Review: The United States of Vinland

I loved this "what if" story of the founding of the USA by the Vikings.  I read it in two days - my attention was held from the start.  I have read the sagas of the founding of both Iceland and Greenland, so this extension (if you like) of the Viking journey to the north American seaboard is not really that far-fetched.  In fact, there is some conjecture that "others" had reached these shores long before Columbus - this explores one of those ideas - and well.

The Landing is the story of the first arrivals and their struggles to establish themselves in this new land after such a perilous and tragic journey. We meet the cast of characters and discover that sometimes new beginnings are a lot harder than first visualised.

I am so looking forward to the second installment which, I believe, begins 20 years after the first landings.

Colin's style of writing is easy to read and flowing - not too bogged down with over descriptive narrative and of the land and its peoples, leaving just enough for your imagination to take full flight - which is what a good novel should do.

Highly recommended for those interested in history with a twist.

Colin's website: The Fall of Ossard

About the Author - in his own words:

"I’ve spent most of my life in Australia, sometimes on the west coast, sometimes on the east. Currently, I live in Perth, where I drink far too much coffee, while writing and looking after hundreds of young sapling trees. I also work in a bookshop to keep the cash coming in. Over the years, I’ve done many things, from working in banking, retail, publishing, to dish-pigging, event management, and even running a tree farm. Through it all, I’ve written."

Review: Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife

I had the pleasure of reading a new (and soon to be published) work by David featuring the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and entitled "Anne of Cleves: Henry's Luckiest Wife".

Anne has had a bit of a rough time at the hands of chroniclers and writers, being described as being most unpleasant in appearance and personal charm, folksy and uncultured, the Flanders Mare; and yet she also comes across as smart, personable and even pleasant of appearance, and certainly shrewd enough to make a financially beneficial “divorce” from Henry which set her up for the rest of her life in England.  Even today, Anne remains an enigma.

This retelling of Anne’s life is initially told to us in the first person by Anne herself, as she reflects upon her life and the events leading up to her marriage to Henry VIII, King of England.  Anne’s recollections are interspersed with a more standard retelling of events as they occurred before, during and after her marriage.  We find Anne adjusting to court life around her and to her change of status once the divorce was made formal. We are then taken through the events that took place from the death of Henry VIII to Anne’s own demise.

I found this to be a rather enjoyable read, and David presents Anne in a more personable light, attributing to her some measure of intelligence and understanding of the politics of the day, as well as being a typical Tudor-era woman who enjoyed the finer things in life – friends, fashion, gossip, the good life.

Anne certainly was the luckiest of Henry’s wives – she married Henry and managed to keep her head!  And she outlasted both Henry and all his other wives, dying aged 41 in 1557.

For those with a love of all things Tudor, this is a must for your personal library.

David has written a number of  works that readers will enjoy – I certainly found his book on Shakespeare quite intriguing!

You can see a full list of David's books at his website - author website and Goodreads website

Review: Reign - A Story of Jezebel

It is an age old story – a young woman is given to a man not of her choosing; they share nothing in common but this; they worship differently; their countries differ in status; and yet they are thrown together to make the best of it. Can good come of this union – possibly. But this is the story of Jezebel of Phoenicia and Ahab of Israel, and it is hard for many to view this story for what it is without any prior (Biblical) misconceptions.

We begin with Jezebel as 12yo (886BC) participating in the ritual sacrifices of the day in her native Phoenicia. She reflects on her earlier life – of her mistreatment at the hands of her own family and those around her, and of her growing dedication to the religion of her people – this will be her strength.

Four years later Jezebel is betrothed to Ahab, Prince of Israel (882BC) – it is a union welcomed by neither Jezebel nor Ahab – but it is a union between two nations. And so the story interweaves from the viewpoint of the three main characters – Jezebel, Ahab and Obidaiah (servant to Ahab). 

We are taken through the familiar Biblical stories of the introduction of the priests of Jezebel; the struggle of Ahab between accommodating his new wife’s religion and the constant need to please the prophet and God of Israel. Jezebel slowly begins to feel her strength when both she and Ahab ascend to the throne of Israel. But for Ahab, the internal conflict only increases between his duty to his country and his religion – can they both co-exist.

As she tells us, Jezebel had given everything for a throne - and what she hadn't given was taken from her. Whilst Ahab is depicted as a weak ruler, sinking ever deeper into a melancholy – hovering between his loyalty to his God or his country - Jezebel takes on his role as ruler and has strength to follow her convictions in the face of opposition. Jezebel takes more of a leading role, making decisions that Ahab is afraid to make (the story of Naboth’s garden is a prime example) – that which he covets but cannot obtain, Jezebel obtains. 

Events take place from the marriage of Jezebel and Ahab to the point of Ahab’s death – and this is where Jezebel leaves us – with a footnote from the author as to her future.

I have enjoyed this new look at a woman who has been tarred with the same brush as Eve – it is an intriguing story of how this woman came to be – and what drove her.

Ginger Garrett - on Goodreads:

"Ginger Garrett is the author of the Chronicles of the Scribes series (In the Shadow of Lions, In the Arms of Immortals, In the Eyes of Eternity), Wolves Among Us, Chosen, Desired, Dark Hour, and Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther was recognized as one of the top five novels of 2006 by the ECPA.

Focusing on ancient women's history, Ginger creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, Billy Graham's The Hour of Decision, The Harvest Show, 104.7 The Fish Atlanta, and many other outlets."

Arrivals in 2013

Some new arrivals in the Library:- 

March 
Wu Zhao by N. Harry Rothschild 
Cartimandua by Nicki Howarth 
The Kingmaker's Sisters by David Baldwin 
The Makers of Scotland by Tim Clarkson 
The Banished Medieval Queen by Acacia Oak 
Holy Bones, Holy Dust by Charles Freeman 

January 
Medieval Sicily by H. Barbera 
The Norman Kingdom of Sicily by Donald Matthew 
The Normans in the South, 1016-1130 by John Julius Norwich 
The Kingdom in the Sun, 1130-1194 by John Julius Norwich 
Roger II and the Creation of the Kingdom of Sicily by Graham A. Loud 
The Normans in South Wales, 1070-1171 by Lynn H. Nelson

Review: Tree of Pearls

The title of the book "Tree of Pearls" by Jurji Zaydan is said to be based upon the first Muslim Queen of Egypt - Shagrat al-Durr, concubine to Al-Salih and mother of his son, who came to rule Egypt at the time of the Crusades under Louis IX.  She was said to have gained power with the aid of her favourite, 'Izz al-Din Aybak the Turk - who was also her confidant and lover.

However, the book is actually set in the latter years of her life - the Sultan is dead, news has just reached Tree of Pearls that her son has been killed by rebelling Mamluks.  Tree of Pearls is acclaimed Queen but her reign is short-lived as a rival plots her downfall - and so the story revolves around two new female characters - Sallafa (the rival) and Shwaykar (the handmaiden of Tree of Pearls).

It is around this same time that a new player enters the field - Rukn al-din Baybars - and the story moves to the court of the Caliphs of Baghdad as Baybars pursues his stolen love from the clutches of a jealous rival.  

And this really is the last we hear of Tree of Pearls until the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols when we learn the fate and future of all the main characters.

It is part historical fiction part historical narrative.

Useful Links:

Muslim Women in History

Shajarat al-Durr - from Sex Slave to Sultana of Egypt

The Mamluk Sultans of Egypt

Infamous Women - Shajar al-Durr

Xmas Arrivals

Just in time for Xmas - new arrivals in the Library:

Christopher Marlowe by Park Honan

Capetian France 987 - 1328 by Elizabeth Hallam

Family Power in Southern Italy by Patricia Skinner

The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily by Gordon S Brown

Thorfinn the Mighty by George M Brunsden

Galla Placidia by Hagith Sivan

The Tigress of Forli by Elizabeth Lev

All have been on my wishlist for some time - and the last one - Galla Placidia - arrived today.

Happy Reading to all!

Review: James Wilde – The Legend of Hereward

Hereward yields to William the Conqueror

With his first novel "The Time of the Wolf: A Novel of Medieval England" (also titled as "Hereward"), author James Wilde has presented us with a new take on the legend that is Hereward the Wake.  Hereward has been represented in the past as something of an ideal anti-hero along the lines of Robin Hood – he is the saviour of the Anglo-Saxons from the terrors of the Norman invaders. His use of violence is but a means to an end and is – on par - most acceptable according to the constructs of the time.

James’ Hereward takes on a darker persona (think modern-day Batman) where the legend is given a more human face and not one many may find themselves comfortable with.  He is a man who in the heat of battle is more akin to a Viking Berserker than family friendly superhero. 

Essentially the first book is set in the immediate years leading up to the Norman invasion 1060s – England is beset still from Viking raiders and the Anglo-Saxon Earls are jockeying for power around the aged Edward the Confessor.  The House of Godwin is in the ascendant but is not without its rivals. And it is into this scenario we find Hereward the outlaw – a man who is no longer under the protection of the community.  

“In the Common Law of England, a "Writ of Outlawry" made the pronouncement Caput gerat lupinum ("Let his be a wolf's head," /  "May he bear a wolfish head") with respect to its subject ..  and equating that person with a wolf in the eyes of the law: Not only was the subject deprived of all legal rights of the law being outside of the "law", but others could kill him on sight as if he were a wolf or other wild animal.” (source: Wikipedia) - and hence the title is rather apt.

Hereward  travels to and is welcomed at the court of Tostig Godwinsson, Earl of Northumbria and brother of Harold Godwinsson, the most powerful man in England.  But in a turn of events, both are forced to flee to Flanders where Hereward becomes a mercenary.  He returns to England after the Battle of Hastings and so we are lead onto Book Two.

A crash course in pre-Conquest England politics is a must for those for whom this period in history is not their forte - for this is a period of violence, political scheming, personal ambitions and deadly rivalries.  It is also a time when the Church is attempting to flex its political arm by trying to curb the violence of the era (see Peace and Truce of God).

Synopsis - The Time of the Wolf: A Novel of Medieval England:

To some a brilliant warrior, to others a devil in human form, Hereward is as adept in the art of slaughter as the enemies that gather to claim England's throne. But in his country's hour of greatest need, he has been declared an outlaw. To stay alive - and a freeman - he must carve a bloody swathe from the frozen hills of Northumbria to Flanders' fields and the fenlands of East Anglia. The tale of a man whose deeds will become the stuff of legend, this is also the story of two mis-matched allies: Hereward the man of war, and Alric, a monk and a man of peace. One will risk everything to save the land he loves, the other to save his friend's soul... 

Synopsis - Hereward: The Devil's Army:

The battle of Hastings has been lost. Harold Godwinsson is dead. The iron fist of William the Bastard has begun to squeeze the life out of England. But there is one who stands in the way of the invader's savagery. He is called Hereward. He is a warrior and master tactician and as adept at slaughter as the imposter who sits upon the throne. And he is England's last hope.

Further Reading:

Hereward the Last English Gentleman - Peter Rex
Hereward the Last of the English - Charles Kingsley
Hereward the Wake - trans Michael Swanton 

Hereward the Wake - Scared Texts

Some Links:

Article from the Independent in 2005 in which David Keys writes of the new evidence on the ancestry of Hereward - and it is this theory that Wilde adopts for his Hereward.

One of history's "greatest Englishmen" wasn't really English at all. Hereward the Wake, the guerrilla leader who fought William the Conqueror for five years from 1066, was, according to new research, a high-ranking Dane.

The research by the historian Peter Rex sheds a fascinating light on the political circumstances of the time. Ever since the late ninth-century Viking raids, parts of eastern England had often come under Danish control - and for some of the 11th century the whole of England became part of a vast Danish empire, which also included Norway, southern Sweden.

England became the subject of a geopolitical tug-of-war between the Scandinavians and the Normans. The half-Norman English king Edward the Confessor was intensely pro-Norman, while his half-Danish successor Harold was supported by the Anglo-Danish community.

In 1066 the country was invaded by both the Scandinavians and the Normans, both of whom were determined to seize permanent control of England.

As an ethnic Dane, Hereward was intensely anti-Norman, probably even more so than many Anglo-Saxons.

He was able to enlist military support from Denmark itself, the new research reveals, and in 1069 the Danish royal family and the Danish church sent a small army across the North Sea to assist Hereward.

As a result of his long guerrilla campaign and by avoiding the attentions of the William's soldiers he earned the popular title "the Wake", meaning "the watchful".

Old Book Reviews

Below are links to some older book reviews that I had posted over at Women of History:

• Pope Joan by Lawrence Durrell
• The Last Duel by Eric Jager
• The Foodtaster by Peter Elbling
• The Visit of the Royal Physician by Per Olov Enquist (now a movie with Mads Mickelsson)
• The Tudor Sisters by Aileen Armitage
• God's War by Christopher Tyerman
• Dissolution by CS Sansom
• Plain Jane by Laurien Gardner
• The Poisoned Queen by Ann Dukthas
• The Crown Rose by Fiona Avery
• The Lost Letters of Aquitaine by Judith Koll Healey
• Duchess of Aquitaine by Margaret Ball - Part I and Part II
• The King's Women by Deryn Lake
• The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
• The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick
• Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
• Boudicca by Vanessa Collingridge
• The Tigress and the Rose by Richard Cameron Low
• The Winter Mantel by Elizabeth Chadwick

Please feel to comment ......


I will also add some links to reviews by others that I think may interest you - again they cover a wide range of topics.

Review: Mary of Magdala

"You stand alone, Mary of Magdala. You were beloved of the Lord and your honour is your own, not to be shared with anyone else."

Daughter of Jerusalem by Joan Wolf tells of the story of a woman who would become one of the most infamous women of history - Mary Magdalene.  Whilst the title might be considered a little misleading by some, Wolf enlightens us by revealing that Mary spent a considerable amount of time in this most holy of cities, especially at the time of the Jewish Passover.

Synopsis:

Part I - Young Mary leaves her home in Judea to live with her Aunt Leah in Magdala. Her childhood has not been easy, but her cousin Daniel is the shining light in her new life - that and her love of the Scriptures as recited by him. Aged 14yo Mary is of marriageable age - Daniel and Mary are betrothed before the family depart for Passover in Jerusalem. Mary visits her father and half-siblings (Lazarus & Martha) in Bethany before returning to Galilee and bad news - her betrothal to Daniel is not going ahead - Lord Benjamin (brother-in-law of her Aunt Leah and head of the household) has other plans.  Young Mary is to marry the elderly (and wealthy) Aaron bar David and move to Sepphoris - she will have to do what all women have do - make the best of it.

Part II - Daniel has left to join the Essenes at Qumran.  Mary, resigned to a life married to a rich old man, meets an important influence in her life - one Julia Tiberia, widow of the former Roman Governor of Sepphoris.  Mary enters Roman society which assists her husband's business prospects.  Julia has taken Mary under her wing - she can now read and write in Latin - and she now knows that when her wealthy husband dies, she will inherit his wealth - and gain her freedom.  Enter one Marcus Novius Claudius - Legatus.  Mary's husband wants her to engage in a sexual relationship with Marcus - one which everyone else assumes is ongoing - in the hopes of gaining a child and thus an heir.  Mary is shocked by her husband's decision to use her so.  

Mary is branded a whore by her own people - the Zealots/Essenes have all but cast her out of Jewish society.  Mary and Marcus are in love - but she is also pregnant and this cannot go unobserved by her husband.  Aaron is dead - an accident - though Marcus' words are ringing in Mary's ears.  Mary flees Marcus to escape the thought of his involvement in her husband's death.  In doing so, she stumbles and miscarries.  Marcus departs - there is no marriage between them now - Mary plans to leave Sepphorus for Bethany.

Part III - Mary spends a year with her siblings in Bethany before deciding to live on her on in Capernaum.  Mary's re-entry into Jewish life is not easy - the Pharasee Ezra bar Matthias is her enemy and denigrates her at every opportunity, and her independence has marked her out as being different.  

It is also in this final part that the story of Jesus of Nazareth comes to dominate and we are slowly being introduced to those who feature strongly in the story of Jesus - Simon Peter the Fisherman and John the Baptiser.  An old friend from Mary's past is now Governor of Caprenaum - Fulvius Petrus - and he tells of John's arrest by Herod Antipas  

Jesus of Nazareth arrives in Capernaum.  Jesus is gathering his disciples - Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and the brothers James and John are the first.  We meet the rest of the disciples when Jesus returns to Capernaum - Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, another James, Thaddeus, Simon and the Zealot Judas.  John the Baptist has been executed and Jesus' fame as a miracle worker, healer and teacher is spreading.  

Mary is joined by one Mary of Nazareth - mother of Jesus - and her sons, James and Joses.  Mary gathers about her a group of women who will aid Jesus and his disciples - financially. they are Susanna, Mary, Clopas, Ruth, Salome, Rebecca and Joanna.  

In Jerusalem Mary is reunited with Daniel - it has been 10 years since their parting - much has changed and Daniel is not the young man she first fell in love with.  Many miracles follow including Lazarus being raised from the dead.  

Jesus has been arrested in the garden of Gethsemane - Lazarus has escaped to Capernaum whilst Mary remains behind in Jerusalem.  Jesus has been condemned by Pilate and will be executed by crucifixion on Golgotha.  We follow the traditional story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  Mary leaves for Sepphorus to preach the word of Jesus.

Thus Wolf provides us with the clues as to Mary's status as a fallen women possessed by seven evils and why she is deemed a whore and harlot by her own people. She also portrays Mary as the half-sister of Martha and Lazarus.  We also gain an insight into Mary's role in Jesus' early ministry. There are many other versions of Mary's early life - this could be one of the most plausible (see below for others).  

Some other books on Mary Magdalene:

Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George

"Margaret George convincingly captures this renowned woman's voice as she moves from girlhood to womanhood, becomes part of the circle of disciples, and comes to grips with the divine."

Mary Magdalene by Diana Wallis Taylor

"Long maligned as a prostitute or a woman of questionable reputation, Mary Magdalene's murky story seems lost to the sands of time."

Mary Magdalene: a Biography by Bruce D Chilton

"After two thousand years of flawed history, here at last is a magnificent new biography of Mary Magdalene that draws her out of the shadows of history and restores her to her rightful place of importance in Christianity."

Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Loved

" ...it looks behind the scenes at a woman who is seduced into committing adultery and used to test Jesus, and brings them all together beneath the cross of Jesus Christ."

Poisoned Honey: A Story of Mary Magdalene

".. one of the most misunderstood and controversial Biblical figures is the story of a young girl’s path through manipulation and possession, madness and healing, to a man who will change the world forever."

Unholy Grail - The Story of Judas Iscariot & Mary Magdalene 

"Beginning with the stories of Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene, the Unholy Grail story culminates in their contemporary heir, who becomes the Anti-Christ of the Apocalypse." - I have read this one but cannot quite reconcile myself with this role designated to Mary - Book II may enlighten.