Hild: A Novel

I don't know where to start. I read a lot, generally at least two books a week. I love large, thick books that can take awhile to read. When I love a book, the longer it lasts the better it is! I read with enjoyment. I don't spend my reading time with anything that I don't enjoy, which is why I seldom give books less than 3 stars here or on any other site on which I post my reviews. Actually, most of my reviews are 4-5 stars. This one should have at last 7 stars by that reckoning. Some books, very few actually, are finished but stay with me, like the after taste of a particularly fine something .. wine, chocolate, a favorite dessert or meal. This book is staying with me, and I am wishing that the sequel was already available so that I could continue to savor the reading.

Ms. Griffith is a master at prose. This book, in places, reads more like poetry, each word so finely tuned that they sing like a finely tuned violin or as the voices in a perfectly pitched acapella.

I have to admit to having a few issues with the uniqueness of names and places in this seventh century world that we enter when we open this book, but it did not take long for me to fall into the book and become one with the pages and the story.

We step into the story of St. Hilda, but this story gives so very much more. We walk in the life of the seventh century. We go to the dairy house and help make butter, we smell the torches, hearth lights and the blood of war. We feel the tensions of King and thegns, the stress as the old, polytheistic, religions give way to the new, Christ, religion. As a female I weigh the place of women in this ancient society; the withering work of simply 'being' in this cold, calculating, somewhat viscious time, the offering of wine and mead - and sometimes of something more.

This book is lyrically written, each moment poignant. Hild, the daughter of a would-have-been king is a person who is patient, who sees and hears things and uses knowledge to uphold her position as the King's trusted seer. Her mother, a women, the widow of the 'would-have-been-king' has not standing, no property. She who is a healer and she uses nothing more than her wits to preserve the life of her children.

This is a book that takes hold of you and transports you. I simply could not put this book down! Well done Nicola Griffth! Let there be more ! I can't wait!

This book should appeal to everyone because of how well it is written, but it will hold special interest for those of us who have an affinity for historical fiction and, more than that, anyone who appreciates perfectly wrought fiction.

The book was hard to follow. I had difficulties keeping strait who all the characters were and what part they were supposed to be playing in the politics of Britain at the time. The book wandered a great deal and I had difficulty figuring out what age Hild was supposed to be after the first third of the book. As for the archaic language I had to flip back to the glossary every few pages to look up the meaning of a word and half of them were not even listed.

Very little is known about the real Hild. The only source we have about her is from Bede who refers to her as a chaste woman. The author on the other hand portrays Hild's imaginary sex life as lesbian at times and at others times incestuous (with a half brother that is pure fiction). The author also paints the attitudes toward homosexuality at the time as very laissez faire which is ridiculous. This was an agricultural society which depended on offspring to care both for the crops and the parents when they were older. All in all I feel that I wasted my money on this book.

Did not finish. Threw in the towel on page 124 after another scene of farm chores and conversations about Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Book.

I wanted to like this one. I really did. Orphaned noble attempts to navigate tricky politics she only barely understands in Dark Ages Britain? And it's all historical? Sounds incredible. Unfortunately, the reality is ridiculously dull and cluttered with pointless detail and irrelevant names.

Reading Hild is a lot like being cornered at a party by someone who has just finished listening to a bunch of educational podcasts, and they're going to tell you everything they know. Problem is, they refuse to make eye contact and thus never detect the increasingly panicked expression on your face as you wonder if a cocktail weenie is useful in a murder/suicide kind of situation.

The amount of research that went into this book had to have been staggering, but a good writer would have made that nearly invisible in service to the story. Instead, I spent the whole time cornered at that party, wishing Nicola Griffith would go away and let me enjoy myself.

Hild - Nicola Griffith
It’s a good story – but what it has to do with Hild of Whitby I have no idea.
Yes, we have no knowledge of Hild’s first thirty or so years, other than of her birth into the royal family of Elmet. Others have written their own fictionalized version of those thirty years. This one seems as far off the mark as a version of her life could get and therefore I was disappointed in it. I found both its premise and its conclusion unsatisfying.
Had the book’s title not misled me into thinking it was a well-reasoned story about Hild of Whitby I might have enjoyed it. It appears to be well-researched although without a bibliography it’s hard to be sure. The tremendous amount of detail about the life and customs within the court of a 7th century English king gave valuable insight and the degree of plotting for power between kings and princes was a revelation. The author wrote with perception about the feelings and subtle interactions between people – the women especially. The strength of this book lay in the descriptions of the way of life, the countryside, the small human interactions and the historical detail.
There seemed to be no plot to speak of; just a slice of several years of a young girl’s life. I found the book too long and too gory in parts but I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the crops, the plants, the wildlife and the passing seasons. They softened the hard edge of Hild’s strength and prowess. I know the lands of Elmet and of York and it was a pleasure to revisit them through this book.

What a Superb Chance Discovery! A "Fickle Finger of Fate" random grab in my local library (under "Historical Fiction", and I being an aging History Buff who once grabbed a B.A. focused in Byzantine and Romano-Britainic History, no surprise. The discovery of a FIRST CLASS TALENT, was however a Wonderful,Unanticipated opportunity for Intense Experience, (She does her Homework quite well!), a "Live It While You Read IT" Inner and outer Reality adventure, with a distinct feeling that this Unique and Gifted, obviously multi-faceted Soul is effortlessly and Elegantly Sharing so many of her Precious,Jewel-Like Facets with the appreciative reader...even the In-Depth elements of Martial Arts of that era! Right down to the oils used in maintaining the quality of the all-important edged weaponry of those times!

I am hereby beginning a search for her other gifts re. that period of History.

Please forgive the Verbosity of a prior "Kisser" of the Blarney Stone, but there are times when many words of Praise are so very Appropriate, and this woman's work is one of them!

Hild (Saint Hilda, c. 614-680) was the Abbess of Whitby, an important figure in the conversion of England to Christianity, a powerful adviser to statesmen-kings and teacher of five bishops. Of her early life almost nothing is known. This book is Nicola Griffith's version of what it might have been. It is an extraordinarily detailed account of life in Britain in the early seventh century.
In writing this book the author has done an incredible amount of research on the period, from a history of the actual events and those responsible, to the daily life of all the different types of people one might encounter, from kitchens to stables, from churches to battlefields; the language, poetry, jewellery, weapons, textiles, money and more, even the crops they cultivated, flowers they picked, and the entire biosphere that was known in that time, from birds and animals to pests and pestilences. Ms. Griffith uses the language of the day to paint a picture so clear it is almost as though we have been transported in a time machine to some epic poem from medieval England.
The reader learns a lot about early Anglo-Saxon history, and the rise of Christendom. We also learn a lot about life in medieval England. The fictional Hild we see is a somewhat tragic character, a striking figure; hard, tall but not pretty. "You don't have to be pretty. You're like lightning. Like a tide. Like a blizzard." Her childhood is cut short when at age 7 her uncle Edwin, anxious to become overking of the Angles, decides to make her his seer. "I am the light of the world." She travels everywhere with him and his retinue and learns more than most adults about politics, war and betrayal, all before she even reaches puberty. She learns how to defend herself and how to kill, we get to watch her character develop layers of hardness as events unfold around her and it all happens so believably that one tends to forget this is just an imaginary tale. Hild starts off as a sort of infant savant, but her fate leads inexorably to a bittersweet end, a wrap up that may not please all readers.
This is a hard book to read in many ways. The Anglo-Saxon language and place names take a little while to get used to, although one soon does, but the characters are a little harder to keep track of especially as many names are confusingly similar. The lyrical descriptive passages appear to flow on and on, and at times it seems that endless pages have turned before the next event occurs. This is deceptive because the story unravels not just in the action but in the revelations we get during seemingly mundane conversations, and in the child Hild's observations of life around her, all of which can go unnoticed if one is distracted by the prose.
All in all, it is a book that requires patience, perhaps even a second reading. As I reread parts for this review I discovered references I had missed the first time, even though I spent a week on the first read. (I'm no speed reader) I think that any reader who enjoys historical fiction and takes the required time to absorb this book will be highly rewarded.

I am not the first one to connect Nicola Griffith’s Hild: A Novel to Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall , but I did make the connection independently. Both books give me hope that there is a new appreciation for what I’ve come to call “immersive fiction.” Fiction that doesn’t necessarily hinge on a plot or an all-consuming conflict. Fiction that, instead, “immerses” the reader in the life and times of a character, whose life may indeed involve conflicts of various degrees, but which does not end by neatly tying up the loose ends.

Hild is an entirely imagined biography of the girl who grew up to become St. Hilda of Whitby. Griffith has researched the 7th Century down to the birds and the bees, colewort and lavender, tablet weaves and butter making. Into this rich tapestry of detail, she evokes real human beings, men and women that we recognize, by lifted eyebrow and shape of smile, the music lovers and the warriors, the power-hungry and those who care for their craft, friends and lovers, hungers, indulgence, foolishness, wisdom.

What I found especially fascinating was that Griffith gives Hild’s role as a “seer” a foundation, not in magic, but in nature. Her predictions of weather have mostly to do with noticing the habits of birds and animals, the sound of the wind in the trees. Her counsels in court are based on a combination of information, body language, tone of voice, and an intuitive grasp of human behavior. Hild notices everything. Only when it involves herself does she let her own fears and desires color her conclusions.

"She watched a goshawk rolling and diving over the gorse and heather, crying like a gull. She didn’t see a mate; perhaps he soared and swooped for joy. She hiked along the cliff’s edge, paused to listen to the rock pipits building their nest in a crevice and watch the male feed beetles to his mate. The eggs would come soon.

"When she thought at all, she thought in British, the language of the high places, of wild and wary and watchful things. A language of resistance and elliptical thoughts.

"She climbed the paths morning and evening, breathing the salt-sharp air, watching the slow spring dusk tighten around the shore like an adder and the sea turn to jet. She was glad to be alone, to be free, to be high above the world, where she could see everything coming. She had people to protect."

This is more than beautiful writing. This is immersive fiction. Mantel did it with her fictive Cromwell, but this isn’t a entirely new fictive device. Up until a few years ago, when we opened a book, we expected to enter it, to get lost in it, to inhabit another place, another time, another life. I’m currently reading the Anthony Trollope Barchester novels on Kindle. Listening to Frank Delaney unpack Ulysses. Last summer, I got lost in The Raj Quartet, which some reviewer called the best 19th-century novel written in the 20th century. At some point, the world got faster, and so did our fiction. We open a book, we get some action. Action in the first paragraph is suggested by those in the know. Conflict as soon as possible. Don’t slow things down with too much description. I was told there were too many trees in my first novel, The Year of the Crow. People stopped to eat too often in my second one, Ghosts of the Heart. Either they die or they get married in the end, but don’t take all day about it.

Hild takes 536 thin pages with relatively small type to tell us things like this:

"On the last afternoon she walked four miles north along the shore, over sand and shingle and long beach grass. By one rill, where low tangled hawthorn and gorse grew among the long sea grass, she found a row of tiny wrens and mouse pups spiked on thorns: the work of the wariangle, the butcher-bird.

"She walked half a mile inland, checking blackthorn hedges, but the only nest she found was abandoned. By it were thorns hung with two caterpillars and a bee: the work of their young. All gone now, master and apprentice, flown to warmer climes. Like kings, they ravaged then moved on, leaving their trophies hanging from battlements, drying to husks, proclaiming, My land, my law."

That’s Griffith’s Hild. At home in a world we’ll never know. Looking. Listening. Taking her time as she works her way through this marvelous life that Nicola Griffith has created for her. I’m glad I took the time to follow her.

This book is in dire need of professional editing and a more professional author.

First, there are anachronisms, such as at least four references to bales of hay. There were no bales of hay in the seventh century because the machinery to create bales was invented over a thousand years after the setting of this novel. Hay was piled into stacks, mows, and stored loose in ricks and barns; surely Griffith could have found somewhere else for her characters to sit and have a chat.

The book is clogged with linguistic pretensions that are probably intended to give the novel a lively and genuine feeling, but they don't work and they're irritating. Griffith provides the reader with "A Note on Pronunciation" in the back matter that lists pronunciation rules for words that she spells in Old Irish, Brythonic, Latin, and Old English. In the novel, she explains the pronunciation of the name of only one character, "Gwladus," which she tells us should be pronounced "OO-la-doose." Should readers wish to pronounce the rest of the names of dozens and dozens of characters and place names correctly to themselves as they read, they need to flip back to those notes and transliterate, over and over again. Why not just use phonetic spelling throughout as a kindness to the reader? Likewise, Griffith provides a Glossary of mostly Old English words that she uses over and over, which readers need to translate as they read. The usual convention for writers is to only use a foreign word if it cannot be translated into Modern English with fewer than three words. There is no good reason to write "ceorl" instead of "freeman," "Weadmonath" instead of "August, "Hwicce" instead of "Saxons." These are merely cheap tricks. They make the novel more homework than pleasure.

Anachronisms and tricks of language are jarring and distracting to readers, but plagiarism is beyond the pale. On page 16, Hild quotes her mother as having said "'Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them.'" Well no, Hild's mother didn't say that in the seventh century; Margaret Atwood said that in an interview in the late 1990's. Griffith offers no credit, attribution, acknowledgement, or permission anywhere in her book. I cannot construe this as a literary allusion since the quote is not that well known and most readers would not recognize it. So, it's thievery, pure and simple.

This book has almost no plot, and the amateurish flaws in the writing make it irritating to slog through. The occasional patches of pretty, bordering on purple, prose aren't enough to make me glad that I have read it.

Poorly written. The plot jumps around without much guidance. The book is extremely confusing with far too many characters, whose names are spelled according to some arcane linguistic pattern that makes the characters unnecessarily difficult to follow. Unusual words from archaic northumbrian language not defined in the book and not listed in the OED.

This is a Dark Ages tale of a girl who became heralded as a seer and altered the outcome of some of the wars among British tribes.

King Edwin's court moves around the land to keep five hundred people supplied with food. The great walled city of York is one stop. Tribes include Franks and Anglisc, Irish and British, Pictish and the isle of Vannin. Sharp-eyed Hild is shown around a ruined Roman villa, with its own piped water supply, hypocaust and mosaics - exotic and ancient to her eyes. By observing nature, Hild can tell that the winter is going to be mild, or the spring has come early, or that enemies have sailed around the coast to take a castle while the king is absent. The new Christian religion disapproves of prophecies - especially by women.

Some words may confuse those not used to seeing them; aethling, reeve and thegn are terms of status. The trees are native elm, hornbeam, birch and the newly imported beech, ash, oak, holly, crabapple. Good details of food, drink and clothing are presented, with furs and amber traded from the Baltic.

Nicola Griffith uses the story of one girl who had the chance to travel, to describe the cultures and histories of the scattered kingdoms and the daily lives of women. This is a very good read for anyone wishing to learn about these turbulent times in the British Isles after the Romans had left the shores. HILD is not really a tale for young adults as it becomes too heavy with the politics and alliances. Those interested in the period will find it a complex adventure and a fascinating read.

Hild by Nicola Griffith is historical fiction worth your time. Griffith brings her gift for in depth research to her tale of Saint Hilda, who grew up as the niece of a king in feudal England. Hild’s story is interwoven with rich details of the Middle Ages; clothing, jewelry, farm life and the military. It’s an intriguing time period when Rome’s Christian church spreads in the British Isles, and small kingdom’s vie for power.

As niece of the king and a ‘seer’, Hild influences the decisions of King Edwin of the Northumbrians at a contentious time in English history. At five-hundred thirty six pages the story is sometimes buried within elaborate descriptions, but the scenarios are believable. Griffith is insightful with each character’s passions, perspectives and issues. She weaves Hild’s life into all aspects of the time period’s culture from: work in the dairy, to the king’s court, to life with the king’s gesiths on the battlefield. The use of archaic language and names provides authenticity, but it can distract from the story for some readers.

Griffith lets us walk with Hild through the coppices of the 6th century British Isles. I was sorry it ended and look forward to Griffith’s sequel.

What a masterpiece this book is.

Hild, today remembered as St Hilda, was born in 614, in Anglo-Saxon England, after her mother had a dream about her unborn child being a jewel that brings light to the land. She was the nice of King Edwin. She was baptized in 627, she left England for Gaul in 647, she was recruited to the church by Bishop Aidan, and she became a powerful advisor to kings and a teacher of five bishops.

I got that from Griffith’s author’s note. This is apparently practically the sum of what we know about the real historical figure of Hild. On this hook, Griffith hung a whole long story. Longer than it looks: despite the book’s length, at the end, Hild hasn’t yet come close to leaving England. I’m thinking the year must have been about 635 at the closing of the book – I think Hild was about 21. That’s a guess, but even if I’m off by a few years, you can see she has a *lot* left in front of her. So this is the first book of a series, which I hadn’t realized when I went in. There’s no cliffhanger, though, so don’t let that stop you if you’re thinking of reading this book. The author’s note indicates that Griffith is working on the next installment, and considering that HILD came out a couple years ago, I hope we will see that on the shelves fairly soon.

Anyway, you may guess that HILD is slow-paced, given that Griffith gives us 560 pp and doesn’t even have Hild on that ship to Gaul yet. This is certainly true. It’s slow and rich and beautiful. I read it slowly, over the course of a week or so, interspersed with lighter books. This is not a novel to gulp down in a couple hours. It would be like trying to swallow the world in a mouthful, because Griffith simply pours Anglo-Saxon England into her story. The landscape, the weather, the crafts, the architecture, the medicines, the constant labor to make cloth, the attitudes of the people – the play of children, the coming of age of girls, the boasting of the gesiths, the uncertain generosity of kings.

And the birds – birds are everywhere in Hild’s world and she reads their movements as though she were reading a book: here comes severe weather, here your enemy is hiding. She takes omens from the birds, too, although for Hild prophecy is more a matter of paying attention and noticing things and keeping track of what’s going on and most of all putting it all together in patterns. And then telling King Edwin about a particular raven or white jay at just the right time and in just the right way to get him to do what she wants. Her primary goal is not power, incidentally, but to protect the people she is close to. It’s something of a trick, because her world is fairly brutal and King Edwin is not trustworthy.

She learned about keeping track of things and recognizing patterns and manipulating kings from her mother, who is ruthlessly manipulative and more than a bit scary. Not a villain, though. There aren’t exactly heroes and villains in this story. Well, the bandits, ugh. But mostly there are just people trying to secure safety for themselves and their children, or stay out of the way of the powerful, or make sure they’re well thought of by their peers. Or seize or keep power, yes, but we can understand and sympathize even with that.

Griffith works in tons of archaic words to help immerse the reader in the world she’s evoking. Aetheling, ceorl, dryhten, ealdorman, gesith – those are ranks of people. Solmanath is February, Hrethmonath is March, Oestremonath is April. The time of year is identifiable from the weather, of course, but the terms are also given in a glossary in the back.

Here we have the wealh, a conquered people who are mostly servants and peasants – that’s the root word for Welsh; the Irish, whom we mostly hear of at a distance; the Loides, who are an important British tribe; and particularly the Anglisc, who mostly rule. We also hear about the redcrests, who built wonderful halls and roads and who are now all gone . . . I’m sure you recognize the Romans from that description. We get a definite feel for the people and their lives. We see their hovels and cottages and grand halls and Woden’s temples and the churches of the new God, Christ. Hild and her mother made a treatment for eye ailments, and we are there. Want to know *all* about wool and making cloth?

Armies of women to separate out the staples, to mix soapwort, urine, and pennyroyal to wash out the grease. Children to lay out the washed wool in the sun to dry, to watch it and turn it and to drive off the birds who liked to steal it. Men to barrel and cart oil and grease to the vills to make the fibre more manageable for the first finger-combing and sorting. Smiths hammering out double-rowed combs and woodworkers shaping wooden handles, for women to comb out wool in the new way, the better way, a comb in each hand. Carpenters to build the stools and tables. Bakers to bake the bread so the wool workers could work. Lathe workers to turn the spindles and distaffs, and everywhere, women and men making spindle whorls and loom weights of clay and lead and stone, of every shape and size and heft.

Using all these words and all this detail helps make the world seem real. Everything about Griffith’s writing makes the world seem real. Which of course it was, once. I bookmarked a ton of pages in case I want to look this stuff up sometime.

The writing is beautiful, but it can be challenging. There are SO many names, and they are a bit hard to keep track of. Now and then I was confused about who someone was or what was going on. A Dramatis Personae section would have been helpful, along with the glossary. However, I’m the sort of reader who will just let details go without being too bothered. The overall story is clear: Hild is growing up and taking power in a very insecure world. She’s trying to weave her influence into prosperity for her people and safety for her kin, in the face of war and the whims of kings and the shifting religions of the time. Griffith has made Hild into an extraordinary person, but then, the historical figure plainly *was* extraordinary. But Griffith has not made Hild into a superwoman. She is very tall and strong for a woman, but the reason she can handle herself in a fight is because of extensive practice and training (with her half-brother, in secret). Hild is intelligent and observant and determined, and interested in everything and everyone, and she puts things together into patterns. That’s what makes her a seer. She also gets lonely and frightened and sad and angry. She’s used to being set apart as a seer, she’s used to being thought a haegtes, a witch. She uses that, but it hurts her. She is loyal and she never lets go of the people she loves – this in a world where once your sister gets married to a man at the other end of the country, you may never see her again. She is a wonderful protagonist; spending time with her is a pleasure. I am definitely looking forward to stepping into the world of HILD again, when the sequel is released.

Hild by Nicola Griffith is the imagined early life of St. Hilda of Whitby, one of the most powerful early converts to Christianity in England. It is clear that Griffith has done an astonishing amount of research, as she envelops you in a seventh century England that you can see, smell and almost touch and feel. An England that is on the cusp of embracing the new Christian God, while still living and breathing in a time of the Pagan gods.

Hild is the niece of Edwin, king of Northumbria, one of many small kingdoms, but with ambition to become overking of England. But Hild is seen to have an almost supernatural perception of what is happening - and what is to come. She must step carefully, for the sake of herself, her family and her people.

At first Hild is not an easy book to read. Griffith stays true to the time, and this means many similar names that are unusual for us - and hard to keep track of. She also uses the original names and terms for things - and thankfully there is a glossary at the back to help you keep track of it all. While this authenticity might slow the reader down at first, in my opinion it only adds to the story and is part of the reason why I could fully submerse myself in this different time and place.

As a side note, I'm getting ready to learn to spin, and reading about how spinning and weaving beautiful tapestries were the job for high-born women was absolutely fascinating to me.

I highly recommend Hild - my only criticism is that the second book isn't out yet!

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

If you love research-heavy historical fiction and complete immersion in other times and places, you should read this book. Likewise, if you love feminist historical fiction or you want to read about ways women can wield power in a patriarchal society. But if you're looking for a plot-driven novel, or you're bored by books that lean more heavily on setting than character, you may want to steer clear. Also note that despite the cover, this is definitely not YA in either content or style.

Saint Hilda of Whitby was an influential and renowned abbess in 7th century England. Virtually nothing is known about her early life, which is Griffith's subject here: this book begins when Hild is 3, and ends abruptly when she's around 20; Griffith is currently writing the second of what will probably be a trilogy. In this book, Hild grows up in the court of her uncle, King Edwin of Northumbria (this part is true), where she gains notoriety as a child seer (this, as far as I can tell, is fiction). It's a tumultuous time, with England divided into many small kingdoms warring with each other for land and spoils, and with Christianity making inroads in a culture that previously worshipped many gods.

In her Author's Note, Griffith explains that because so little is known of the real Hild, she recreated her story by researching the setting to death and then placing the character inside it: an interesting method and one that explains a great deal about this book. The level of research and immersion in the setting is nothing short of brilliant: everything is closely observed, from social interactions to food preparation to clothing, jewelry and decoration. The natural world, too, is described in vivid detail, from plants and animals to weather and the changing of seasons. I can't think of another book that does a better job transporting the reader to its setting.

As for the plot, it suffers from some problems common to historical fiction based on real people. One is that the book has no clear narrative arc: we follow Hild through periods of violence, in which she accompanies her uncle to war, and periods of peace, in which she helps with the weaving and wanders about observing animal behavior. Sections of the story are very compelling, while in others little happens for extended periods; the pacing is fairly uniform throughout, but with perhaps more danger and incident in the beginning than toward the end. There are quite a few digressions--exploring, for instance, the techniques of goldsmithing or the building of a hedge--but they're written well enough that they kept my interest and never felt pedantic (though you should know I have a fairly high tolerance for research included in novels).

The other problem is that real-life political conflicts are complex, involving more players than can be developed within the space of a novel; an author is forced to either simplify or pack the story with names that are meaningless to the reader. Griffith chooses the latter option. Eventually I gave up on understanding the political nuances and just read for Hild's story, but future editions would be improved by a character list.

As for the characters themselves, they're believable, but they didn't impress me or inspire much feeling. To me Hild is the weakest of the bunch; it seems like she's meant to be all things to all readers, having whatever reactions are convenient for the current scene. But the secondary characters are more convincing, and they believably inhabit their world. Their relationships feel authentic, and I appreciated Griffith's focus on Hild's relationships with the women in her life.

I would not recommend this to everyone: only if you want to read somewhat dense historical fiction that requires concentration and are less concerned about a traditional plot. So, 3.5 stars, rounded up because the things it does well, it does really well, and where it stumbles, it's still redeemable. I won't promise to read the sequel, but I'm glad I read this one.

This is a big, sprawling, behomoth of a book. It is set in 7th century England and it tells the story of the rise of the most powerful woman of her era. Hild was a real person, and her possible rise to power. Not much is known about Hild, but Nicola Griffith paints a very vivid picture of this unforgettable woman. It's historical fiction, but the language, the names of the people, the beliefs of the people of that time are very realistically portrayed. The book is a bit difficult at first to get your head around with all the strange names and the mix of three or four languages that were used at that time, but as you read, it all becomes brilliantly clear and the story unfolds at a very brisk pace. Nicola Griffith's prose is beautiful and stirring. Even the numerous battle scenes are exquisitely written so that it feels like you are actullay there amongst the blood and gore. This is not historical fiction for the faint of heart. It's big and bold and graphic, but warm and real and it's a lovely escape. I highly recommend it for lovers of this genre.

I read Hild with expectation, first hearing of it as it won a Washington State Book Award for fiction in 2014. In the book, Hild has been promoted as a seer and “bringer of light” by her mother since her birth. Nicola Griffith’s language is evocative, and a reader gets a sense of Hild’s life in Deira and its environs under the rule of Edwin in the 600s. Griffith renders the verdure of the landscape and surroundings vividly. Also of interest is the emerging influence of the Christian church as it makes inroads and exerts political power in Edwin’s court overtaking the pantheistic beliefs which previously predominated up to that point. The descriptions of the land, the animals (particularly birds) and seasons are wonderfully depicted the first few times; however, after hearing what seems to be almost a naturalist’s description of the landscape, sky, time of year, and birdlife multiple times, it gets tedious. As others have noted, it is difficult to keep track of some of the characters and the rival factions, areas and alliances they represent.

While there are battles, political ploys and intrigue, I kept waiting for the narrative to meaningfully progress. Time passes, and the women weave, make mead, and collect herbs. Men engage in battle, bring home trinkets and wounds, sing and drink. Hild learns combat skills and hones her observational abilities. After 530+ pages, I felt the ending hurried compared to the pace of what came before. Overall, the end was unsatisfactory and it seemed that not much ground had been covered for all the words in the novel. Some of the characters, including Hild became tiresome by that point as well. Although Griffith is working on a sequel, I don’t foresee it in my “wyrd” (destiny) to read it unless the pacing and narrative are much tighter.

This book reads like the heavily sedated love-child of Marion Zimmer Bradley and George RR Martin.

Whether you will enjoy this book depends on how you prefer your pacing, and plot vs character development. Where this book shines is in the rich illustrative language, and in the character development. Hild is an engaging, brilliant woman struggling with her place in her world.

The plot is not a strong point -- it isn't structured in a standard way, so there are a lot of little tensions and resolutions, but if you're the type of reader who is waiting for the plot to build, you're going to be disappointed. On the upside, this means that if you read the first chapter and don't enjoy it, you shouldn't finish the book -- it's consistent from the beginning to end in terms of style and pacing.

The pacing is very slow. And there are a lot of details woven into the story, which sometimes make it hard to follow. The names can be easy to confuse -- I spent half the book confusing the queen with Hild's sister's husband. Usually this is easy to figure out because of context, but it does make the read a little more effort. Despite all this, if you're ok taking your time moving through the book -- and it will take you some time -- it's a very enjoyable read.

The book covers a lot of topics, from the introduction of Christianity to Britain, to issues of gender, historic British politics and conflict, and sexuality. I found the end a little unsettling, for reasons I won't specify to avoid spoilers.

If you like epic historical novels then this one may well be your thing. It is set in seventh century Britain and brings the so-called 'Dark Ages' vividly to life. It follows Hild (St Hilda of Whitby) as she grows up and develops her gifts as a seer. She is related to King Edwin and he quickly recognises her unique gifts which enable her to predict events and to read the signs in the natural world to assess what is going to happen.

Hild is a girl in an era when the roles of women were circumscribed and she defies convention but learning to fight and kill as well as to heal which scandalises many about her. Her insatiable curiously about everything means she soaks up knowledge from all sources like a sponge and asks questions where others might fear to do so. She is also not afraid of straight talking to the highest in the land.

The book is very well written and the thorough research the author has clearly undertaken doesn't overwhelm the storyline. I found it absorbing reading though I did struggle with some of the names. It is helpful that there is a glossary at the end of the book for unfamiliar words though their meaning is often clear from the context in which they are used.

If you enjoy historical novels that you can really sink into then you will probably enjoy this one as it takes you to a completely unfamiliar era in which Roman Christianity is taking over from Celtic Christianity and worship of nature and earth spirits. This is a long, and at times, quite difficult read but one which it is worthwhile to spend time and effort reading.

I just finished a great read, Hild, by Nicola Griffith, a historical novel about the early years of the future St. Hild, an influential woman of 7th century Britain about the time that Britain was becoming “Anglish” as well as Christian. The author describes the natural, social and political worlds in honest, rich and well-researched detail, showing how they shaped personalities and relationships. It is written from the point of view of a female and, for much of the story, a child making sense of her remarkable abilities, the world, and her place within it. I was impressed with the accuracy and charm with which Griffiths portrayed the developing child and teen mind. She brought the motley Anglish/ British culture alive for me as vividly as if I’d taken a ride in a time machine. The ending was unresolved, but left me wanting to know more. The audiobook version was very well read; each individual was immediately recognizable by tone and accent. I recommend it, but it would have been nice to have a map and a glossary.

There were a lot of interesting details in this book that enlightened the Dark Ages setting. The beginning was interesting and drew me in to the young girl's world. But after 7 years old or so, I could never quite keep up with her age and the timing of events. A trip that took messengers two or three months, or a 9 month pregnancy did not quite match with the travels and events in Hild's life. She was old for her age and was never much of a child but I still can't figure out how old she really was by the end of the book. The timing of events was confusing. I loved the small details of life like the milking and harvest chores but there was a lot of repetition and emphasis on unimportant happenings. I had the impression of a weave trying to tie things together as a pattern but there were a lot of holes and loose ends that made for a rag at the end instead of a whole piece of cloth.
I can usually overlook the "sex added for editors who insist readers want it" but I was annoyed at the casual "be lesbian to relax" advice and behavior. The elephant in the room was wondering what sort of children a brother and sister would have if the book had continued from where it left off abruptly.
So the book started off good but dwindled off into a piece of nothing.

Hild is a very descriptive novel of the Seventh Century world in Britain. I’ve always found the history of that period very interesting; it was nice to read a novel based on historical research of that time period to get a true idea of what it was like. Nicola Griffith writes using words from that era. I would recommend reading the book on Kindle if are not versed in old English words and their meanings for easier access to definitions. Griffith does provide a helpful glossary for words that may not be found in dictionaries. The map provided I used often for reference and makes following along the often traveled routes of Britain a pleasant experience. I found the story of Hild an enjoyable read as you could visualize and understand the world in which she lived because of Griffith’s in-depth depiction of Britain of that time period. I particularly liked seeing how the land and its plants and herbs were used so prevalently and how trading was the heart of commerce.
For people reading that are not good and remembering character names you may want to create a cheat sheet for easy reference as it was difficult for me to keep up with all the names without one. Most of the characters are based on real royalty that existed. Griffith writes where you have to think a bit and you may not sure you understand until you read further. She creates puzzles that unravel as the story continues. Some may give up understanding when it becomes clear in the next paragraph or at the turn of the next page. I was most captured into the book when the writing flowed which seemed to be when the writing was less abrupt. Although a challenge for me to read due to not having the knowledge base of the words used or history; the details of the time period made it worth the read. I really liked the ending which I did not predict. In a world so strange from today it is thought provoking.

Not much is known about the historical figure that came to be known as Saint Hilda of Whitby. She was born in the early seventh century in England, related to several royal families. One of the patron saints of learning and culture in the Catholic Church, Hild lived during a time of transformation in the British Isles; kingdoms were always changing hands and Christianity was making headway. While there is scant information about her, it is clear from what is known that she was a woman of intelligence, intuition and power. And as such, she proves to be a fascinating subject in Nicola Griffith’s imaginative work of fiction, HILD.

While pregnant with Hild, her mother, a Kentish woman named Breguswith, dreamed that the child would be the “light of the world.” Treated with no small amount of reverence, Hild indeed acted as a beacon and a seer for her uncle, King Edwin of Northumbria, a role that resulted in the precarious safety of her widowed mother and older sister. Travelling with the King, Hild, tutored by her mother and an Irish priest named Fursey, begins to understand the political intrigue behind the thrones, wars, allegiances and marriages. She uses her keen powers of observation and knack for omens to influence Edwin and others, and to secure safety and power for those she cares about or who would benefit her family.

"From family loyalties to political maneuverings, from the secrets of the written word to the strength of swords, Hild’s is a complex story and a good one for readers wishing to lose themselves in a thick, elegantly told and captivating novel."
But her young life is also full of heartache and loneliness. Her father was poisoned when she was a baby, leaving behind Onnen, the woman who essentially raised her, and Onnen’s son Cian, to form alliances of their own. Hild’s world (both in history and in the historical fiction created by Griffith) is brutal and dangerous but still full of magic, possibility and an awe of nature.

Involved and complicated, HILD is a novel that immerses readers in a time and place rarely explored in fiction. Griffith uses the language and cultural structure of that time and place to her advantage in the storytelling, but readers will need to pay attention to the rich, dense narration to understand this challenging but engrossing tale. Names like Ywain, Cwenburh and Cadfan of Gwynedd, and words like ætheling, wealh and gesith may be daunting at first, but quickly the rhythm in which Griffith writes and the charismatic Hild herself will draw readers in and keep them engaged.

Hild grows up to become the Christian abbess and is later declared a saint, but not in this novel; Griffith focuses on Hild’s early years and states in her Author’s Note that she is at work on the follow-up book. From family loyalties to political maneuverings, from the secrets of the written word to the strength of swords, Hild’s is a complex story and a good one for readers wishing to lose themselves in a thick, elegantly told and captivating novel.

Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

“Hild” was a book that just appeared from nowhere. I had heard of it and somehow wanted to read it, as happens with most books. The story is set in seventh-century Britain and that caused for some difficulty to get into it to begin with, however once you get over the inhibition, the plot takes you over and that is enough.

“Hild” is a fantasy. It is historical. It is literary. It is everything rolled into one book. Hild can read and see the future. She is born in the times of turmoil. Everything is haywire and no one knows what is going to happen next. The book is fast paced and as a reader one does not know what is going to happen next. The funny thing is that I could not even predict what is going to happen. It is that good.

So, Hild is the king’s youngest niece. She is living in the middle Ages. She is the child that will become Saint Hilda of Whitby. The novel is about the person she might have been in her early years. Hild’s father, Prince Hereric is the nephew to King Edwin of Northumbria. He was poisoned. Hild was brought up in the court of King Edwin and Griffith traces her story from Hild to Saint Hilda.

The writing is stark and Griffith makes no bones about anything. There is struggle for power on every single page in the book and this is where Hild has to come to be and become the person she wants to be. There is a lot happening throughout the book – politics – which is at the core of the book, there is magic and then there are choices which Hild has to make at the end of it all.

I found the book very riveting and extremely charming, given the setting. Griffith brings to life one of the historical characters that people maybe are not aware of too much or do not talk of. It is a book if you love knowing more about historical characters and even if you don’t, then this is a good place to start with.

I loved this historical novel about the young woman Hild, later known as Saint Hilda of Whitby. Hild was born to a royal family in 7th century Britain. She is used as a pawn by her mother, who declares that she had a dream that Hild was a seer. Used by her great uncle, the king of Northumbria, she accompanies him as he battles with others for dominance in the British territories. Author Nicola Griffith has done an enormous amount of research in support of this book, truly bringing the 7th century and all of its challenges to life. The struggles between early adherents of Christianity and pagan religions are illuminated. Ms. Griffith's writing is wonderful; the dialog is completely believable. One challenge for me was that I was constantly looking things up; Ms. Griffith's uses some older terms and vocabulary that had me frequently referring to Wikipedia articles and online dictionaries. I recommend Hild to anyone who likes history or historical fiction.

In 7th Century England, a land divided into seven kingdoms and undergoing conversion to Christianity, one woman is a nexus of change: Hild, king's adviser and future saint, here coming into her power. This novel is entrenched in its setting, and the density of names, politics, and daily detail makes for a slow start and always threatens to become overwhelming. (The appendix helps; historical context would, too.) But Griffith knows how to pinpoint the moments when worldbuilding, character arcs, and themes coincide. This book is never easy to read but it develops an immersive rhythm, long, slow, thudding; intricate, intimate; fueled always by Hild, by her active mind and her needs and her knowledge that she is the light of the world. I'm only disappointed by the ending--not in itself bad, but feeling like (because it is!) only half the story. But that half we have is singular.

The slipcover of this book attracted me initially at the Barnes & Noble for its portrayal of an inscrutable young warrior woman. I immediately wanted to know more about her, and so too did Nicola Griffith. Griffith managed to peel back the layers of time 1400 years to Anglo-Saxon Britain and reveal the story of the real-life of Hilda of Whitby. (For her real life story, here's the link to her Wikipedia profile: [...]

While many details of this woman's life are lost to time, what is clear is that she possessed uncanny knowledge for a woman. She gave advice to kings and bishops as Christianity spread its wings outwards from Rome. She lived in violent and superstitious times where survival was the manifestation of omens and fair tidings from the gods, not a guarantee of medicine and science. War came and went like the seasons and being in good favour of the reining King was all that stood between you and being sold as a slave in a market.

Griffith found Hild's wyrd (or fate), and helped weave together a brilliant tale based on painstaking amounts of historical research of life in the 600's. From the constant plotting of political minds, to the rise of men in power and the clever women who often either kept them there or killed them behind the scenes. The reader watches Hild grow up and become an anomaly - bearer of a skirt and sword. She learns four languages in her travels and ultimately the power of writing (a skill so few possessed). She is trusted as the overking's seer for her visions and advice which time and time again proves eerily accurate.

While many of the specifics written about in this book are fictional, the backdrop is a combination of as many facts as Griffith could weave together in her study of the historical period. While many things may not have happened, they certainly happened that way to someone else, and it makes everything feel real, rich, tragic, and ever balanced on a knife's edge.

This is the first hard-copy book I've read in awhile and for good reason. It's hefty - over 500 pages - and the first half does not make for light reading. A map is included of 17th century Britain that I found myself flipping back to several times when war trails and marches are being explained. Also, when positions of power are being thrown around in conversation, it's helpful to know where certain ports stand in relation to others. Furthermore, a family tree explaining the basic layout of the two kingdom's hierarchy and relations s also flipped back to several times in the first several chapters to keep track of everyone. Old English/Welsh names can be tricky. With a digital copy I think it would have been awkward to do so much skipping back and forth (although that's personal preference.) I've seen other reviews that suggest hard copy simply because of the amount of text per page. (Nook HD+'s for example, with their wider screens seem to support the narrow margins better and make for less constant page turning than say the older Nook Color).

It was always worth it to put the work into fully understanding the intrigues between the kings, although Griffith does a good job of reminding you of lineages as the story goes on so that you don't get too distracted by family trees and keep better track of the tensions growing. There is an overwhelming feeling of dread in Hild's life as so much of her continued existence rests on her prophecies coming true, the mood of the king, avoiding assassination attempts, and ensuring the Overking remains in power so that she, herself, stays relevant.

The world feels so rich and alive that you are transported to it in every beautiful and gory detail. Griffith's descriptions of food, wildlife, the smells of fields, and the feeling of weather are pitch perfect - and if they weren't I'd like to think that's exactly how it was in the year 620. While the people may seem vicious, she also goes out of her way to write their inner thoughts, personal struggles with senses of self, selfish desires, and more. Hild becomes a person of great importance from a very young age, her life forever changed after being three. The dichotomy between the brain of a brilliant adviser and tactician and a growing child isn't lost on Griffith's writing ability. You share Hild's torment as you read and you watch her grow into a powerful young woman.

The author's note at the end suggests she may be writing more of Hild. Griffith specifically states: "The deeper I go, the more certain I become that I've caught a tiger by the tail. I'm writing the next part of her story now." I look forward to learning more, especially since the later years of Hild's life are more recorded in the annals of history and can be woven accurately into the interesting tapestry that was her life.

Lovers of medieval historical fiction and excellent writing will find a lot to soak in with this story. It is an unflinching look at a life in a time when it took strength, courage, and cunning to face each sunrise.

The dark ages are a carefully catalogued time in our historical records, carefully and inadequately bc surviving records can be scant. This novel is a successful attempt to gain a micro view through the imagined life of a symbolic figure. Hild's life is a finely painted and detailed journal of a possible path to her iconic place in history. From early childhood up to her marriage, Hild's life was an enormous adventure due to not only the historical events of her land but also her talents and abilities. As portrayed here, Hild had a mind, a natural intellect to rival the modern Sherlock Holmes; clever to the point of seeming supernatural. She confronted experiences not simply as a woman of her era but as singular force shaping and directing history.

Griffith is a very talented writer, a true wordsmith. The intricate detail she used to describe a place I've never been and a time long since passed made for some of the best mental imagery yet. I truly felt like I was transported to 7th Century Britain.

Not much is known for a fact about St. Hilda (Hild) so it was quite interesting to read Griffith's musings about what might have been. We know Hild was a respected adviser during a time of great unrest and change in a violent and ruthless society. We know she lived, we know who her parents were and we know that eventually she was baptized, passed into legend and was canonized. Griffith's attempt to fictitiously fill in the gaps was fascinating. The story was original, thought-provoking and the last third of the book had my heart and mind racing in unison. What a wild ride!

I quite enjoyed this book, the only criticism I have is simply that it is quite long and dragged at times (particularly in the first half). I appreciate a hefty novel but sometimes less is more

I so look forward to picking up part two when it finally hits the shelves. This book gets a definite, strong recommendation from me to any who enjoy historical fiction. I can't even say I'm a historical fiction buff but if all books were this well written I just might be!

A+

Hild the child that would become Saint Hilda of Whitby. Griffith's novel illuminates the person Hild might have been in her earliest years. The known is cleverly interwoven into the storyline. Hild's father, Prince Hereric, was nephew to King Edwin of Northumbria. He was poisoned. Hild was brought up in the court of King Edwin.
Hild's wyrd (personal destiny) is her path. She is 'Light of the World'. She carries a seax, a type of dagger, and she stands tall.
Her sister Herewith's wyrd is different. She will be a queen.
I found it hard to resolve the description of Hild in her very young years. She is marked as special from birth. A child heavy with her future wrapped around her. Even as young as three, Hild's clarity of thought and perception is prodigious, and later as still a child not yet come into her womanhood, her wisdom is more like that of a mature woman. After all wisdom is what Hilda of Whitby will become renowned for, along with having contributed in the christianizing of Britain.
In this fictional account of Hild's life, just as the Irish priest Fursey did, I found it sad that Hild was never allowed to be a maid, young and carefree. Her feet are set on her path from birth, thrust there by her wyrd and kept there by her mother, Breguswith.
Seer to a King, a prophet, Hild learns early to watch and understand many aspects of her world, be it nature, animals, the wind, the season for plants, the stars, the flow of the rivers. She studied behaviour, carefully watching people and identifying their tell-tail tags, gauging their interactions and reactions. Hild studies the languages of the various peoples of her land, including the roman priests. She learns to read and values the gift of communication it is. This all helps in her reaching to understand portents and possibilities.
Everywhere is the struggle for power by kings and their priests. The struggle for kingdoms, lost and gained, and of the old gods destroyed and a new god rising. Hild is ever concerned with wars and the business of kingdoms, their waxing and waning.
And always there is the mystery of her childhood companion Cian. Cian who is always more.
The difficult path she weaves between the various courtly interests, waring princes and her mother's intrigue is fascinating. Life at this time, especially for women, is relayed so realistically you feel like you are there. The role of women is clearly defined, yet as the King's seer Hild rides beyond that place. Later she becomes the King's Fist, at great emotional cost. And for Hild there is the waxing and waning as times change, and old enemies become new, old threats are revisited. Her search for her true self is painful. For Hild 'there were patterns everywhere.'
'Tumult in the river mouth', Hild sang to herself when but a child. Words that were a promise of the path her wyrd will take her down.
The more I read, the more I was drawn in.

A NetGalley ARC

There was a time, after the Roman Soldiers went home, when power and who ruled in Britain, was tribal, extended families, before BEDE and his Ecclesiastical History, before the Roman Church attempted to replace the Roman Empire.

Griffith develops a character from this time, this world, this transition.

Hild is not all that Christian, but she ends up a Saint. She does the work of of a woman: Cheese making. Weaving.

She is intelligent. Pragmatic. She tries to "see ahead", how are events connected? people connected? Where does SHE fit in the schemes of this world?

There is no- Tolkien like magic. No Christian miracles. Just people.

What is magical is the language. There are pastoral descriptions of great beauty and lyricism. As well as utter brutality.

I don'k know where Griffith is headed, but for good or ill, I'm going with her.

She is a uniquely gifted writer.

I saw this book mentioned in a magazine and it sounded so interesting I wanted to read it. My husband bought it for me for Christmas and I just now read it. I immediately loved the rich descriptions. The story starts when Hild is three and follows her as she grows both in body and mind into both the King’s seer and a warrior. The unfolding of her life is accompanied by a revealing of life in ancient England and the ascendancy of Christianity. I found the information on how life was lived in that time fascinating. I could see this as a television series. Very cool.

Nicola Griffith is a tremendous author. Hild is a seductive, poetic novel that fully immerses the reader in its era. Every detail is magic, from weaving the cheese making, to the foretelling Hild is expected to do, to the lovely musing language throughout, and the sexual tension that builds is amazing. I wasn't expecting to love this novel as much as I did. Can't WAIT for the next installments in this story.

I went on to read Ammonite, and as a science fiction lover, I was also quite impressed. Especially with the range of the author.

I gave this book the 2 stars because of the detailed writing and work that must have gone into this novel. I understand that this was a violent time but there should have been a disclaimer about how very graphic the violence in the book was depicted. I must say that I was expecting the life of a saint to be quite different. I know it was fiction and not much is known about her but this was pretty much off the wall. it also jumped around a lot and was confusing.

Strange book, mesmerizingly full of period detail. Some of the historical ideas are interesting, though I don't know if they are based in fact or not: the idea of women partnering for life to weave together and support each other was beautiful. I ultimately found Hild herself to be a bit of a cypher, she clearly has likes and dislikes, and human cares, but for someone with such a portentous "wyrd" she seems to have an uncertain inner motivation, one might almost call her amoral. No doubt this is intended to bring greater realism to the tale, but it robbed it of some narrative energy. I suppose we are meant to contrast her pragmatism with the single-minded fervor of the priests who are trying to bring the British isles into the Roman Catholic church, but it made the novel feel slightly aimless. Still, I will certainly be reading the sequel when it comes out, I enjoyed spending time in Hild's world.

Remarkable, truly. I am a voracious reader of historical fiction particularly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the end of the Viking Age, the so called Dark or Early Middle Ages. The best authors, for my taste, share a common trait of weaving (no pun intended) and breathing the culture and realities of that time into their characters. They are sooo like us, or like we would be, in what is genuinely an alien environment w/ fundamentally similar and spectacularly different realities. Finding this balance is very, very rare. Nicola Griffith does this masterfully. I genuinely enjoy crashing shieldwalls as much, or more, than the next person, but the stories that really carry are those where you can truly understand, believe and immerse in the time and culture. This is on my short list of favorite historical fiction stories and I genuinely hope and look forward to more from the "light of the world".

This book had it all. Lush descriptions of the natural world, detailed insight into the customs of early medieval Anglo-Saxon England, and a window into a distant time and people- how they laughed, loved, ate, farmed, slept and ruled, and how they kept their heads above water in a multilingual, war-torn society full of political intrigue. We go into the life of the precocious Hild, future Saint-Hilda of Whitby, who tries to manipulate the political pattern by observing the patterns of nature and heeding the wise counsel of her wily mother.

For me the most interesting parts of the book were about colonization- the colonization of the native Welsh-Britons (wealh) by the Anglo-Saxon English (Anglisc), and also the Irish. This is explored mostly through Cian and his mother, Onnen, who are wealh Welsh-Briton royalty but must learn Anglisc customs, dress and language to attain a higher status in Anglisc courts and look on silently while their land is altered and looted. The other issue is the colonization of the Anglo-Saxons by Christianity, which Ms. Griffith explores brilliantly through Hild. In the world of the Woden religion, Hild has power and status as a king's advisor and seer. In the emerging Christian milieu, Hild is scorned for being a woman and told to get a husband.

Ms. Griffith candidly admits the political expediency of Christian conversion to the Anglo-Saxon royalty, which indeed it was. Ms. Griffith is a lesbian, so of course there are some steamy girl-on-girl sex scenes. Huzzah for that- and I honestly think that is historically accurate, too. Modern people are so isolated from each other that we don't realize how strictly segregated the sexes were from one another and how often this led to a relatively common same-sex intimacy; even monarchs considered it a great way to avoid the issue of pregnancy, or getting someone pregnant, while at the same time bonding with a friend (ahem).

Yet at the same time, I feel like Ms. G is so anxious to have Hild be an ax-toting, multiculturally progressive heroine that the characterization stretches a bit thin: Hild's insistence that the English and Welsh (Anglisc and wealh) in her demesne get along and work peacably side by side is a little odd and rings with a false note of modern liberalism, especially considering her later purchase of a Welsh slave-woman. And after crafting this beautiful, symphonic, artistic novel, I felt profoundly let-down by the ending.

St. Hilda of Whitby was one of the premier saints of English Christendom, who was responsible for the Synod of Whitby, taking place in her own monastery, which convinced the English to join the Roman Catholic Church. I thought this book was going to be about the journey of faith, spirituality and yes, of politics which led Hilda to become Catholic, a saint, and an abbess. Ms. Griffith is working on more books for St. Hilda, which I'll probably read. It's conceivable that St. Hilda, in her pre-saint, pre-nun life, might have gotten married or even been married as a nun, since nuns and priests were not required to be celibate and unmarried until the Gregorian reforms of the year 1000. In fact, many of the early Catholic monks, nuns and priests, particularly in Anglo-Saxon England, were sons and daughters of nuns and priests. St. Hilda might have had sex with man or woman- after all, St. Augustine himself conceived an illegitimate child.

But to end with the marriage of Hild to Cian? Yes, he's handsome and royal and her childhood playmate. But earlier in the book, it's hinted that he might be her half-brother. Gross! Also, to end with the conventional, heterosexual wedding and marriage of Hild, after pages and pages of omens, portents, and Hild in her role as a dark warrior woman and seeress, was very jarring and quite the let-down for a fan of girl-power like me. Griffith builds an epic, only to give it a subpar ending worthy of a romance novel. What happened? Who choked? Did she run out of ideas? Was she on a deadline? Future books are in the works, and I'll keep a weather eye out for them, but Griffith needs to step up her game in merging her literary "Hild" with the legendary St. Hilda.

I'm surprised this hasn't been reviewed before; it had been strongly recommended by some sci-fi/fantasy bloggers I respected. However, it is much more of a historical novel, dense and well-researched. The young Hild (who would become known to history as St. Hilda of Whitby, although this book covers only some of her unknown early life) becomes, at the age of 10, the seer for King Edwin of Northumbria--a very dangerous position, should she be wrong or if her predictions don't please the king. It's possible that some of her dreams or prophetic insights have mystical roots--the sole fantasy elements; however, she trains herself to be a keen observer of nature and of people, and is able to maintain her position.

The book is a very detailed and realistic picture of the times--seventh century Britain, as the pagan Anglisc conquerors fight among themselves and the Christian missionaries try to win over the rulers--with political and economic incentives as much as spiritual; if the rulers join the Christians, their people have little choice but to follow. One of the few known facts of Hild's life is that she was baptised with Edwin's court when she was 13. Griffith brilliantly captures the mixed motivations of her characters. Hild herself has killed men in pitched battle, or ordered men killed, but she comes to hate the warrior culture she lives in: the happiest time of her youth is a summer when the men are off fighting and the women are living home at peace--one of the few foreshadowings of her later career. Gradually she is able to find a place of her own, with people of her own to care for, away from the court and the constant effort to maintain her place in the king's favor.

Hild is a wonderful character, and the other characters, like her mother (who grooms her for the role of seer), King Edwin, James the Deacon, Paulinus the bishop (and wannabe archbishop), Hild's friend Begu and her slave woman Gwladys, the Irish priest Fursey, and many others, are complex and fully realized; not so much the man she loves, although he is willing to teach her to fight with a staff. The setting is beautifully realized also, though Griffith seems determined to bring in every aspect of her researches into the daily life of the time.

Griffith is working on another book about Hild, according to her afterword; that one may give some more insight into Hild's evolution into a Christian saint--by the end of the book, the veneer of Christianity is for her and most of the other characters, pretty thin. However, the young Hild does display the strength of will and love of learning that dominate her life of Abbess both monks and nuns at Whitby.

Do you know anything about St. Hilda of Whitby? No? Me neither. Well, I didn't - until I picked up this gorgeous book by Nicola Griffith. Hild takes on history with imagination, a deft writing style, and some of the most complex, gorgeous storytelling ability I have ever read. That's not to say it's an easy book, or a particularly gripping one due to the nature of St. Hilda's life, but there is something about a well-crafted, historical tale that tells a little known story that is so appealing to me. I am so glad that it didn't disappoint.
So, first of all, let me talk about Griffith's writing. It's masterful and beautiful and all those adjectives that people use to try to describe a brilliant writing style. But, more than anything, what struck me was how knowledgeable it was. Not once, as I was being led through the story, did I get the impression that Griffith had been lax in her research. Her ability to use words and names that are strange to the modern eye is visible testament to her knowledge. I also read an interview given by her recently where she recognizes the historical inaccuracy in the cover, but notes that it was just too gorgeous to pass it by.

Speaking of the cover - that's exactly what caught my eye. Brilliant imagined, it stands out as being something different. One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to historical fiction is the complete contrast in covers - from flimsy, beautiful women (only the back of them) type books or beautiful women with crowns on their head (a la Philippa Gregory) to stark symbols or crests. The cover for Hild is a nice change; period gear (although slightly inaccurate as the author ported out), striking font, and an art style that brings to mind the setting.

I really don't want to just gush over this book more. Suffice it to say that any serious historical fiction fan, or really, anyone who has had a passing interest in the Dark Ages, should check Hild out. It never hurts to learn about fantastic, strong, females who changed history and this is a great book to start that learning process with.

Very good book on a little known, extraordinary girl who lived in England in the 7th century. The book is a bit long due to all the detail the author goes into involving every day life at that time but includes all the politics of the small kingdoms at that time as well as some good battle scenes. If you like historical fiction and would like to know more about this time and place in history this is a good book for you.

This was an interesting read about St. Hilda. The people around her thought she had special powers, but she was simply very observant. The writer does an excellent job of re-creating 7th century England. How they lived, clothes they wore, food they ate. There is one passage about the creation of a hedge which was very interesting.

I listened to this book on CD which had the advantages of pronouncing Old English words like gemaecce, but lacked the book's glossary which would have told me that a gemaecce was a formal female friendship or partnership.

I love Nicola Griffith's novels but this one was hard. I liked Hild but found it difficult to immerse myself into the novel due to the language and the names. One of the major moments in the book is the attack at Babbenberg and we don't get to see it, except as occasional flashbacks. The book is long but I stuck with it and I kept waiting for that moment to occur that would show us why she was the light of the world but then the book ended and I couldn't believe it. Cian! after all that and the ending is about Cian. blech! is there going to be a sequel??

Dense, rich, lucious...think I'm describing a fruitcake? Nope, I'm describing Hild, the new novel by Thriller/Science Fiction writer Nicola Griffith.

Hild is historical fiction. Extremely well-researched, transport-you-to-that-place-and-time historical fiction about the medieval figure St. Hild of Whitby.

But that's really not an apt description of the book. Really it's a ode to the complicated loyalties to lord, king, family, and self required by life in 7th Century Britain.

Hild is the daughter of a king who's been poisoned--and thus her position is precarious with the new over-king until her mother sets her up as a seer. Hild has been taught by her mother, and her own good instincts, to read omens in the flights of birds according to the old ways of Woden and Thunor. But is her ability to read the political currents enough to let her survive in Edwin King's court when the new Christian priests are angling for power? Or treachery among the underkings threatens her childhood friend Cian? Or when warriors go after her slave/bodywoman Gwladus?

This is a book one savors slowly, picking up every drop of information about how Hild and her people dressed, ate for breakfast, treated slaves, and thought of the Christian god as just another johnny-come-lately. Hild's naive cleverness will win you over, and as she grows further into her role as Edwin-King's advisor and exerts her own power, you can't help but cheer for her.

There is a family tree at the beginning of the book, and a glossary of terms at the end. I found myself flipping to the glossary frequently as the text is loaded with terms from that time ("aethelings" and "pollarded" etc).

I found myself comparing this book with Ruth Nestvold's Tristan and Isolde retelling, Yseult, where the theme of Christian encroachment on traditional gods is also visited. Yseult is also extremely dense and chock full of kings and warriors and battles and politics. But where Yseult often feels a bit TOO full of names to remember, the strong presence of Hild herself in this book carries you through all the bewildering clans and names.

If you're at all interested in medieval Britain, pick up this book today. It's terrific.

This Book's Snack Rating: A rich, Christmas fruitcake you nibble in small bites to fully savor the historical details, complicated political environment, and mesmerizing characterization of Hild herself.

There are books that begin to make me sad as I go on, because the book gets thinner and thinner on one side (or the % goes up on the Kindle) and I know I will be having to leave that world and those people soon.

Hild was one of those books. It was not just the fact that I finally felt represented in a historical novel — something that is not to be underestimated. It was not just the fact that the historical details were fascinating to the extreme, especially the religious, outlook, and domestic details. It was not just the fact that I absolutely ADORED Hild, as a person, and her brother and her cronies and her people and her land. I guess it was all of those things. But more: I was utterly immersed in the world. I was growing as Hild was. I was helpless yet powerful, strong yet frightened, friend to all peoples but friend of no person.

People who love political intrigue; lush, vivid, and tangible description and detail, and interesting, strong, smart heroines will love this book.

I listened to this book through Audible and love the reader, her voice is sing-song and lulling, adept at ancient pronunciations. A beautiful story about the coming of age of an introspective girl, the strength she develops as she tries to find her place in a changing world, and discovering how she seeks to express love and belonging.

Could have been an interesting book, but could not keep up with the characters because of the language used. Would have been interesting if author had stipulated she was using more modern names for people and places.

The cover of Hild (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2013) shows a woman in medieval chainmail, with large, serious eyes, painted with the same hues and patterns as the forest behind her. The effect is of someone emerging from a landscape, or being camouflaged by it. Ironically, that’s a relatively accurate account of the reader’s experience with this book. It is not the landscape that conceals the intriguing 7th century character of Hild, a woman who held an powerful place in Britain and the Church at a tumultuous time in history, but the details. Nicola Griffith, whose writing is absolutely luminous at times in this 560 page history lesson, dives too far into her treasure chest of research, filling the pages with so much information, it is hard to see the characters, let alone the plot. I was thankful Griffith included a glossary and pronunciation guide, but found myself wishing she had found a way to write Hild that didn’t necessitate the need for either of them.

With so little historical information surviving about her heroine, Griffith was free to make up the character of Hild, if not the facts. She chose to paint her as a cold, cautious, calculating woman. Unfortunately, as the main lens through which the story is told, the reader is left feeling that chill throughout the book. Hild was a long slog of a book that started slow, seemed to go nowhere, and ended with a whimper.

Truly, the cover may be the best part.

You may enjoy Hild if you are more a historian than reader of historical fiction. If you are looking for great, engaging historical fiction though, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. The novels of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy are amazing, with real, warm blooded characters. If you don’t mind a bit of fantasy with your fiction, try The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, or Mary Stewart’s Merlin Chronicles, both of which made me fall in love with the pre-Medieval days of Britain in the first place.

I read Hild twice in 2014 in hardback and once in 2015 as an audio book, from which you might infer I really enjoyed the novel. I did. It's the first in a series of books author Niccola Griffith is writing about the life of Saint Hild of Whitby, who lived roughly from 614 to 680, a time of tremendous change in Anglo-Saxon England. Among other things, this was when the Kingdom of Northumbria emerged, and when the Northumbrians converted from Saxon paganism to Christianity. Hild lived through these and other spectacular transformations while rising in influence to become one of the most powerful women of the Dark Ages, abbess of monasteries and advisor to kings. This is a historical period I follow with keen interest, partly because of how little is known about it.

Other than a short biographical sketch in the Venerable Bede's The Ecclesiastical History of the English, written in 731, very little of substance is known about her life. Griffith's novel follows her life from age three to nineteen, but reading this novel you would never believe there is so little actually known about Hild, because Griffith brings her to life vividly. She does this in part by taking absolutely everything we do know about this period - from history, archaeology, psychology, and more - and using it to work out baseline personalities and experiences, to bring to life what anyone would experience who lived through that age in these places. But she also works out how each individual would be different from that baseline, what was unique about their personality and circumstances, to make them the unique person they were. These layers make each character - from protagonist to incidental - simultaneously belong in this story while being decidedly their own people.

Hild: A Novel is virtuoso storytelling wrapped in vivid, poetic language, and Hild and all the other characters are brought unforgettably to life. Even more impressively, the perspective of the novel matches Hild's from a precocious child's Saxon paganism steeped in British culture in the first chapter to a recent Christian convert struggling to survive the tides of dynastic intrigue in the court of the suspicious and mercurial King Edwin of Northumbria. Step by step of that journey, chapter by chapter, Hild learns lessons that change her understanding of the world, and subsequent chapters begin to show us new details of the world around her that the younger Hild would have missed. This is done seamlessly, naturally, yet as impressive an achievement as it is it's nevertheless easy to miss because this era is so poorly known in popular culture that along with Hild the reader is trying to learn what it all means, causing direct and actual identification with this girl's journey. I've simply never read a novel that so successfully wove a story through the changing perspectives of someone growing up.

This is neither a young adult novel nor a novel for every reader. It deals frankly with sexuality and religion in ways that will make some people uncomfortable, if they're not up for the challenges. Saxon and British Pagan attitudes toward sex and nature were profoundly different than Roman Christian ones, and this novel captures those differences starkly. Heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and asexuality are all fully realized in well chosen characters and cultures. Likewise, authentic piety, naive spiritualism, and corrupt self-serving religiosity are all on display and not restricted to any one religion. Some sacred cows are gored by showing the all-too-human ambition underlying some religious developments; simultaneously, other religious characters are delightful, unforgettable, and inspiring. Likewise, the growing complexity of the political situation Hild has to navigate as her visibility and ambition increase is tensely rendered.

From a story-theory perspective, the arc of the story is masterfully structured. It wastes no time getting to its obligatory scene, though neither Hild nor we fully understand its meaning or promise until later. The spine of the story consists of a series of revelations that retroactively add new layers of meaning and promise to that opening chapter. The promise grows incrementally, bringing the obligatory scene increasingly into focus. This continues right to the final wave of revelations just before the end of the book, because the story is that tightly plotted from beginning to end, though it flows effortlessly, never forced. Like the very best stories, its developments are simultaneously natural, surprising, and in hindsight - and only in hindsight - inevitable. If the subject matter doesn't scare you off, you're in for a fantastic novel.

The opening paragraph, as a sample of language, perspective, and character:

"The child's world changed late one afternoon, though she didn't know it. She lay at the edge of a hazel coppice, one cheek pressed to the moss that smelt of worm cast and the last of the sun, listening: to the wind in the elms, rushing away from the day, to the jackdaws changing their calls from 'Outward! Outward!' to 'Home now! Home!', to the rustle of the last frightened shrews scuttling under the layers of leaf fall before the owls began their hunt. From far away came the indignant honking of geese as the goosegirl herded them back inside the wattle fence, and the child knew, in the wordless way that three-year-olds reckon time, that soon Onnen would come and find her and Cian and hurry them back."

Really loved this. Though it was long, I wanted it to be longer...I hope the sequel does come out. Hild is an interesting, very smart girl/woman, who notices everything - and this sees what's coming. I loved the characters, and learned so much about the period.

This book swept me away. Griffith immersed herself in the 7th century, and the way she's written this book, she takes you with her. You feel, smell, see, taste Hild's world. She, and the characters around her, are vivid and 3-dimensional. I don't know how she's done this without me ever sensing an info-dump, but she does. There's drama and suspense from the King's political machinations and wars, but also the day-to-day challenges of enough honey for mead, and worries over the flax crop for this year's linen. It reminded my of reading good science fiction, where the author does world-building that takes to a new place.

Fantastic story of 7th century England. The use of traditional names can be a bit tricky, but it's a wonderful story of how things used to be. Really enjoyed the parallels of how information technology (the reintroduction of writing) began to change the world, even back then...

This was a book that as soon as I finished it I went to Wikipedia to read up on the characters the story is based on - and then felt sad - because - assuming this is the first in a series - I've spoiled history for myself.

This is a brilliant book and I could echo all of the positive reviews by all readers enthralled by this book.
It is ultimately a woman's voice describing a woman's life -- in a time when life and limb were perilously intertwined with war, famine, illness, poverty and for women death from childbirth.

And the love story throughout this book is Hild's relationship with her half-brother Cian. She will do anything to protect and save him from the vagaries of a king. The king, her uncle, who is always looking to ensure his crown, consolidate power, and put down any possible rivals.

The author has written a book for the ages, and one for me that will stand the test to time -- I have no doubt I will read this book many times over.

Griffith's historical novel about the childhood and adolescence of Hilda of Whitby in 7th century northern England brought me into the Anglo-Saxon
world better than ever before. Very well written with a wealth of historical detail that brought the world of King Edwin of Northumbria, and the period of the conversion of the northern Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, to life. Highly recommended.

This book was not readable, the language, while I'm sure colloquial for the time, meant nothing to me. I read maybe 1/4 of this and had to say no more, it just wasn't enough making sense. It felt like the book was trig to be dream like in showing the visions and feeling of Hild, but the way it was written did not support the plot. It was a highly recommended book, well reviewed in an "important" magazine, but did could not hold my interest at all. Very disappointing, especially since it was well recommended in other places and I paid full price.

...but not very readable. For one thing, it would be better as two or even three volumes; but mainly, the publishers made a mess of it. The typeface is ugly and the words are crammed onto too-small pages with too-small margins, making the narrative hard to follow. The effect is curiously like reading, or trying to read, a Victorian novel in the original - your eyes keep sliding off the page.

I enjoyed the half of it I read, even admired it. But it's just too tiring to finish. I'd certainly try it again in a more competently designed package.

I tried to like this book, but after 100 pages I had to put it down. The plot moves too slowly, and the author incorporates many words from the time period without defining them. I'd like to know what happens to Hild, as she's an engaging character, but the book couldn't hold my interest.

Hild is the second daughter of a dead king, but her mother dreamed that Hild will be the Light of the World, and is determined to make her dream come true.

Half the book takes place before Hild is old enough to wear a veil band and girdle, which means she's never gotten her period. She is a little, little kid with a big, big brain.

It is seriously weird reading about an England which is a bunch of warring kingdoms. Britons and Picts and Jutes, oh my! Luckily there is a map in the beginning, so the reader can see which part of Olde Angle-land Hild is living in that month.

There's also a family tree, which helps a lot. A complete list of characters would have helped more, because Hild met people up and down the coast of /E/n/g/l/a/n/d/ Angle-land and Saxon land, and had to keep track of hte kings, princes, and usurpers all over the rest of the land, including Dal Rialta (Ireland) and Frankia.

It's like a surround sound movie, with complete sensory details. Held (and therefore the reader) hears the wind in the trees, and a variety of bird calls. Hild/we smell bed baking, wet dogs, and other, more subtle, scents. Hild/we taste the difference between beer or wine, and between different berries, and food from this village or that village.

Hild watches the dogs stretch after waking up, and decides to stretch also - shift hips to stretch each leg right through to the shoulder. Later, the king says she can have what she wants if she carries a super-heavy cup of wine AND a super heavy golden arm ring, all around the long table, without spilling a drop. Hild is about five years old, and can't possibly get her hands/arms around everything, let alone carry it. Then she remembers the long stretch through her back, stands tall, and announces she will carry the ring like a princess, on her head. Her whole spine takes the weight of the arm-ring, and she wins.

Hild is a seer, and indeed she sees. She may not have visions of the future, but she sees the birds flying to and from their nests, she sees that putting a stick in water makes it look broken, and... she sees that weasels attack baby birds when the parents are out hunting for food. And a boatload of enemy soldiers that no one can see because they don't show up where the defending soldiers are waiting... No one can see them,but Hild dreams of weasels attacking the unprotected nest. Ah hah! A vision! The enemy is attacking he women and children at home, while the "parents" are away!

Hild figured this out when she was maybe nine or eleven - it's hard to keep track of her age as seasons pass in the book.

Non-spoilery points of interest:

The most interesting thing about this book is Hild's mother Breguswith. She's the widow of a prince who would be king, and by rights she should relegated to the dust-heap of history together with her two daughters. Instead, she worked hard to make her warriors look wealthy, so kings would take her seriously, and studied her local political situation to figure out which kings she wanted to impress. She brought her weave-sister (yeMATCHee or some unpronounceable word like that) with her everywhere to help weave rich-looking clothes and help take care of their children while Breguswith spoke to kings.
Breguswith soon works her way into the overking's confidence - and works really hard for her daughter to be acknowledged as a seer.

It is also interesting to see attention paid to people who don't carry swords, ie women. Weaving is a lot of work, and women in weaving huts can plot for power as much as men in their eating halls. Women's work is acknowledged as important, not just something that happens while men are off killing each other. "Women build, men destroy," and women can bring greater wealth than spoils of war. Although great wealth attracts great piracy, so we're back to needing the warriors. On the other hand, you don't want your warriors riding off to battle with bare arses hanging out (talk about jock itch!), and no straps to hold their swords around their shoulders.

Female friendships are important, and acknowledged as much as male friendships. And a seer has a hard time forming friendships, since she's this scary witch who can READ YOUR MIND... So when Hild finds a a friend, she tends to cling. And when they have a falling out, she gets really upset.

COVER ART:
Hild never wears armor. Warriors around her wear armor, but not chain mail. She's very strong, because she hangs out with her foster brother since she's two and plays 'this stick is a sword' games and climbs a lot of trees.
Hild never wields a sword, though she has a 'slaughter knife.' Eventually, she decides she wants a real weapon, but not a sword becuase that's men's gear. Instead, she thinks about what a woman might use to defend herself, and decides that *spoiler spoiler spoiler.* Then she practices with her foster brother until she's really, really good at it.

This is a very interesting book about an early feminist, Hild. Given special privileges because of her ability to advise on the future, she is never really comfortable in this role. I enjoyed the setting of very early Christian times and the possible reactions of the native people to new ideas.

This story transported me to 7th century Britain. The writing is filled with sensory detail and concrete information about life in the early Middle Ages. It was an incredible read. Hild is a complex character who walks a unique path in her society, and I loved reading about her. Can't wait for the next installment.

Happened upon this book in the library and so glad I did. What an interesting, beautifully written story about early British history. I would describe it as a female version of Game of Thrones with emphasis on nature. The author makes us believe we are living in 6th century england where christianity is being introduced and the changes it brings. Would agree the many difficult names was a challenge but eventually got the hang of it. Wish there had been a glossary with all names. Enjoyed the dialects, political intrigue, and discussion of everyday life, birds, landscape, herbal medicine, and diet. I do hope the series continues.

I knew nothing about Hild before this book and really know nothing now. A huge part of the plot revolves around a fictional character, and you only delve into Hild's childhood and teen years.

After becoming accustomed the author's writing style and getting close to 1/3 through the book, I really started to enjoy it. The story does pick up, but it's a bit of a slog to get there.

I was having a hard time putting the book down and was confused as the end was drawing near yet there was no conclusion to the story. That's when I realized there had to be another one being written. I normally love reading a series but I won't be continuing with this one. I found the ending of Hild to be jarring and repulsive, and having just finished it I feel like my brain needs a bath.

I liked this so much, I started over from the beginning the day after I finished it. I almost never do that, but Griffith made the world of 7th century England simultaneously so vivid and so dreamlike that I didn't want to leave it, much as I never wanted to leave Middle Earth or Westeros. Hild is such a striking character, I didn't want to leave her behind, just as I wanted to keep living the stories of Frodo, Aragorn, and Eowyn, Daenerys, Arya, Tyrion, and John. And then there's the voice of the novel. Sometimes a writer's voice will get in my head, and then it can do no wrong. I can't wait for the second installment in this story. (This novel carries Hild only to the age of about 15 or 16, so don't expect to find out how she became Saint Hilda of Whitby here.)

I'm finding the second reading even richer. The people and places that seemed so strange at first glance now seem familiar. It's true, as others have pointed out, that the names of people and places can get confusing, but it's not like we're being tested at the end, right? There's a lot to enjoy here, even if you can't always keep Osric straight from Osfrith and Oswine. (The problem was compounded for me because I was reading the ebook, in which it's harder to flip to the map, family tree, and glossary. This is definitely a print-worthy book, for these reasons, and because it's stunningly designed.)

"Hild" has been described (even by the author herself) as "Game of Thrones without the dragons." That seems like marketing shtick at first blush, but it's actually quite apt. This really is a game of thrones, one in which life or death can depend on the color of one's hair. For Hild, the child of a murdered might-be king and now the young seer to a rising king, her continued place in the royal household depends on the accuracy of her predictions. Will she continue to set her own course, both in her life-path and in love, or will she be forced into a more conventional role, as she has already seen happen to her sister? That's enough narrative tension to keep me moving through what has been criticized as a rather wandery plot.

And really, I don't care about a fast-paced, tightly constructed plot when there are stunning evocations of nature (a nature more alive with portent and magic than we moderns will ever know), finely detailed depictions of the ways people made their living, and beautiful prose. On the other hand, if the mark of a well plotted book is that it ends with a twist you didn't expect, this one succeeded for me. I rate it five stars, print-worthy, and a smashing success.

Recommended music pairing: Lisa Gerrard's dark classical stuff.

Hild transports us to seventh-century Britain to tell the story of St. Hilda of Whitby, the king’s niece and a seer who changes the course of history for her people. Though it might seem like a daunting read, Griffith’s excellent sense of place and history and her impeccable attention to detail bring this amazing young woman to life.

I loved so many aspects of this book, I don't know where to start... It's lyrical and sensual and masterfully explores a pivotal point in time. Power shifting between and men and women. Between ancient gods and the emerging Christ. The mystical world and the beginning of science. I can't imagine the research it took to craft this book. Worth the time. Enjoy every word...

It's been a long time since I was so happy reading a book this fat, and even longer since I was so sad to see it end. But! -- it took a gloriously long time to get there. HILD is a thick one. You get to the point where you're swimming in the world of the book, just totally entranced, drunk on story and language, and you think: given everything that's happened so far -- whole lives unfurled -- this must be coming to a close. But no: feel the pages beneath your fingers. You're not even halfway through. You've hardly even begun!

There should be a word for this: the sense of a book's great *bounty*. Whatever it is, HILD has it. This is a book that just gives & gives & gives.

My book club just read (or not) this book. Of the 9 members who showed up for the meeting, only 1 had finished the book and liked it. The rest of us slogged through a few pages to half of the book before giving up. It makes me wonder about how these reviews work. If 8 out of 9 readers give up on a book, how does it get so many good ratings (4 stars)? I hypothesis that either people who don't like a book don't write reviews, or my book club is full of highly unusual readers (unlikely). I write this with all respect to the author. I'm sure much work went into it, and I'm very happy there are many who like it. I do visual art, and I get it that people have different tastes.

That being said, by the time I stopped reading I had decided it had several aspects that just didn't work for me. First, I didn't care about any of the characters. I felt there personalities were primarily expressed through their actions. Given the culture they were in, actions didn't give me many clues. The oddball spelling was an ongoing struggle - unlike the Hobbit or some such, it didn't add to the atmosphere, it got in the way. Lastly the plot dragged. It kind of reminded me of reading Beowulf years ago in school.

When good it's frustrating, when bad it's just dull.

The author is clearly deeply invested in her creation but the novel's world-building and characterization (in my opinion) just aren't good enough to carry it.

I wish I could share in her passion but the book itself is too dreary and unfocused to recommend.

This dramatic historical novel takes place during the 7th century when Britain is fragmented into small kingdoms and fiefdoms and it relates the struggles between each of these and the constant quest for more land, fuelling rivalries and treachery at every opportunity. It is also about the creeping influence of Christianity and the way that the Christian priests jockey for power and position.

The main character, Hild, starts off as a young girl of 3 years of age, already a bit older mentally and intellectually than her physical age. She is constantly manipulated by her mother and others to fulfil a role over which she has no choice. We see her develop through the years into an important factor in the court of whichever king is in power at the time. She enjoys nature and spends a great deal of time observing and learning from it.

The author has obviously done a lot of research into this era and she does not tire of putting a lot of detail into the novel so that the reader can understand the mores of the time. There is also a map, family tree, glossary of terms which help but I had to consult these often just to keep track of who everybody was and where they fitted in, especially as the names are quite confusing.

Thoroughly engaging and entertaining, this novel is recommended to all who like a long fascinating historical novel.

I've seen this book classified as a YA read, so I was prepared for a quick, glossy read. Not so! This book is complex and absorbing; the descriptions of early Britain rival The Mists of Avalon. The child Hild is not simplistic or unrealistically rebellious. She is accustomed to doing "women's work". Although she leads a privileged life that allows her to avoid participating in the most menial labor, Hild struggles to find people who are willing to teach her skills that fall outside the "women's sphere". For example, Cian refuses to teach her basic sword fighting because it is considered "men's magic"-- teaching a woman is punishable by death. He compromises by teaching her how to use a wooden staff to cripple and kill.

I ordered this book because I'm interested in St. Hilda of Whitby and early Britain in general. I will encourage others to read it because of the author's impressive lyric prose, Hild's gutsy character, and the light that this book shines on an often misrepresented time period. Five stars!

I very much enjoyed the first part of this book. It reminded me of Lymond Chronicles. One thing that annoyed me in the beginning was the unexplained Old English and Welsh words, but there is a glossary (in the back of my edition so I didn't find until the end). Then came an entirely unnecessary bunch of sex scenes. They serve no plot purpose and made me uncomfortable in the end because of the people involved. Beyond this the plot summary would seem to indicate that this massive tome tells the story of Hild and yet we end long before we reach her history. I feel like it was false advertising. I kept reading only because I had gotten so far before the plot diverged into inappropriate relations even after I ignored the foreshadowing knowing that would never happen. Very disappointed.

I had Hild on my wish list for YEARS. Finally, thanks to the store's genius "how about a little something for yourself?" prompt, I ordered it. Although I found my suspension of disbelief tested a bit in the beginning, I was quickly engrossed with Hild's story.

The good: Lush descriptions of medieval life, including unexpectedly detailed accounts of the weaving industry. Hild's development had me waffling from admiration to anxiety to "where is her mother?!" moments.
The bad: The British/Anglisc names and places are 1) too numerous to follow, despite an included genealogy, which I attribute to 2) the names are generally so foreign that they're unpronounceable. They're so unfamiliar that I had to look up the same characters over and over to remember where I met them. I wish the pronunciation key Ms. Griffith wrote was in the first, rather than the final pages.
I'm undecided: this is a series. I didn't know that until I finished. So, dear reader, if you get to the final pages and wonder where on earth this story is headed, you will have to wait a bit to find out.

To call this historical fiction seems to me to be doing it a disservice. Bernard Cornwell is historical fiction; his works are generally entertaining, gripping, and more or less forgettable. Griffith's Hild is a stunning achievement - a cast of incredible characters, richly realized, speaking in naturalistic dialogue. Most unforgettable of them all is the titular Hild, a truly fascinating character. The plot is a tapestry which weaves together a sometimes-bewildering number of strands, characters and places - all summing to create a believable tale of 6th-century historical Britain. Read this book if you like fantasy, history, strong women or just good stories.

While description of the places and main character's feelings is excellent, there is no plot. The author deliberately picks weird words and phrases that don't add anything except frustration to the reader's experience. In many cases a different choice of words would give the story a lyrical flow. Don't waste your time.

A medieval novel of St. Hilda of Witby's early life -- but that doesn't do this book justice. It is better to say, a science fiction novel about a seer who can predict the future when she is a young girl, an extraordinarily bright, merciless warrior who loves -- her half-brother. Like science fiction, Griffith's book does its world building without conceding anything to the reader (tho' there is a glossary, I would skip it; it is thrilling to race along, trying to figure out where you are and what is being said.) The closest book I have read to this is Sarah Monette's Melusine.

Run, don't walk, to your nearest book store or library and ask for Hild

I put off finishing Hild for a month. I just didn't want it to go away. I feel as though I really know the land, the customs, the changing times, the various people described, and even the air they breathed. I fell in love with the story, the characters, and especially with HIld--what a powerful and wonderful person.

When I read an historical novel, I expect the author to adhere to certain historical writing standards. While Ms Griffith's writing style is captivating, she took rather startling liberties in her book. The book is supposedly based on the life of Saint Hilda of Whitby. However, about halfway into the book Ms Griffith's own agenda becomes startling evident when Hild begins a sexual relationship with her maid. Later, Ms Griffith has Hild marry her own brother. Neither of those events have any historical basis, nor are they likely to have taken place in the 7th century by someone later canonized by the Catholic church. I am not Catholic, but an author has a duty to adhere to the historical character, time, and place chosen. Ms Griffith, a vocal advocate for lesbians, has taken extreme liberties with her subject matter in an effort to push her own agenda regardless of her subject matter. Her anti-Catholic, pro-lesbian message would have been better served with a book of fiction which included characters of her own making, not historical ones.

I am trying so hard to read this book. A publisher/publicist/whatever is bugging me to review it on my blog...and I.just.can't. It is so hard to understand, and I was lost before I even began. I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, and that is pretty much the only genre I read and review, so I had high hopes for this book, but I'm just not going to be able to finish it...and I probably won't post such a negative review in my blog. :/

Wars, nature descriptions became redundant. Book too wordy and long. Difficult reading ancient words of the Brits, etc.
Interesting to read of ancient belief and royalty systems. Great deal of research involved for author.

Well imagined, reflective historical fiction of an intelligent young girl in ancient Britain, living in times of cultural and religious change and diversity. Loved the portrayal of the Celtic soul, the striving of the Angles, and the worship of Woden. Also appreciated seeing the era in a female perspective, seeing daily activities and roles for girls and women. Knowing that Hild was a historical person added savor!

I read the reviews and the veneration by NPR; however, I must say this book was a total let down. Poor story ensconced in pretty words. The language aspect was poorly used. Hild sometimes "thought" in other languages but this happened only at the beginning of the book and was quickly abandoned. Other than in the main character, the development was lacking at best. I could go on about the short comings of this book forever. I would avoid it if you're looking for a sweeping story that will grab you attention; the only reason you'll keep reading Hild is because you're wondering if anything will ever happen

I have an unusual capacity for thanes and bards and clashing shield walls and druids, etc. But this was too long, too confusing and too slow. After trying to love this, I decided to return it. I think the story and its many elements are just too unwieldy for the author, especially since she has created a central character who, at least after the four hours I invested, was only ten years old and shaping up to be uncommonly humorless. The writing style is lyrical, and the common life of 7th century Britain is closely observed, so 2 points for that, but if you want to read a really skillful narrative of this era, I would recommend Bernard Cornwell.

As other reviewers have said there is so much old English in the writing as to make it unreadable. I am a linguist, fluent in 3 languages and able to get by in about 6 more, and I found this impenetrable. I could not make myself read it when I have no idea what every third word means.

This novel is pretentious, unnecessarily obtuse, and cluttered with unreadable 'words' in an unpronouncable tongue! Argh! This author needed a serious editor to prune the run-on sentences and move the 'story' forward. The main character begins as a 6 year-old, who thinks like a New Age 40 year-old. Implausible 'action', thin characters, muddy prose. I am sorry I didn't read the first few pages to get a feel for the writing. I read a lot of history, biography and fiction, but this book went, unfinished, to the library sale.

If Nicola Griffith wanted to write a weirdly violent fantasy with accurate historic detailing, I'm sure she could have sold it without maligning the memory of a woman who was actually cannonized.

The author admits making up Saint Hilda's backstory. She depicts Hild as a woman whose behavior ranged from merely unCatholic (performing abortions, engaging in lesbian sex)--- to the downright criminal (poisoning a queen, killing wounded soldiers, buying slaves, raping slaves, torturing prisoners, executing children, committing incest.) Remember, in real life Hild was LITERALLY a Saint!

Not content with smearing a saint, the author trots out all the unflattering stereotypes of the Church. In this book you will find avaricous priests taking the fattest livestock as tithe from hungry peasants, a deacon who cares more about good food than saving souls, the stereotypical drunken Irish priest, and the burning-eyed Bishop who literally drowns babies in his zeal to baptise enough souls to get a promotion.

And then, the novel itself isn't particularly good! The plot meanders and doesn't really go anywhere. All the characters need footnotes crediting their original creater. The characters include: the Saucy SlaveTM, the Witchy MotherTM, the Paranid KingTM, the Cashstrapped but Noble KnightTM, etc, etc.

Awful Dreck.
Plus, I'm not even Catholic and I was offended!

This is a turkey of a book - much more about the authors imagination than a properly researched study of original documents . It is not , to be fair ,alone in seeking to present imaginings as facts - -but anyone looking for historically accurate material will be disappointed . It's a novel - no more no less .

I enjoy attempting to correctly pronounce names & places in a book, but I couldn't get past the first 3-4 pages. It was very distracting to try to read and pronounce the names, etc. I had it refunded.