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 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
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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