Saxon Heroines

A Northumbrian Novel (Women of Determination and Courage Book 3)

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Pub Date 15 Feb 2021 | Archive Date 3 Apr 2021

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Description

Seventh century England is a hodgepodge of warring Anglo-Saxon states filled with shifting alliances and treacherous grabs for royal power. Kings rise and fall, depending on Woden's Luck. Northumbria, the damp kingdom north of the River Humber, is a state riven with rivalries and kings determined to expand at any cost.

Women have no obvious role in a warrior society, but by using their wits, four women—two queens and two abbesses—make monumental changes. One woman marries a pagan king and successfully converts him to Christianity before he dies in battle. One becomes the most powerful abbess in Northumbria and holds the Great Synod at Whitby Abbey, which brings the kingdom back to the Roman Church. Another becomes queen and keeps political alliances strong despite different religious denominations. The fourth woman ushers in a new age by negotiating with kings and churchmen to establish one united church in the Northumbrian kingdom.  

Based on true events and people, this is the story of Northumbria through the eyes of the most important women of their time.

Seventh century England is a hodgepodge of warring Anglo-Saxon states filled with shifting alliances and treacherous grabs for royal power. Kings rise and fall, depending on Woden's Luck...


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ISBN 9780996384599
PRICE US$3.99 (USD)

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Average rating from 14 members


Featured Reviews

Living in North Northumberland I found this book really interesting. I love Anglo Saxon history but most books are gory tales about fighting with the vikings. This is written from the perspective of women in the royal family and shows their quiet influence although they seemed to be married off or sent to monasteries without any thought for their feelings. I enjoyed this book but would have liked a more in depth study of the characters. Enjoyable read if the reader enjoys this period of history.

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Author Sandra Wagner-Wright writes about a period of time that I previously believed was a landmine of guesswork. Imagine my surprise to learn that there is detailed knowledge of the leaders and events during the 7th century. This also included the women.

My knowledge of most queens were that they were not much more than someone who was either successful or a failure, based upon whether they supplied their spouses with sons rather than daughters. Once the king died (or if the queen did something egregious) she would be sent away to live the rest of her life in an abbey. What this book taught me was that the lives they lived as queens gave them leadership skills that could be transferred into their new homes.

Ms. Wagner-Wright has chosen an excellent time to tell the tales of some remarkable women. One was instrumental in convincing her husband to change to the religion of Rome, which had a profound impact on Northern Britain. Another was forced into an abbey (as opposed to being forced into a marriage), eventually forming her own abbey and was later deemed to be a saint. The author diligently follows the facts, filling in the book with conversations that match with the historical records. The stories are told by different characters (mainly women) and Ms. Wagner-Wright informs us every time there is a new narrator.

I found this to be a quick read and an excellent source for those who like to read history and historical fiction. Included in the book are three glossaries, covering names, terms, and places. There are a lot of similar names, and somewhere near the middle of the book I jumped to the timeline and read it before resuming the story, which helped immensely in straightening out (in my mind) all the different characters. The book also has two charts detailing the family history of those involved. I was very satisfied and happy to have found a book not only covering an era I knew nothing about but also covering a niche (female heroines) that you don’t normally see. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

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I was drawn to this book because of its focus on early history and particularly on the women who were often unsung heroines of their day.

The roles they were often forced into, due to their family connections and despite their positions and wealth, were to form bonds with other kingdoms of course and true power resided with the male Saxon leaders. However the women are able to use their strengths to influence the directions taken by the male rulers. 

The novel shows vividly the hierarchies that existed in these small Saxon kingdoms and really establishes that it was by success in battle that the Kings retained power with their followers and position for themselves, their wives and children.  Failure often meant death or the loss of everything. A strand that I found fascinating was to see the inroads Christianity was making at this time across all corners of the world and how clever, politically aware churchmen used these realities together with the fears and desires of the kings to persuade them to transfer their allegiances and trust in Saxon deities, such as Woden, to the Christian God.

Something I did find confusing however was the move between heroines, often related and most of who seemed to have very similar names. But that is probably an age thing (my age)! I didn't particularly warm to or identify with the characters but I did very much enjoy this rare glimpse into life in our early history.

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I have to warn you this novel does not read as a novel but more as a historybook seen from the perspective of those four women. But I am interested in history.

As I do not know a lot about this era of English history I thought it an interesting book to read. Us continental Europeans were converted to Christianity by those Irish and English monks. But we have no knowledge of the fact that the Celtic church as followers of apostle John had different ways of practising.

This is the time after the Romans abandoned their province Britannia and before the warhammer of the Vikings descended on it. It is surprising how much history of this era survived.

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this was a great historical novel, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the time period. The story was interesting and I had a fun time.

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I thoroughly enjoyed Saxon Heroines: A Northumbrian Novel. I look forward to more by Sandra Wagner-Wright. Five stars.

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This is good historical fiction about an underrepresented era. It was a fun story well rooted in historical facts. I really enjoyed this.

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I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

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