The Swan-Daughter

Daughters of Hastings #2

by Carol McGrath

The Swan Daughter is a true 11th C tale of elopement and a love triangle by best-selling author of The Handfasted Wife, Carol McGrath.

A marriage made in Heaven or Hell.

1075 and Dowager Queen Edith has died. Gunnhild longs to leave Wilton Abbey but is her suitor Breton knight Count Alan of Richmond interested in her inheritance as the daughter of King Harold and Edith Swan-Neck or does he love her for herself? And is her own love for Count Alain an enduring love or has she made a mistake?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Medieval, 11th Century, British Literature, Anglo Saxon

370 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2014

About the author

My first degree is in History and English from Queens University Belfast. I have a postgraduate MA in writing from Queens University and an Mphil in writing from The Royal Holloway ,University of London. My debut novel The Handfasted Wife is the first in a Trilogy The Daughters of Hastings. The first is the story of 1066 and its aftermath from the perspective of the noble women. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister have followed. All have been best sellers. My new novel The Woman in the Shadows tells the tale of Thomas and Elizabeth Cromwell and is the story of an early Tudor marriage. I am now working on a medieval trilogy about 'she wolf' queens.

Reviews

[Kelly]

I liked this even more than the first book in the series. I would never have made it through the eleventh century for many reasons, not least of which were the smells described in this book Four nuns stood in a tight group around Christina, their sweat as stale as rotting fish, their breath foul. I found myself holding my breath as I read some of the descriptions of the foul odors throughout.

On a more serious note - I love books that make me feel as if I'm living in the time period they are placed in. I could picture (and smell unfortunately ;-) what was going on in the villages, the castle etc.

[Kathleen]

I hated to see this book end and tried to read ever more slowly, which is hard for me. Happily when I reached the end I found the first chapter of The Betrothed Daughter, as well as a very fine collection of facts in the author's notes. This is my very favorite era to read about, for a variety of reasons, and a very favorite author as well.

Normans, and their castles, and their rationale as they tried to excuse their conquest of this land, may begin to explain what a poor husband Alan of Richmond was to Gunnhild daughter of Harold the vanquished King. A thousand years of mercenary soldiers in my personal family history intrigues me, and so of course I cannot wait for the next Carol McGrath book about this family.

Lovers of accurate Medieval history just have to read this book, a novel based on years of research and quite serious educated speculation.Cum Laude, what a great read!

[Cecilia]

I had to change my review since it was on the 1st book, not this one which is the second in the series. I gave it 2 stars since it was quite depressing and nothing really joyful happened. This book will make you cry several times. I didn't like how Alan changed so much, he seemed so happy and cared at first, then BAM! I just found it hard to take and made me sad. It was well written and I have to read the other books in the series since I do enjoy the writing.

[Tom Williams]

It’s 1075. Eighteen-year-old Gunnhild, King Harold’s daughter, is living in a nunnery and being pressured to take her vows. She has no wish to be a nun: she is a princess and would wed a knight and have the life a princess should have. So when Count Alan offers to elope with her, she accepts. But does he love her, or does he just want the lands that she will inherit from her mother?

Carol McGrath follows the story of Gunnhild’s marriage with a convincing depiction of courtly life in the eleventh century. Alan, it seems, does not really love Gunnhild, but he does have a grudging respect for her as his chatelaine. Both Alan and Gunnhild seek romantic love elsewhere, Alan with the wife of one of servants, Gunnhild with Alan’s brother. In an interesting reversal of the double standard, the sympathies of the story are entirely with Gunnhild.

It is when we come to the sympathies of the story that we face the biggest problem with novels about the 11th century, for we see this through not one, but two, filters. Reader and writer are from the 21st century and the control exercised by Alan over his wife seems unreasonable and sometimes cruel. In fairness, it may well have been seen as such by Gunnhild, as Saxon women had more legal rights than they had once they came under Norman rule. But would a courtly wife really have objected to her husband taking a mistress? Wasn’t that normal in court circles in those days? And would even a modern reader necessarily side with a wife who, gifted a valuable ruby (almost certainly an heirloom) from her father-in-law, sells it to redecorate her apartments? While the mechanical detail of life convinces, the feelings of the protagonists are not always as persuasive.

We also see the 11th century through a separate filter: the Romantic Age of Chivalry. This is not a modern invention: it dates to the 13th century. The chivalric age was always in the past and the knights of this fiction would probably have, in reality, been very like Count Alan. But the chivalric knights wore the plate armour of the 13th century and lived a highly romanticised existence. While McGrath is generally careful about the reality of 11th century life, Gunnhild’s girlish dreams seem rather more what a 13th century author might have attributed to her. So, as she picks out beautiful clothes, she tells her friend, “I am a princess. When my knight comes to claim me I shall be waiting for him in that dress.” Perhaps the real Gunnhild thought like that, but I am uncomfortable with it. The repeated references to glistening armour and the odd “prancing” horse worry me too. There’s even an occasional, almost certainly anachronistic, breastplate that slips through too.

None of this is to take away from McGrath’s substantial achievement. She brings the 11th century alive, packing in a wealth of well-researched detail. Her style is easy to read and her Gunnhild is a rounded and sympathetic character. If the story sometimes slips into a more romantic interpretation of the past, it has been in good company for eight hundred years: and if the ideas of the heroine are, perhaps, tainted by 21st century prejudices, this is probably inevitable. In the end, can we ever know how an 11th century woman thought? And would we warm to her if we did?

[Marsha Lambert]

The Swan-Daughter by Carol McGrath tells the fictional account backed up with historical fact of the life of Gunnhild, daughter of King Harold II.

Beginning in the years just before the Conquest McGrath vividly recreates the turmoil and upheaval the Conquest brought to Gunnhild's life and that of her family. One can't help but be drawn into Gunnhild's world and feel her pain and anguish at what has happened to her family and the world as she's known it.

The author has the gift of drawing the reader into the 11th century and making one feel as if they walk alongside Gunnhild on her lifes journey. Gunnhild, the main character of the book, is written very well and with depth so the reader understands her feelings and the choices she makes throughout her life. The many secondary characters are also very well written especially Count Alan, Gunnhild's first husband, who feels authentically portrayed as a man of his times.

I greatly enjoyed The Swan-Daughter and will be looking forward to reading the third in the series, The Betrothed Sister, which tells the tale of Harold's other daughter, Gytha.

[Patricia]

Life in England after 1066 was hard for the 'losing' side. The women were in a very difficult situation: a few went into exile, some were forced to marry an 'enemy' and many retreated to a convent in fear of their safety. This is the second book of the series (after The Hanfasted Wife) and focuses on the life of Gunnhild, the youngest daughter of King Harold. She was sent to Wilton Abbey to complete her education and for her safety. The cloistered life might be safe but Gunnhild hated life behind the walls and dreamed of escaping. Enter Count Alan, a Norman knight who offers her freedom through marriage.

Ms. McGarth has well-developed characters and paints a picture of life in the 12th century. It wasn't very glamours -- cold, drafty castles, dirty inns, and vermin-infected beds. Even upper-class women couldn't own property and were without rights. Alan is portrayed as greedy, distant, and controlling.
Francis (monk) and Christina (num) from Wilton are uncaring and spiteful.

No graphic sex or violence

[Karen Barth]

First off, read book 3 in this series, The Bethrothed Sister, befor reading this one. The reason is two-fold. First, book 3 is actually chronologically the second in order. Most importantly, book 2 reveals too much about sister Thea's fate and thus takes away some of the suspense in that book.

Often times sequels don't measure up to the first installment, but not the case here. This story follows the life of Gunnhilde, the youngest daughter of King Harold II and his hand-fasted wife, Elditha. The Swan-Daughter is an excellent read back by good historical research. It isn't history, but Carol McGrath uses plausible story lines to fill in the messing pieces of mideaval women's lives. Her story is engaging, well written, moves at a good pace, and is filled with characters you really care about. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the third installment, The Brtrothed Sister.

[John]

This is the second of Carol McGrath's books on the daughters of King Harold (of arrow in the eye fame).

As in the Handfasted Wife, her first book in the series, this is a meticulously researched book. Fortunately Carol has the gift of not letting this get in the way of telling a rollicking good story. Its a fascinating era to write about, and in Carol's capable hands, to read about as well.

Alternating between England and Brittany, in a time when the Doomsday Book was causing all of England to re-evalueate their lives, and with a cracking love story at its heart, this was a really good read.

Now I'm looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.

John

[Lorraine]

Fascinating! The author has done a truly magnificent job of enabling the reader be there and feel what it was like starting in 1076 through until the end of the story. I loved this book!! I have read a great deal of books about England many of them discussed the role of a noblewoman, but this is the first book that has enabled me to understand all the 'jobs' a noblewoman would do as chatelaine of a castle, estate, etc. No easy task as is seen in The Swan Daughter. I am looking forward to The Bethrothed Sister, part 3 of this trilogy. My congratulations to Ms. McGrath. Well done !!

[Suzanne Reed]

Gunnhild Godwin's story

Gunnhild Godwin's story

Ms. McGrath's tales of an age long gone just keep getting better. The years she writes about and the people she tells us about are those which most lay people don't have much information. she gives us this in a very real, down to earth, way: as if I were there being a part of the journey. Definitely would I recommend to all lovers of history, whichever timeframe you 'like'. Thanks, Msn. McGrath.

[Carol Flatten]

I like this series of books about the ancient royaly of pre Norman envasion. The historical facts are interesting, the fact that women were chattel to be used to gain power was appauling but none-the-less rewarding to see how cleverly they worked through the handicap and managed a reasonably happy life. All the characters were believable and the history of the time well researched.

[Karin Jenkins]

An absorbing historical novel imagining the life of King Harold’s youngest daughter after 1066 from fragments that are known about her. It gives a flavour of what the era might have been like including reactions to the Domesday survey.

[Vanessa Woolley]

Like The Handfasted Wife, I found this book compelling and interesting with a tinge of lovely romance

[Alyssia Cooke]

I struggled with the first novel in this series, The Handfasted Wife, which focussed on the years just before and after the Battle of Hastings from the perspective of Edith, Harold's first wife and the mother of the vast majority of his children. I had been really looking forward to the series though, so decided to at least give the second novel a go. I'm glad I did, as this caught my attention and hooked me in a way the first failed to.

The novel picks up in 1075 with the death of the Dowager Queen Edith and her granddaughter's elopement from the abbey she's been ensconced in with the expectation of taking vows. It follows Gunnhild over the next two decades or so, through her tumultuous relationship with Count Alan to his unexpected death and just beyond into approximately 1095. It looks at how Gunnhild's life changed through the unexpected marriage and how that relationship may have played out on a day to day basis, particularly with Alan being heavily drawn on by his King. By piecing together elements of Gunnhild's later life and her refusal to be drawn back to cloister and instead living with her husband's brother following his death, McGrath teases out a love triangle as Gunnhild battles between love and duty.

This is an undeniably fascinating period in history, with the upheaval of the Norman Conquest and the changes brought about by William's new rule. It's not a particularly popular period for fiction though, possibly because there is so much lost to the mists of time, but that surely makes it better for interpretation. McGrath states in the authors note that this is very much a fictionalised history, but she has also clearly done her research and it shows in how she portrays the characters, the life they lead and some of the upheavals brought about including the increased Danegeld following the national audit comprised in the Domesday Book.

This novel brings the period to life in full colour, mixing known fact with fictionalised interpretation skilfully. She unpacks some of the research and known facts in the authors note, but it's not necessary as much as bonus information. The characters are well written and seem as authentic to the time as any modern author is going to manage so many centuries later. Gunnhild herself is perhaps a bit of a romantic to start but she grows and matures from that, the depiction of her husband and his split motivations were well depicted and I found it particularly enlightening to see how both husband and church were at least partially after the same thing; her mother's land, now passed along the male line or handed over to church.

All in all, this is a fantastic read that captures the nature of life and the period of change and upheaval that followed in the wake of the Norman invasion. The initial shock waves may have died down near ten years on, but the inevitable shock waves are still rippling. It captures the historical, but also the personal, particularly in regards to the love story and the potential consequences if it came out. It's far more centred than the first novel in the series and allows time for many of the characters to be developed, along with the settings both in Normandy and Britain. I'll be fascinated to read the final novel in the series, The Betrothed Sister.

[Jenny Barden]

As delicately crafted as the stiches of the Bayeux Tapestry, 'The Swan-Daughter' establishes Carol McGrath’s exceptional skill as a novelist of the Medieval era. Her research into the everyday details of life in the eleventh century shines through, especially life for a woman of noble birth such as Gunnhild, daughter of the defeated King Harold. Gunnhild must find ways of achieving self-fulfilment within the constraints of the conventions of the age, despite the attempts of men of power to manipulate her for her wealth and influence. Spoiler alert - The story is particularly good in charting the decline of Gunnhild’s love for Count Alan of Richmond and Brittany, from her dream of a chivalrous romance, to the reality of a cold and bitter marriage blighted by Alan’s undimmed passion for his mistress and his affection for his bastard son, the boy’s loss (for which Gunnhild is blamed), and Gunnhild’s inability to bear more than one girl child. In Gunnhild’s relationship with Alan’s brother, Niall, she finds comfort, but as that relationship blossoms into consummated love it brings guilt and the shame of betrayal. The Swan-Daughter sweeps the reader along with Gunnhild’s elopement and escape from a nunnery into a life fraught with difficulty in a strange new country.

[Anne-Mammy]

I had really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, the Handfasted Wife, but this second volume did not live to expectations. In fact it's more like 3.5 stars. I found I could not really warm to Gunnhild the heroine. Yes, Alan was a difficult husband, but he was a man of his time and I suspect that Gunnhild perhaps reacted to him as a XXIst century wife might. The historical background, the fight between William and his son Curthose, the compiling of the Domesday book are interesting as well as the depiction of 11th century daily life and obstetrics. However, I have read several books about this period, so discovering the way people lived and the influence of the church in every aspect of their lives was not enough to keep me interested or entertained. I would have liked to know more about Alan and what made him tick and why he related to Gunnhild the way he did.
Still, if you are new to this period, you will no doubt find the book enjoyable. It might be easier to start with the first volume of the trilogy to become more familiar with Gunnhild's family although, there is plenty of background given in order for the book to work as a stand alone story.

[Donna]

“The Swan-Daughter” is the second book in the Daughters of Hastings trilogy but absolutely stands alone as a beautifully crafted and historically rich tale of 11th century England and Normandy. The story follows Gunnhild, the daughter of the King Harold II and his hand-fasted wife Elditha, and her marriage to the Breton knight Count Alan. As with other Anglo Saxon noble women following the Battle of Hastings, Gunnhild’s choices were limited to seeking safety in the convent or marriage to the enemy. This story begins when Gunnhild choses to leave Wilton Abbey and elope with Alan.

I was totally immersed in Gunnhild’s story, the romantic yet very plausible life that McGrath crafted for her, and the look at the fascinating intricacies of medieval life in castle, keep, and abbey. I admit I was a little sad when the book ended. It's works like this that show the turmoil and devastation that occurred in England in the aftermath of the Conquest and the resentment of the English toward the invaders that existed for many years and exists among some even today. I’ll definitely seek out more by this author.

[Jo]

Gunnhild is the daughter of Harold, the English king killed by Norman invaders. After the battle she goes to live in a convent with her aunt. As she matures she realises she doesn't want to take the veil and so elopes with a Norman knight. Alan, however, is not the romantic hero she envisioned. McGrath has such an engaging writing style that breathes life into the story of a long-dead Saxon princess. The vision of the novelist fills in the gaps left by the historical record.

[Cheryl]

The book provided a good idea of life in the 11th century, post-Norman Conquest. It brought to life the sights, smells, and activities that were the norm. My only criticisms are that there was some repetitiveness in the details, and it leaned too much into the romance genre. I love the history; and I enjoyed experiencing the lives of the people.

[Wendy]

A relatively decent historical fiction, with a fair amount of romance, which covers the life of Gunnhild, daughter of Battle of Hastings loser and victim King Harold Godwinson and Edith "Swan Neck" in the aftermath of the Norman conquest. It seems to be a pretty well researched book, and overall found it an enjoyable read.

[Terry]

A wonderful followup to The Hand-Fasted Wife. I enjoyed learning about life in 11th century England and France. The characterizations and descriptions are well developed. Looking forward to reading the 3rd book of the trilogy. Definitely recommended but read the first book of the trilogy first before reading this one.

[Miss J]

Indeed fascination view

Though fiction it is indeed a fascinating insight to yet another little known great medieval lady and what she could have been like.

Story is kept at a good pace and not to 'romantic', so doesn't get repetitive and you don't end up skipping parts.

[Maria]

I finished the first book and I thoroughly enjoyed it but book II kept me completely engrossed and I found myself put out at being interrupted by anyone at all. I don't think I'd want to live in these times but I do love reading about it. To Carol McGrath 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[Marie Z Johansen]

Excellent Historical Fiction Read

Working my way through this most excellent trilogy. These books are , imho, are very well done and are engrossing reading

[Michelle]

4.5

[Carol]

3.5 Good but slow

[Jacqueline]

I enjoyed book 1, loved this one and can't wait to start book 3. It's deepened my knowledge of mediaeval history, fiction aside, and I'd definitely recommend Carol McGrath as an author

[Charles W Johnson]

Outstanding!

I fell in love with this book!!! It was fantastic, I could not stop reading it! The absolute best part was the end.

[Lauren Sophia]

3.5

[Dick R. McCart]

Engaging

Carol is a author with quite a story here. The characters are lively and engaging, and the action is continuous.