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A Domesday Tale
November 1086--The borders of England and Normandy are strangled in the throes of constant war, a tyrannical Royal Family is splintered by treachery, and brothers poisoned by avarice vie for power. Trapped within the turbulent clan, Simon, a bastard, and Maura, a ward, are forced to wage a desperate and endless battle for survival, peace, and the freedom to love.
- GenresBritish Literature
462 pages, Paperback
Published September 21, 2015
About the author
M. Garfield
4 books6 followersA bit about myself...I have told stories since I was very young, written them since I learned how to write, and now I have the extreme pleasure of publishing them. Everything an author experiences in their lifetime aids them with their writing. I was blessed with an extraordinarily happy childhood in Virginia. After graduating from high school I worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Vietnam where I unfortunately encountered a great deal of horror. I suffer from PTSD from this experience. While frequently disabling, my condition has also been quite helpful in portraying a true vision of a dire and fractious time in medieval history.
From my post in Vietnam, I was almost immediately transferred to London where I lived for three years, still working for the DIA at the U.S. Embassy. Despite extreme stress from violent politics and nightmarish work, I fell in love with the United Kingdom, its people, and its history. Although I was not able to make a permanent life there, I have remained enamored ever since, and continued to study the history and visit the country whenever I can. After London, I moved to Oakland, California where I met my beloved husband Eric. We moved to Portland where we married and I finished my degree in psychology and British history. We then moved to Colorado where I spent the next two years studying and acquiring my certification as a Childbirth Educator.
Eric and I have since made our permanent home in Colorado. I dearly love my state, which is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the US. It was in Colorado Springs that I gave birth to my two exceedingly superior children, Rachel and Martin. Colorado is my home base, and a very fine one at that.
From an early age, I have studied the history of the United Kingdom and, for some reason (I'm not certain why) after moving to California I became rather obsessed with the family and history of William the Conqueror. I had been writing fictional historical stories before then and began formulating a tale of the royal family that occurred twenty years after the conquest of England. It took many years of research and approximately ten years to write my tale of Simon and Maura. After a decade of trying and failing to achieve traditional publishing, I joined with my illustrious nephew Evren Bilgihan to create Pennaeth (the Welsh word for Chieftain) Publishing and we published my novels independently. Evren is also the brilliant illustrator for the cover of A Domesday Tale and the digital designer for the covers of all my novels.
After thirty years, I was forced to retire from my occupation as Childbirth Educator, Doula, Parenting Educator, and Breastfeeding Educator due to crippling pain from a car accident and too many operations. One positive outcome of my retirement is that I have been able to publish all three of my novels and my young adult novel in the span of five years. After another car accident in 2015 made my condition untenable, in January of 2017 I met a neurosurgeon in Denver, in fact one of the physicians that created the spinal stimulator for pain relief. I underwent surgery to implant the device near my spine and achieved almost 90% pain relief. It was a virtual miracle! Since my last operation, I have traveled to Normandy, Wales, and England twice to acquire an enormous amount of visual and written research concerning my present and future novels. I will return next year as well, and after my husband retires perhaps stay for more than just a month.
My greatest joy is my family. My second joy is writing for adults and young adults, who wish to learn and dream of living in a time of history that was frequently tragic, challenging, and fulfilling--yet always fascinating.
I thank you for spending time reading about my life, and I hope for enjoying my novels as well. I am quite proud of my work and passionately look forward to my future tales and triumphs.
From my post in Vietnam, I was almost immediately transferred to London where I lived for three years, still working for the DIA at the U.S. Embassy. Despite extreme stress from violent politics and nightmarish work, I fell in love with the United Kingdom, its people, and its history. Although I was not able to make a permanent life there, I have remained enamored ever since, and continued to study the history and visit the country whenever I can. After London, I moved to Oakland, California where I met my beloved husband Eric. We moved to Portland where we married and I finished my degree in psychology and British history. We then moved to Colorado where I spent the next two years studying and acquiring my certification as a Childbirth Educator.
Eric and I have since made our permanent home in Colorado. I dearly love my state, which is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the US. It was in Colorado Springs that I gave birth to my two exceedingly superior children, Rachel and Martin. Colorado is my home base, and a very fine one at that.
From an early age, I have studied the history of the United Kingdom and, for some reason (I'm not certain why) after moving to California I became rather obsessed with the family and history of William the Conqueror. I had been writing fictional historical stories before then and began formulating a tale of the royal family that occurred twenty years after the conquest of England. It took many years of research and approximately ten years to write my tale of Simon and Maura. After a decade of trying and failing to achieve traditional publishing, I joined with my illustrious nephew Evren Bilgihan to create Pennaeth (the Welsh word for Chieftain) Publishing and we published my novels independently. Evren is also the brilliant illustrator for the cover of A Domesday Tale and the digital designer for the covers of all my novels.
After thirty years, I was forced to retire from my occupation as Childbirth Educator, Doula, Parenting Educator, and Breastfeeding Educator due to crippling pain from a car accident and too many operations. One positive outcome of my retirement is that I have been able to publish all three of my novels and my young adult novel in the span of five years. After another car accident in 2015 made my condition untenable, in January of 2017 I met a neurosurgeon in Denver, in fact one of the physicians that created the spinal stimulator for pain relief. I underwent surgery to implant the device near my spine and achieved almost 90% pain relief. It was a virtual miracle! Since my last operation, I have traveled to Normandy, Wales, and England twice to acquire an enormous amount of visual and written research concerning my present and future novels. I will return next year as well, and after my husband retires perhaps stay for more than just a month.
My greatest joy is my family. My second joy is writing for adults and young adults, who wish to learn and dream of living in a time of history that was frequently tragic, challenging, and fulfilling--yet always fascinating.
I thank you for spending time reading about my life, and I hope for enjoying my novels as well. I am quite proud of my work and passionately look forward to my future tales and triumphs.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 31, 2016
This book was a rollicking read. The author kept the action moving and had very good character development. She provided a good mix of action, romance, and humor, and mixed them well. It was one of those books where the characters stayed with me long after I finished it.
I love historical fiction, so I enjoyed seeing real people from the time of the Norman Conquest brought to life again and integrated so well into the storyline. The characterizations were so good that I often had trouble remembering who was real and who was fictional. I learned a lot about the Normans and the Welsh, and of the effect of the Conquest on the peoples of the British Isles.
And I very much appreciated the author’s attention to good grammar.
I am looking forward very much to the sequel!
I love historical fiction, so I enjoyed seeing real people from the time of the Norman Conquest brought to life again and integrated so well into the storyline. The characterizations were so good that I often had trouble remembering who was real and who was fictional. I learned a lot about the Normans and the Welsh, and of the effect of the Conquest on the peoples of the British Isles.
And I very much appreciated the author’s attention to good grammar.
I am looking forward very much to the sequel!
April 26, 2016
An intricately woven novel of love, hate, greed, power and forgiveness – A Doomsday Tale was captivating from the first page.
Set in England during the 11th century, Maggie Garfield has created such richly defined characters that are true not only to the time period, but true to the intricacies and temperaments that she has created for them. They leap from the page, grabbing your heart and mind until you find yourself completely enveloped in their story, cheering their victories and cursing their obstacles.
The world that is described around the characters and the story that is woven had me sitting for hours at a time, engrossed in this tale. I highly recommend this book – and absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to continue following the story that has ignited a curiosity and passion for a time period which I previously had no knowledge or interest in.
Set in England during the 11th century, Maggie Garfield has created such richly defined characters that are true not only to the time period, but true to the intricacies and temperaments that she has created for them. They leap from the page, grabbing your heart and mind until you find yourself completely enveloped in their story, cheering their victories and cursing their obstacles.
The world that is described around the characters and the story that is woven had me sitting for hours at a time, engrossed in this tale. I highly recommend this book – and absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to continue following the story that has ignited a curiosity and passion for a time period which I previously had no knowledge or interest in.
June 4, 2017
I can track back to how I first became a medieval buff. One night some 40 years ago the great film The Lion in Winter was to show on TV. What drew me to watch was a one-line description in the TV Guide - "A dysfunctional family in the 12th century". I watched and have come to love all things medieval because of it. Perhaps it is this background which makes me truly love Margaret Garfield's fine novel A Domesday Tale, because it could easily be described as "a dysfunctional family in the 11th century". Most of us are familiar with the historical personages of that crucial time in history - William the Conqueror (then called the Bastard), his sons Robert, William the Elder, WIlliam the Younger, Henry, and his brother Odo, but what Garfield skillfully does is weave her story around the members of William's extended family.
It is her vivid characterization and the tensions, conflicts and changing alliances of that family that gives the story its drive. The events of history serve as a backdrop, while she weaves the tapestry of the central love story of Maura and Simon, a couple whose passion is only matched by the challenges that other family relationships and plots place in their way. I'll admit it took a while to orient myself to who was who in this large cast, but within a short time I came to really care for these young lovers, who face tortures both physical and psychological on their path to finally joining together their fated lives.
A plot with many twists, turns and missed meetings (I don't think I give away too much when I reveal the biggest problem the two protagonists seem to have is ever being in the same castle at the same time) keeps the reader fully engaged.
It is her vivid characterization and the tensions, conflicts and changing alliances of that family that gives the story its drive. The events of history serve as a backdrop, while she weaves the tapestry of the central love story of Maura and Simon, a couple whose passion is only matched by the challenges that other family relationships and plots place in their way. I'll admit it took a while to orient myself to who was who in this large cast, but within a short time I came to really care for these young lovers, who face tortures both physical and psychological on their path to finally joining together their fated lives.
A plot with many twists, turns and missed meetings (I don't think I give away too much when I reveal the biggest problem the two protagonists seem to have is ever being in the same castle at the same time) keeps the reader fully engaged.
November 5, 2015
This story is fast paced. The historical characters are well-researched and the author makes them leap from the pages; their lust for power, their greed and, their frailties. The fictional characters, placed in the middle of the royals, are both heroes and victims that pluck at your emotions and effortlessly make you root for and care about them. Set in a time the history with which I'm only moderately familiar, I was impressed that the author wove details and explanations into the story that brought it all to life but didn't bog it down. An excellent read.
November 5, 2015
A fascinating story set during an unusual time. Brings distant historical characters to vivid life and makes them relatable and human as we watch them fight for power and love. The setting and time period deeply informs the characters, their beliefs, and their actions, yet they feel as relatable as any character in a contemporary novel. The history is also meticulously researched and the actual events and struggles are fascinating and clearly explained. I look forward to the sequel!
January 29, 2016
A fabulous book from a little known time in history. This story explores joys and trails of the extended family of William the Conqueror. Truly a delight to read from cover to cover. Can't wait for the sequel!
April 29, 2017
I love a big fat book I can get lost in. The author has done the right research and the tale flows true. Action, insight, betrayal, great dialogue.
October 26, 2019
very good book
June 1, 2016
A historical novel that stays true to history.
Extensive research has brought the historical figures to life, creating a world where the fictional characters fit in seamlessly. Lovers of medieval history will not be disappointed, nor will those who love historical novels. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Extensive research has brought the historical figures to life, creating a world where the fictional characters fit in seamlessly. Lovers of medieval history will not be disappointed, nor will those who love historical novels. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews