The Handfasted Wife: Daughters of Hastings, Book 1, by Carol McGrath
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The Handfasted Wife: Daughters of Hastings, Book 1, by Carol McGrath
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The Handfasted Wife is the story of the Norman Conquest from the perspective of Edith (Elditha) Swanneck, Harold's common-law wife. She is set aside for a political marriage when Harold becomes king in 1066. Determined to protect her children's destinies and control her economic future, she is taken to William's camp when her estate is sacked on the eve of the Battle of Hastings. She later identifies Harold's body on the battlefield, and her youngest son becomes a Norman hostage.
This is an adventure story of love, loss, survival, and reconciliation.
The Handfasted Wife: Daughters of Hastings, Book 1, by Carol McGrath- Amazon Sales Rank: #63826 in Audible
- Published on: 2015-03-31
- Released on: 2015-03-31
- Format: Unabridged
- Original language: English
- Running time: 728 minutes
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Most helpful customer reviews
91 of 93 people found the following review helpful. A swan song for Elditha By Anna B I have a problem reading books where I know beforehand there is no happy ever after. In this particular case, I know Harold and his Elditha will never experience old age, seeing as he died at the battle of Hastings. It makes me sort of weepy, and I am ridiculously glad that, as per this book, they had some weeks together before the momentous events that would transform England forever.Elditha Swanneck is an engaging character, mild but assertive, capable and wise. She handles her affairs in the way any wealthy noblewoman of the times would have done, she loves her children, her man. When Harold decides to marry - for real - she is understandably hurt, made fragile and invisible by his apparent disinterest. By choosing a new wife, Harold is sullying their union, relegating her to the role of mistress rather than mate, and I think Ms McGrath has done a great job in conveying all these feelings, further complicated by the fact that Elditha can't stop loving Harold, the man she has loved for more than half her life. She wants to be angry and send him away, but misses him too much to do so when he finally comes to see her. Even after he is dead, Elditha will always carry this larger than life man in her heart, attempting always to remain loyal to his memory.Ms McGrath does an excellent job in portraying all her central characters. From Elditha to Padar, from Gytha to Harold himself, these long dead people spring to life within the pages of her book, some of them so easy to love, some, like Queen Edith, portrayed as coldly pragmatic. To these vibrant characters must be added beautiful descriptive writing, pitch-perfect dialogue and a vivid historical setting. This author clearly knows the period she is describing so well that her details and artifacts, the glimpses she offers of interior design, of food and clothes, never become stilted or affected. She weaves harvest work and bee-keeping, herbal ointments and period pastimes, into her text with such skill that I am no longer here, but there, entering bower halls where women sit and gossip as they work, following Elditha into the chilly interiors of churchs, or into the welcoming warmth of a merchant's house.Further to this, Ms McGrath really knows how to write. POV is distinct throughout, Elditha quickly acquires a presence and a voice of her own, and I find it quite impossible to put this book down, so entranced am I by the elegant writing and the story as such. Is there a happy ending? Well, that is not for me to reveal, but I can more than warmly recommend this book, and I for one hope we will not have to wait long for the next one in the trilogy to come out.
74 of 76 people found the following review helpful. Surviving the wreckage By Martin Lake I was attracted by this book because it deals with the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the early years of the Norman Conquest. This is a subject I have written about in my novels The Lost King: Resistance and Wasteland (The Lost King) and I was especially keen to read a novel which focused on the strong women who were forced to come to terms with a world where the old values and certainties were daily being swept away.This book did not disappoint. The central characters are brought vividly to life. Their motivations are complex and make the reader wonder just what strategies they will adopt in the months following the battle. I loved the central character Elditha and could see why she was so desired by the men of her time. I thoroughly enjoyed the depiction of her mother-in-law, the redoubtable Gytha.Although the book deals with the trauma of war these women are no adjuncts to the male warriors nor are they motivated solely by the events they are living through. They strive to salvage the essence of their lives and their families from the wreckage which the war has forced upon them. The story shows how the women's attempt to maintain a precious, precarious link to the past becomes increasingly difficult.I look forward to reading more books by Carol McGrath.
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful. Enjoyable Love, Politics and Survival During the Norman Conquest By Tnafbrat Reading my way chronologically through British royal history, I am glad I came across this book. I am combining reading strict history/biography with historical fiction.Set around 1066 it covers the accent of Harold Godwinson to the throne of England, moving quickly to the Battle of Hastings against William the Conqueror and the aftermath of the Norman Conquest through the life of Harold's handfasted wife Edith/Elygyth.Handfasting during this time, whether done by witnessed ritual or private was in that twilight transition period between worship of the old gods and the incoming sweep of christianity. Though handfasting had been and was a normal,legal and accepted practice, the more christianity spread it's power, the less approved it was leaving wives considered more as concubines and not a true legal wives in the eyes of the Church.Harold's rise to King of England occurred upon the death of King Edward the Confessor without heir. William of Normandy was threatening as well as the Kings of Denmark and Norway. Edward had brought with him a large contengent of Norman lords and friends when he was recalled from exile in Normandy to be King lavishing them with titles and lands. The practice was for the Wittan (a gathering of the english lords) to elect a king in the abscence of an heir. The English, resenting this intrusion of foreigners, wanted a king from England, and fearing invasion from Denmark and Norway they wanted a strong warlord, They elected Harold. Wanting to secure the succession with legal heirs, the Church, english lords of strong christian practice and the Norman factions would not accept a handfasted wife as a legal and true queen therefore, they required Harold to marry someone acceptable in a christian ceremony, thus putting Edith aside and complicating her life an the lives of her children further after the Battle of Hastings. Still considered Harold's wife and their children legitimate by many english, she and her brood were a complication in the life and rule of William as having claim to the throne of England.Being historical fiction, there is obviously embellishment and some tweeking of facts, but in all, it gives the reader a good overview of the times. Geared more toward female readers, it is a good story of love and survival without being a "bodice ripper".
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