Two recent reads set in medieval Europe, where reluctant heroines must confront obstacles both spiritual and tangible to take a chance on happiness with the man they love. The first is set in Britain and the second, two centuries later, in France. Both include St Margaret as a minor character, but I was rooting for the maids on a mission, hoping they’d save their loved ones, and themselves.
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The Errant Hours by Kate Innes
Life isn’t easy in Plantagenet Britain, especially not if you’re orphaned, female and poor. When Ilessa tries to plead for her brother in the lock house, she only just avoids rape. But, with the help of male attire and the herbalism skills bequeathed her by her midwife mother, she manages to free him. Now they’re on the run.
Their journey takes the reader on a fascinating tour of medieval culture and beliefs: the feudal legislature, the low status of women and the power of the church. The writing is rich with period detail, not only the sights and sounds but the smells.
Ilessa hopes to trade an illustrated manuscript to redeem her brother, but the sacred book is far too valuable for someone of her social standing to have legally in her possession. When she learns how her mother came to have it, she’ll also discover the secret of her own identity.
Interspersed with Ilessa’s adventures is the story of Marina, the patron saint of childbirth, whose image adorns the holy book. Viciously tortured for embracing Christianity, it makes grim – but highly credible – reading.
I was gripped by the first half of the novel, for the captivating history and the quality of the prose. Although I still enjoyed it, I was less enamoured by the second half when Ilessa’s travels pause as she’s co-opted into a pageant at a tournament and a new thread, set in the sixth century, is introduced.
The Errant Hours is one of six books in a giveaway I’m running for readers in the UK, which also includes my own novel Sugar and Snails. It closes on 16 November 2020, so click on the image if you’d like to join in.
Their journey takes the reader on a fascinating tour of medieval culture and beliefs: the feudal legislature, the low status of women and the power of the church. The writing is rich with period detail, not only the sights and sounds but the smells.
Ilessa hopes to trade an illustrated manuscript to redeem her brother, but the sacred book is far too valuable for someone of her social standing to have legally in her possession. When she learns how her mother came to have it, she’ll also discover the secret of her own identity.
Interspersed with Ilessa’s adventures is the story of Marina, the patron saint of childbirth, whose image adorns the holy book. Viciously tortured for embracing Christianity, it makes grim – but highly credible – reading.
I was gripped by the first half of the novel, for the captivating history and the quality of the prose. Although I still enjoyed it, I was less enamoured by the second half when Ilessa’s travels pause as she’s co-opted into a pageant at a tournament and a new thread, set in the sixth century, is introduced.
The Errant Hours is one of six books in a giveaway I’m running for readers in the UK, which also includes my own novel Sugar and Snails. It closes on 16 November 2020, so click on the image if you’d like to join in.
Divine Heretic by Jaime Lee Moyer
When five-year-old Jeanne is accosted by three ghostly figures when she’s out collecting firewood, she doesn’t know if they’re angels or demons, but it’s not a good sign that they kill her dogs. As she grows into womanhood, they continue to plague her, insisting she’s been chosen for a mission to restore the Dauphin to the throne. But how can a peasant lead an army? How can a female assume authority of any kind?
As she’s soon to discover, her life choices are limited by gender. Without a father’s protection, and with the clergy’s collusion, she could be forced into marriage with a violent older man. Then there’s the threat of the English rampaging through the countryside, razing her village to the ground.
In this engaging novel, Jaime Lee Moyer shows us Joan of Arc from a different angle: reluctant heroine and troubled voice-hearer, bullied into risking her life to save France. It’s the myth of the Maid of Orleans recast as a romance. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for my review copy.
I have one short story set in mediaeval times: “The Invention of Harmony”.
Here I am reading the opening:
As she’s soon to discover, her life choices are limited by gender. Without a father’s protection, and with the clergy’s collusion, she could be forced into marriage with a violent older man. Then there’s the threat of the English rampaging through the countryside, razing her village to the ground.
In this engaging novel, Jaime Lee Moyer shows us Joan of Arc from a different angle: reluctant heroine and troubled voice-hearer, bullied into risking her life to save France. It’s the myth of the Maid of Orleans recast as a romance. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for my review copy.
I have one short story set in mediaeval times: “The Invention of Harmony”.
Here I am reading the opening:
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