The Needle In The Blood
Sarah Bower
Sourcebooks, Mar 6 2012, $14.99
ISBN: 9781402265914
A few weeks after his half-brother William of Normandy conquered England, Bishop Odo of Bayeux Odo decides to celebrate the victory over Harold with an embroidery like none before. He assigns his sister Agatha, known as Sister Jean-Baptiste of the Convent of Saint Justina The Virgin, to oversee the project. She employs several Saxon women to embroider the glory of the Battle of Hastings including Gytha, a lady-in-waiting to Harold’s Queen Eidth, but now a whore as like her Highness, William’s conquest ended her position at court.
She accepts Sister Jean-Baptiste invitation to work the commemoration, but plans to use this to kill Bishop Odo who schemes to become the Archbishop of Canterbury for what he and his odious Normans did to her Saxons especially Eidth. Instead she cannot plunge the knife into her avowed adversary. They fall in love, but his many enemies see his mistress as his Achilles heel that they can use against him.
This is an engaging biographical fiction that sub-genre fans will enjoy based on real persona and the theory that the Bayou Tapestry was commissioned by Odo for his new cathedral. The engaging storyline contains a passionate love subplot as Sarah Bowers reflects the essence of the brutal transition of power starting just after the Conquest and for the few years.
Harriet Klausner
Sarah Bower
Sourcebooks, Mar 6 2012, $14.99
ISBN: 9781402265914
A few weeks after his half-brother William of Normandy conquered England, Bishop Odo of Bayeux Odo decides to celebrate the victory over Harold with an embroidery like none before. He assigns his sister Agatha, known as Sister Jean-Baptiste of the Convent of Saint Justina The Virgin, to oversee the project. She employs several Saxon women to embroider the glory of the Battle of Hastings including Gytha, a lady-in-waiting to Harold’s Queen Eidth, but now a whore as like her Highness, William’s conquest ended her position at court.
She accepts Sister Jean-Baptiste invitation to work the commemoration, but plans to use this to kill Bishop Odo who schemes to become the Archbishop of Canterbury for what he and his odious Normans did to her Saxons especially Eidth. Instead she cannot plunge the knife into her avowed adversary. They fall in love, but his many enemies see his mistress as his Achilles heel that they can use against him.
This is an engaging biographical fiction that sub-genre fans will enjoy based on real persona and the theory that the Bayou Tapestry was commissioned by Odo for his new cathedral. The engaging storyline contains a passionate love subplot as Sarah Bowers reflects the essence of the brutal transition of power starting just after the Conquest and for the few years.
Harriet Klausner
1 comment:
Harriet, thank you for this kind and thoughtful review.
Just thought your readers might like to know the novel also has its own Facebook page where they can find other reviews and book news.
Please 'like' the page and, more importantly, enjoy the book.
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