The Handfasted Wife

‘Moving, and vastly informative, a real page turner of a historical novel’ FAY WELDONThe first instalment in Carol McGrath’s captivating ***The Daughters of Hastings***trilogy!

‘This novel is a marvellous mixture of historical fact and imagination… I would heartily recommend this delightful novel. I couldn’t put it down’ 5* Reader review

‘This is a beautifully crafted book which has been meticulously researched‘ 5* Reader review

‘Fiction and history are woven together almost seamlessly‘ 5* Reader review

‘I found it an engaging book and I wanted to keep reading’ 5* Reader review

‘A real page turner thanks to great characterisation‘ 5* Reader review
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An adventure story of love, loss, survival and reconciliation . . .

The Handfasted Wife is the story of the Norman Conquest from the perspective of Edith (Elditha) Swanneck, Harold’s common-law wife. She is set aside for a political marriage when Harold becomes king in 1066. Determined to protect her children’s destinies and control her economic future, she is taken to William’s camp when her estate is sacked on the eve of the Battle of Hastings. She later identifies Harold’s body on the battlefield and her youngest son becomes a Norman hostage.

Elditha avoids an arranged marriage with a Breton knight by which her son might or might not be given into his care. She makes her own choice and sets out through strife-torn England to seek help from her sons in Dublin. However, events again overtake her.

Harold’s mother, Gytha, holds up in her city of Exeter with other aristocratic women, including Elditha’s eldest daughter. The girl is at risk, drawing Elditha back to Exeter and resistance. Initially supported by Exeter’s burghers the women withstand William’s siege. However, after three horrific weeks they negotiate exile and the removal of their treasure. Elditha takes sanctuary in a convent where eventually she is reunited with her hostage son.

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