The Handfasted Wife (The Daughters of Hastings)

Not much is really known about Edith Swan Neck so the author had a lot of options to develop the story. But of all the paths she could've taken, I think she chose the most unimaginative and dull one. I gave it a fair shot and read about 3/4 before I couldn't take any more.

I was intrigued with the process of the marriage and the fact that the church would not sanction the marriage. The character of Editha was very believeable and easy to want to win her battles. I expected her to end up with her personal guard, but suppose her going into the convent was a more appropriate ending. Good read all the way around.

While this is definitely a work of fiction, it is obvious that the author delved into the available historical sources to create a knowledge based work the Handfasted Wife is both an entertaining story and a source of enough background so that the reader doesn't feel cheated as with the more lightweight bodice rippers currently in style.

Very historically accurate as practically every chapter begins with quotes from chronicals from the exact time period. The author notes which characters are fictitious or situations that might also be her fabrication. The story holds your attention from begining to end. The main character is such a very strong woman. Read It !

This book was well researched and written. I knew little about the happenings and aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror before I read the book. This is historical fiction that really makes that era come alive. I couldn't put the book down!

Interesting about what happens after Harold the last Saxon king is killed. IT's about the hand fasted wife that survives after he is gone and William of Normandy takes over. It's hard to be sympathetic to her husband that casts her off like she wasn't anything even if she did have 6 of his kids.

Historical fiction that delivers. Very well researched. The women and their actions are stories that are not widely known and the author's treatment of them are plausible. The novel fills in the history that is known with substance. It brings these characters in history to life. I would highly recommend this book.

It's a 4.5 really. Very interesting historical read. Looking at the time with a woman's view and a well born woman. Royalty trying to protect children so they aren't killed/eliminated to so no one else has a claim to the throne. Family could not trust family

As historical novels go this was very well written and how you personally wove you story into history was very believable. Edith Eldithia was a very strong of character and I really enjoyed her. Look forward to SEQUELS of these characters!!!!

I enjoyed this book ... Characters realistic in their strengths and frailties as they navigate through the conquest and resulting changes. Well done and the author appears to have well researched her subject.

Elditha was my favorite character. I loved her take-charge attitude. The history and added details were interesting and certainly added to my appreciation of the story. I was never a big fan of history stories so I found it a bit slow starting but picked up momentum as the plot developed. Knowing the end of the story only served to create excitement of anticipation to get there.

The book was well written!

A well written and realistic novel about the events leading to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 When William of Normandy defeated Harold and assumed control if England.Through the Handfasted wife of Harold the author presents imaginative but realistic events
leading up to the battle and subsequent events in a believable manner.I have no hesitation in giving this novel a five star rating.

Historical fiction can be either an embarrassment or a literary wonder. Carol McGrath has given us a wonder. A glimpse into the lives of women during the Norman Conquest the story tell of the line of the Godwin family. immensely readable, enjoyable this novel brings historical fiction into literature

The story is based on actual events during the Battle of Hastings. It is well written and eventful. The narrative brings history alive in a way that our history classes were not able to. I found the novel both educational and exciting.

It was interesting to discover the traditions of the day included being married without the church vs with the church. What ramifications it all held. I like reading historical novels, and I enjoyed this one very much.

This was actually pretty good. It had the heroine getting in and out of trouble every few pages and magically getting out but overall it was interesting. If you are just interesting in an entertaining book, this will do. If you are looking for more than that, it probably does not deliver.

I love history based novels and was fortunate to find this novel. Loved it. Great story of the hardships and challenges women endured during war and rebellion. Wonderful characters. Will read the next in series.

This story was an entertaining as well as an historically accurate read of the very early middle ages. I would have given it five stars. But some of the writing was a bit redundant. The author used the word scuttle quite a bit as well as the term for breakfast, i.e., breaking the fast.
I enjoyed the tale enough to download The Swan Daughter by the same author.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction book. It held my attention and had lots of plot twists and surprises. Well-developed main character and excellent secondary characterizations, too. Definitely had the "feeling" of the Middle Ages down and how circumscribed women, even women of noble birth, were by society. Would definitely read this author again.

Very well-depicted life and times of the era (11th century England), especially with regard to the plight of women and the growing influence of the Catholic church. Compelling story, fast read, a true sense of the history and political climate. Highly recommend.

A wonderful interesting read full of facts and imagination! A perfect combination and brings to life a fascinating and very violent era. I would definitely recommend this book to all history fanatics. I felt as though I lived with the characters.

If you like historical fiction, like I do, you will find this story interesting. The unique way the author took the reader through marriages of royalty that are arranged and those of love that cannot be. I recommend this book to readers who like English history, the kings and the clever women behond it all

It was a great escape book and I thoroughly enjoyed the author's portrayal of these women. (I read all 3 books)
I could not imagine how women in this era went through everything. My admiration and awe goes out to them!

Good story -- seemed fairly historically accurate although I don't think I'm necessarily qualified to say that fully not specializing in this period in history. BUT it was realistic in nature. I believed the fictional story around the period. The characters were believable.

There is an authenticity in the story-setting with clear depictions of medieval life, particularity of the nobility.

Perhaps it over-emphasises, the wealth and relative immunity from revenge killings, rape and starvation of the Saxon population. I suspect Norman rule was very nicholls brutal.

I recommend it for its excellent writing and word pictures of an England that depicts one of the great turning points in history.

Jim Daly

A view from the other side of the Norman invasion of England—one not usually written about. Lots of historical detail and a fascinating look into how women lived in that era. I recommend it both from the historical point of view and as a good story.

I liked it a lot! There were times, however, that I wanted more of the story ... She glances quickly over some key events. It was a great summer read, however, and perfect for reading while on the elliptical trainer :)

Having a degree in history, I loved this book. It told so much about their daily lives, and what the general times would have been like. Being fiction allows the author to fill in the blanks, and does so beautifully.

It was an interesting tale from a historical standpoint. If what Ms. McGrath reports is accurate historically, I would say it was an interesting learn of the Norman conquest. Worth while reading for anyone, especially history buffs.

It was an interesting tale from a historical standpoint. If what Ms. McGrath reports is accurate historically, I would say it was an interesting learn of the Norman conquest. Worth while reading for anyone, especially history buffs.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters seemed lifelike. you seldom find books written from a woman's perspective and still well researched and following historical facts. I hope her next book is published soon.

Ms. McGrath really made me care about the characters in this book. She hints at two future installments covering the lives of two of Elditha's daughters and their lives after they leave their mother's home, I will be watching for them. If you love historical novels, this one could be for you.

Although a historical novel, Ms. GcGrath has done her research. Reading the book was not only pleasurable, but filled with historical details that gave it an apperance of being a biography. I recommend it.

The Handfasted Wife.

The historical details alone will fascinate the reader. The tale is about the eleventh century invasion of England by the Normans and the frantic efforts one woman, Edith Swanneck, the handfasted wife of King Harold, made to survive. The King, while married to another whom the church recognized as a legal wife, loved Edith dearly; she bore him sons and a daughter. She was royalty herself, but the church would not sanction Harold's handfasted marriage to her because she was his third cousin.

King Harold was killed and the new ruling Norman King Alain planned his marriage to Edith because it would bring her lands, money and family support to him. Grieving for her husband, she felt only anger towards Alain and fled her home to prevent the marriage. She eventually made her way to Ireland, and then back to England where she was reunited with her now grown children.

Fascinating book! I especially loved the author's notes; she describes how she followed scraps of recorded history to develop her characters and their lives.

Beth Bristow

Medieval history can be tedious. McGrath lifts it above that and quickly engages the reader in the skills of the monied class of the time, its power mongers and it's women of means. The story moves well except in the few places where it plods, showing us well developed characters in a challenging setting, weaving the tapestry of intrigue in the setting of war. One comes away with admiration for Elditha's abilities in the Norman world, and know her as a survivor in any period of history. I enjoyed every word and it deserves a re-read on a snowy day in front of a fire under a fur throw. Just to get into the setting, you see...with a glass of Meade.

the story flows well and the writer shows a mastery of the mechanics of writing (those things that generally annoy readers of self-published work). a good look at an iteresting time in English history, told through the eyes of the distaff side of things, a side normally ignored by many historical novels about that time period.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and exciting, especially because it was a historical story I wasn't overly familiar with. You can only read so many Tudor novels. If you are looking for something different this is it.