away with him. Will her life prove to be the romance she hopes for, or is she only wanted for the lands and titles she brings?

This, The Swan Daughter, continues Carol McGrath's The Daughter's of Hastings trilogy, which started with the story of  Elditha Swan-neck,  The Hand-fasted Wife
of King Harold, picking up the story in 1075 with a country now largely settled under Norman rule. The former royal family are still viewed with suspicion though, and  kept separate - the women confined to convents; the men, unless lucky enough to have escaped overseas, either killed or held hostage in Norman courts. Although very little is known of the 'real' Gunnhild, the author weaves a compelling and believable tale around the few facts of marriage, births and deaths. In many ways, it must have been a life common to most Saxon noble-woman under the new regime; caught up by the tide of events but having virtually no influence. No longer able to hold lands themselves, their choices are reduced to entering a convent or finding a husband - and the wave of conquerors are looking for Saxon-heiresses to give them more legitimacy in the people's eyes. Against this backdrop, the author spins a tale that brings the period and its characters to life.

As might be expected from a girl brought up in a convent, Gunnhild comes over as rather naive and not at all worldly-wise; she expects her romantic ideas to be echoed by her husband, leaving it too late to wonder if his real interest might be her inheritance; she's often impulsive, acting without giving real thought for the consequences, whether falling in love or selling off her jewels. But, despite these faults, I still had sympathy for her,and hoped she would find the happiness she sought.

Something I love about this series is the author's ability to bring the eleventh century world to life on the page and immerse the reader in it; to discuss the wider political picture - the disputes between William the Conqueror and his lords, or the creation of the Domesday Book -  or fill in the backdrop of everyday life - the convent tasks, the running of a household, the chores of the maids - in a way that informs the reader without the feel of reading a history lesson.


Altogether, The Swan Daughter is an enjoyable and informative read, shedding a light on a little known period of history and bringing it vividly to life.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Accent Press
Genre - adult historical fiction

Carol McGrath - guest post

Today we're welcoming to the blog Carol McGrath, author of The Handfasted Wife. I read this, her first novel, a short while ago and found it an engrossing story bringing the Norman Invasion of 1066 to light from the women's perspective. I was left wondering though, what exactly inspired Carol to pick this period of history..... and here's her answer...

 Inspiration for a Novel about the Noble Women of 1066

1066 is a date known to every school child, the promise made in Bayeux, the death of Edward the Confessor and the Witan’s choice of Harold of Wessex as King of England. We all know about the attack on
England from Norway, the Battle of Stamford Bridge and Harold’s victory and epic march south to confront the Norman horde at Hastings. What is rarely told is the women’s story, the story of Harold’s handfasted wife, Edith Swan-neck (Elditha in my novel), his sister Edith widow to Edward the Confessor and of Gytha, the matriarch, Harold’s indomitable mother who may have been sixty years old when events unfolded, a grand old age in those days.

What inspired me to tell these women’s story? The first reason is because ever since I watched thrilling historical serials on TV as a small child and later read Henty, Rosemary Sutcliff and Jane Lane and even later Jean Plaidy, Anya Seton and Campbell-Barnes to name just a few writers who wrote women’s historical novels, I was hooked on the past and how it affected women. Passionately in love with history, I studied medieval history at University and later taught it.

The second reason is because on a visit to Normandy I was intrigued by The Bayeux Tapestry. Three women are depicted on the Tapestry. The first is a mysterious nun early in the story when Harold is visiting Duke William’s court. There are many theories as to who she could be and why she is on the Tapestry. It may be a reference to an older story or event connected with another Godwin woman who was a nun at Wilton Abbey. She does not enter my novel. The second is Edith Godwin, wife of Edward the Confessor placed by his feet as he is dying. The third woman is the inspiration for The Handfasted Wife. She is fleeing from a burning house on the eve of the Battle of Hastings and some Tapestry Historians suggest that it is possible that she represents Harold’s first wife, Edith Swan-Neck, running from a Norman attack on her hall near Hastings, in flight along with her youngest child Ulf. I came to this conclusion through much research. In addition a short video accompanied the Bayeux Tapestry viewing. It showed Edith Swan-Neck searching the battlefield for Harold’s broken body. According to the Waltham Chronicle, written in the early 12th century, she identified him, by marks only she could have known. How intriguing! The image of a woman searching a battlefield for her husband was poignant and I realised that we only know about how the Conquest affected men and wanted to explore her story.


 What about the women? Women are the footnotes of history, the shadows in the corners of our island’s story. They had a presence which I was determined to discover and write into a fiction that whilst it was, of course, a story, still maintained a strong degree of historical integrity and accuracy. 
Further research in The Bodlean Library in Oxford led me to The Carmen de Proelio de Hastingae, (a delicious mouthful). It is simply The Song of Hastings and was probably written for Queen Matilda’s coronation in May 1067, by a Norman monk who got his information from noble relatives who fought in the

great battle. The beautifully written poem tells us that Gytha offered William Harold’s weight in gold for the return of his body to her keeping for burial. She was refused and the poem says that Harold was buried on the seashore nearby so that a funeral did not attract martyrdom status for the dead king. Two of Harold’s brothers died at Hastings and the third Tostig, who famously turned traitor, died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. So, I felt that Gytha must have faced great loss. It is written in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and in Oderic Vitalis’s Chronicles that she sought safety in Exeter, her dower city, refused to pay tax in 1068 and was besieged there for three long weeks. Eventually she was given safe passage out and she left Exeter with a great number of noble ladies and treasure. This is a crucial event in The Handfasted Wife.

Edith the Queen was pragmatic. The chronicles say that she handed over the keys of Winchester and the treasury there to William a few weeks after the great battle. She stood on the fence. I see her as a survivor, and an educated brilliant woman.

Edith Swan-Neck disappears from the historical record after 1066 except for one possible mention which I am not going to reveal as to do so would be a spoiler. However, hers and Harold’s son Ulf was taken as a child hostage into Normandy (according to John of Worcester) and not released for many years. I imagine that she wanted to reunite her children and recover her missing son.  I also imagine her loss as she is set aside by Harold in 1066 for a political marriage that would unite north and south in the face of great danger from abroad. She was a wife handfasted in the Danish tradition, outside of the Church.

These are the historical ingredients for The Handfasted Wife. The story I ended up writing is filled with adventure and I loved researching and crafting it. I always wanted to write novel but life got in the way. I gave up teaching, studied for an MPhil in Creative Writing and English at Royal Holloway and wrote The Handfasted Wife. If you read it I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the writing of it. Moreover, there is a sequel on the way!

Carol McGrath August 2013

 Many thanks to Carol for that and much to think on. We look forward to reading the sequel.

The Handfasted Wife by Carol McGrath

 
review by Maryom

We all know the story of William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066 and Harold Godwinson, king of England who fought him at the Battle of Hastings and died with an arrow in his eye. But history tends to gloss over the lives of women. The Handfasted Wife brings the events of 1066 - the Norman invasion and its aftermath - vividly to life through the experiences of one woman, Elditha.
Elditha is Harold's 'handfasted' wife, mother of his 6 children. As cousins, the church wouldn't approve their marriage, so they were joined in the old  Norse way of handfasting. This gives Harold an excuse to unceremoniously 'dump' Elditha when he becomes king and make a more politically advantageous marriage. Elditha finds herself virtually banished to her remote country estate, but this doesn't stop her caring for Harold and hoping to be reunited with him or save her from the turmoil of the Norman invasion.

The Handfasted Wife is an engrossing story, covering a well-known period from the perspective not of the men fighting battles but from the women left at home. The author really succeeds at creating the atmosphere of both the women's peaceful world of running their households - spinning and embroidery - working on tapestries like the famous one of Bayeux - tending the sick and helping the poor - and the chaos when this world is attacked by invading Normans; in both scenarios, the reader feels there alongside Elditha. The violence isn't graphic but still manages to capture the horror felt by Elditha.
With the men mainly absent, the strongest characters in the novel are women; Elditha, herself; Edith, widow of King Edward, who believes the best way forward is to accept the invaders as their new rulers; and   Harold's mother Gytha who arms her household determined to resist the Normans as long as possible. These are not shy, shrinking violets but independent women, capable of running their households and estates, used to having a say in affairs and not happy to be treated as 'trophies' or bargaining chips by the conquering Normans.
There are lots of little details to breathe life into the everyday world of Elditha and enough historical background to set the scene without cluttering the story with dry facts. The Handfasted Wife appeals on many levels - it's an interesting peep into a period of history of which most of us probably only know the bare outlines, and a look at the lives of women of that era but it's primarily a story about people, their loves and losses, and trying to build their world anew, not dates and battles.


Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Accent Press
 Genre - adult historical fiction

 Buy The Handfasted Wife from Amazon