A captivating account of the lives of extraordinary women in perilous times.
A historical novel set in seventh-century England follows a new queen and the women of her court as they struggle to survive and prosper.
Princess Ethelberga of Kent marries King Edwin of Northumbria to form a political alliance between Edwin and her brother, Eadbald, the King of Kent. She’s disgusted by Northumbria, which she sees as a coarse backwoods, and by her new husband, an unrefined warrior who’s perpetually in search of new wars. However, she’s intent on securing a future for herself, so she plans to give the king an heir. Also, with the encouragement of Pope Boniface and the helpful machinations of Bishop Paulinus, she aims to convince Edwin to convert to Christianity and abandon his allegiance to Woden and other pagan gods, to whom he attributes his military fortunes. In addition, Ethelberga decides to teach the women of her kingdom to read, including Princess Hildeburg, Edwin’s young niece. Wagner-Wright, in the third installment of her series, chronicles the trials of Ethelberga and the women surrounding her as they attempt to carve out meaningful lives in a male-dominated world. The author’s command of the historical period is magisterial, and she paints a lively, even terrifying picture of an England riven by tribalistic conflicts, fleeting alliances, and bloodthirsty monarchs. Furthermore, she thoughtfully captures the religious conflicts of the time and the ways in which they feed into political and territorial ones; as Hildeburg aptly puts it, “When gods dispute, kings die.” Ethelberga, in particular, emerges as a memorable heroine; even after she faces a major tragedy and a siege of Northumbria, leaving her a “displaced queen,” she displays remarkable resilience and shrewd, calculating intelligence. Wagner-Wright has a tendency to freight the reader with an excess of detail—particularly when it comes to the labyrinthine political entanglements that are central to the novel—but this dramatically gripping novel is worth readers’ effort.
A captivating account of the lives of extraordinary women in perilous times.Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-541320-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wagner Wright Enterprises
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An engaging, imaginative narrative hampered by its lack of subtlety.
The Medusa myth, reimagined as an Afrocentric, feminist tale with the Gorgon recast as avenging hero.
In mythological Greece, where gods still have a hand in the lives of humans, 17-year-old Medusa lives on an island with her parents, old sea gods who were overthrown at the rise of the Olympians, and her sisters, Euryale and Stheno. The elder sisters dote on Medusa and bond over the care of her “locs...my dearest physical possession.” Their idyll is broken when Euryale is engaged to be married to a cruel demi-god. Medusa intervenes, and a chain of events leads her to a meeting with the goddess Athena, who sees in her intelligence, curiosity, and a useful bit of rage. Athena chooses Medusa for training in Athens to become a priestess at the Parthenon. She joins the other acolytes, a group of teenage girls who bond, bicker, and compete in various challenges for their place at the temple. As an outsider, Medusa is bullied (even in ancient Athens white girls rudely grab a Black girl’s hair) and finds a best friend in Apollonia. She also meets a nameless boy who always seems to be there whenever she is in need; this turns out to be Poseidon, who is grooming the inexplicably naïve Medusa. When he rapes her, Athena finds out and punishes Medusa and her sisters by transforming their locs into snakes. The sisters become Gorgons, and when colonizing men try to claim their island, the killing begins. Telling a story of Black female power through the lens of ancient myth is conceptually appealing, but this novel published as adult fiction reads as though intended for a younger audience.
An engaging, imaginative narrative hampered by its lack of subtlety.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780593733769
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
