The Handfasted Wife by Carol McGrath
Posted: Thu March 3rd, 2016, 8:57 pm
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. Elditha avoids an arranged marriage with a Breton knight by which her son might or might not be given into his care. She makes her own choice and sets out through strife-torn England to seek help from her sons in Dublin. However, events again overtake her. Harold's mother, Gytha, holds up in her city of Exeter with other aristocratic women, including Elditha's eldest daughter. The girl is at risk, drawing Elditha back to Exeter and resistance. Initially supported by Exeter's burghers the women withstand William's siege. However, after three horrific weeks they negotiate exile and the removal of their treasure. Elditha takes sanctuary in a convent where eventually she is reunited with her hostage son. This is an adventure story of love, loss, survival and reconciliation.
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The story unfolds at a steady pace and shows how stubborn Gytha (Harold's mother) was and how resourceful Edith herself was in staying beyond the reach of the Count Alain of Brittany, whom William intended her to marry. While this book is the first of a series, I do not intend to read the others as I am more interested in what happened in England after the death of William and the subsequent history there. I'm not interested in following the story of the Godwins to Flanders and beyond. 3/5 stars
***
The story unfolds at a steady pace and shows how stubborn Gytha (Harold's mother) was and how resourceful Edith herself was in staying beyond the reach of the Count Alain of Brittany, whom William intended her to marry. While this book is the first of a series, I do not intend to read the others as I am more interested in what happened in England after the death of William and the subsequent history there. I'm not interested in following the story of the Godwins to Flanders and beyond. 3/5 stars