The Abbess of Whitby: a Novel of Hild of Northumbria

by Jill Dalladay

The dramatic story of a seventh-century evangelist.
Chosen as Eostre s handmaid, Hild will serve the fertility goddess for a year before being wed. Her future is predictable until King Edwin claims her as kin and she learns that her father was murdered.
Her first love is given a command in Edwin s forces and vanishes from her life, wed to her sister. The court is baptized, ending the old religion and Hild s role. Life looks bleak. She can t stop wondering who killed her father.
Suspecting Edwin, she challenges him, only to be married off to safeguard his northern frontier. Struggling in a loveless marriage, she is intrigued by the Iona priests making pilgrimages to spread Christ s love. When home and family are lost in Oswy's sack of Edinburgh, she finds herself in enemy hands, but meets the charismatic Aidan.
Inspired and guided by him, she builds communities to live and teach Christ s love. She attracts followers. Even her old enemy, King Oswy, entrusts his child to her, gives her Whitby, and seeks her help to reconcile divisions in his kingdom.
She never ceases battling against old superstitions resurrected by storm, plague, and solar eclipse, but at last she receives a bishop s blessing from a man she trained herself.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Medieval, Religion, Christianity, British Literature, Historical

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Jill Dalladay is a classicist, historian, and former head teacher who pioneered the Cambridge Latin course. She lives in Whitby, England.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, touching book -- the fictional life of Hild of Whitby, from her childhood experience as a Maiden of the pagan fertility goddess Eostre, through her life in the royal court of Edwin, acting as nursemaid to the royal children, her marriage and lingering death of her husband, Cerdic, through her surrender to God and godly life as abbess and founder of churches. This was compelling reading. I liked how it covered the full and satisfying life of this amazing woman.

I was plunged immediately into a colorful 7th century Northumbria. Back then England was divided into separate kingdoms. Some were at war with each other: this was shown in the novel. The author's style was limpid and the story flowed easily from her pen. I felt the blurb on the back cover was inaccurate; I would have not described either Edwin or Cerdic in those terms. This book was well worth reading for the story of a strong woman, the spirituality and for learning something about early Christianity in Britain.

I thank LibraryThing Early Reviewers for my copy in return for my honest review.

[English · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw Lion Fiction (Kregel in the US) the Publisher of Edoardo Albert's fantastic Northumbrian Thrones Series, set in seventh century England were bringing out another book about a major figure from this time, I snapped it up. I confess to a long-enduring love for the Anglo-Saxon era, and the seventh century was a golden age for the famous Kingdom of Northumbria.

Whilst many other works set at this time are very masculine with an emphasis on battles, war and politics it was interesting to find a story that looks at the time from a female perspective focused on everyday life, family relationships and the management of estates.
Such a woman was Hild, sometimes known as St Hilda, born to a royal Saxon father and British mother. Little is known of her early life and adulthood, before she assumed the leadership of Whitby Abbey- in its day one of the most famous religious houses of Northern England.

As such, much of the novel is what I would call speculative history (based on likely circumstances of what might have been but we cannot know for certain), recounting Hild's journey through marriage, life the turbulent political circumstances of the time and place, and ultimately to faith.
After her conversion, and entry into a religious house, Hild has been lauded as one of the most powerful and influential women of her time- Kings and clerics came to her for advice, and her Abbey trained men who would one day become Priests, Bishops and Missionaries- even a poet.

Her story and those of her fellows are told with honesty, compassion and is compelling enough to hold the reader's interest. My only complaints were the writing style. Somehow, in the narrative passages it lacked the descriptive, almost poetic beauty of Edoardo Albert's novels which evoke Tolkien and the Epic Literature of the age, instead a rather informal conversational tone is used.
At times, this resulted in language that seemed too modern for the time, and certain turns of phrase which might have been unique to Northern England which might pass over readers from other backgrounds. I did spot a few anachronisms, and in places the writing seemed a little 'rushed', and I found myself reading passages again as within a sentence or two the characters would love to a different room, place or situation. Sometimes it could be hard to keep up.
However, the author's note suggests that much sound research had gone into the story, so maybe what felt like a lack of a 'sense of period' in some parts can be put down to personal opinion.

Aside from the above, this book had many positives. It is a wonderful spiritual biography of one of the most important women in Early Medieval Christian Britain. I would certainly recommend to any interested in women's history or this fascinating, formative era of England's past.

Thanks to Lion Fiction for the copy they gave me for review. I was not required to write a positive one an all opinions expressed are my own.

[Theresa Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since childhood I have been fascinated by stories of Hild, the powerful Abbess of Whitby, born a princess of Northumbria, who ruled a monastery of both men and women. I’ve often thought that someone with detailed knowledge of this exciting period should write a historical novel that focussed entirely on her life – and I am so pleased that Jill Dalladay has done it at last - and done it splendidly.
The story moves along at a good pace and the style of writing is clear and easy to read. All the familiar characters from Bede are here: Caedmon, Wilfrid, Cuthbert, Oswald, Oswy, all brought vividly to life - I especially enjoyed the characterisation of Aidan and Hild's women Begu and Frigyd. However, the most impressive section of the novel for me was the imagined, but very plausible telling of Hild’s early life, firstly as a handmaiden to the spring goddess Eostre at King Edwin’s Court and then her strategic marriage to a chieftain of the Goddodin. I loved the development of Hild’s courageous, but very practical attitude to life and felt that this explained why she became so capable and influential in her time. The links between the Old Norse religions and Christianity are well described and the gradual changes made understandable. I don’t want to say too much and spoil the surprises, but the novel inspired me to go on a recent trip to Edinburgh and sent me on a mission to investigate Doon Hill, an excavated site where an Anglian style hall of the correct date would have overlooked the Firth of Forth and Dunbar. Those who know something of the 7th century will find Jill Dalladay’s theories fascinating and readers who are new to the period will discover an uplifting, exciting and human story – and perhaps be inspired to read more about this interesting period of history.

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Dalladay immerses the reader in the turbulent world of 7th-century Britain, where everything is changing, and vividly tells the life story of the woman who played a key role in the creation of England: Hild of Whitby.

[Glenys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these type of historical novels that give body to lives only sketched briefly in history books.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 7th century AD, young Hild, who attends her queen, is chosen as the handmaid of Eostre. She goes about blessing the plants and animals to insure their fertility. The handmaid serves for one year, when a new one is chosen. Hild, however, turns out to be the last handmaid, as the rulers of the land turn away from the old religions and adopt Christianity. While Hild’s king holds to the old religion of Woden and Thor, the queen is a Christian.

“England” as a unified country does not exist yet. Numerous kings battle constantly over land and resources. Many marriages are made to cement peace treaties; every royal girl must expect this to happen to them. Hild did not expect this to happen to her, but it turns out she has enough royal blood to be a bargaining chip. A marriage that is loveless at first is arranged for her and she has to leave the people she grew up with. This won’t last long though; the incessant battles mean she is driven from her new home.

Hild is a very resourceful woman. She knows the healing arts and is skilled in running a household. As she finds herself pushed from place to place during a hard life, she always manages to make the best of her situation; not just making things better for herself, but for those around her. She finds herself curious about this new religion, as joyous Christian brothers roam the land, spreading their faith. She learns to read and write, copying their books and memorizing them. Gradually, without really thinking about it, she finds herself the leader of a Christian community, where despite their poverty, everything is shared.

Of course even they are buffeted by raids and wars. Brothers and bishops are killed. The plague wipes out a huge segment of the population. But a change as big as the baptism of the population comes when one bishop takes on the ways of Rome, insisting on gathering riches for the church, forsaking the vow of poverty, and making the accoutrements of the church and the bishop-hood of gold and silk.

The book covers Hild’s life in detail from childhood to death. It vividly portrays the hardships of the era- no one, including royalty- had comfortable, easy lives. People slept on straw. Food was scarce, particularly in drought years or when raids occurred. Medicine consisted of a few herbal remedies. Every single thing had to be made from scratch. But despite the vividness of the settings and the details of everyday life, the book is slow and pretty unexciting. Hild is strong, smart, and of good heart, but she never really springs into life on the page. The book was interesting, but not really gripping. And I found the portrayal of the Old Norse religion as ‘evil’ annoying. Just because it was different doesn’t mean it was evil.

[Ben Jeapes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't be misled by the romance novel-type cover: the soft and sultry nun. Hild was a kind and gentle soul, but she was as tough as nails, and the book is realistic in its approach to life in the seventh century. It makes it very clear that by her thirties, Hild was an old woman.

The author is frank about the absence of information concerning Hild's early years, so she deals in probabilities. Hild would almost certainly have grown up a pagan, and been married. As the historical record makes no mention of those, both items have to be dealt with by the time she is what she is famous for - the founding abbess of Whitby. This is a realistic, warts-and-all slice of life in a world that was transitioning from paganism to Christianity. To young Hild, the former is familiar and comforting, the latter is new and strange; as she grows, so her perceptions change and develop, until the latter is familiar and comforting and much, much better than the former. Meanwhile, she is a woman in world ruled by men, who mostly seem to be at war. Time and again, life is disrupted for everyone because one particular ruler feels more entitled to their territory than another.

My criticisms are that there is very little characterisation from the start: you have to keep reading for some time before you begin to get a grasp of both Hild and everyone else. And, in her fictitious youth, Hild is a handmaiden of the goddess Eostre, who I am almost certain has been historically discredited.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a fascinating story of the gradual transition from the old Roman and Greek Gods in Europe to Christianity. It revolves around the life of a young girl named Hild, just chosen to be the maid of Eostre, as she grows up in a violent and battle ridden area of what will later become England.
It goes through her life, from growing up to marriage, to motherhood, and eventually to how she becomes a woman in a group dedicated to Jesus and the Christo-Judean God.
I think the most fascinating part is of the whole book is watching Hild evolve from a young woman, very much a believer in the old Gods and Ways, to her unbelieving baptism where everyone was baptized because their liege lord was, to her full conversion to Christianity.
The book seemed long as times, and dragged, but overall, it was a good read.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please read the Goodreads summary above. It's kind of sloppy and over informative, so see my guidance below.
I read and was fascinated by Nicola Griffith's "Hild", which it turns out was much more fiction (including Hild having the power of premonition) than history. That’s why I chose to read this book; I wanted to know more about the real Hild.
The author of this novel noted that Hild(a) of Whitby’s history as an adult was first recounted in Bede’s “A History of the English Church and People” (731) starting with her early 30’s. We also know of her at age thirteen through her royal connection to Edwin of Northumbria when his court was baptized en masse.
So, the author did have a lot of filling in to do, but as she explained in her "Author's Note" at the end, she did so using contemporary sources and practices.
There was a great deal of unrest (war!) in the many kingdoms of Great Britain during her lifetime. To add to that unrest, as to the Germanic cultures of Great Britain, the shift from the old gods (very similar to Nordic mythology) to Christianity was still in flux. As such, her life is a useful snapshot of Great Britain at that time.
The last portion of the book entails her practice as a Christian lay minister. It seems that in her time women were permitted more of a role in the Church. Why? Because Rome was only beginning to exert its influence.
This was more learning than action (“Hild” has a sequel coming out!) but I did appreciate what I learned.
FYI map of population of Great Britain approx. 600 CE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_o...

[Rob Mackintosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Dalladay’s The Abbess of Whitby picks up more or less at the point where Nicola Griffith ends her first volume, so that I could follow Hild’s whole life story in these two novels.
Both Griffith and Dalladay have clearly put in the hours and years it takes to produce good historical fiction, particularly as Anglo-Saxon written history only begins from the seventh century, when Roman and Irish clergy and monks began to put pen to parchment, almost exclusively in Latin, the language of the Church.
What makes Dalladay’s Hild fascinating as an historical figure is that, at Whitby, Hild ruled over a dual monastery comprising both women and men, where she raised an educated group of young men who went on to become the next generation of indigenous bishops. Hild hosted the crucial Synod of Whitby that finally settled the question of the ‘correct’ date of Easter that all of the Saxon kingdoms could adhere to, and the Irish monks in Deira and elsewhere withdrew to Iona in Scotland. Dalladay attends to all these aspects with insight and care, even though the fine line between teaching and presenting is easily crossed.
This was a time of significant change in the Church’s attitude towards the ministry and authority of women. Hild, and abbesses like her in Kent, stood as early examples of recognised spiritual authority, exercised by women, in the leadership of both women and men. How and why was this lost for so many centuries?
While the overall cast of characters in The Abbess of Whitby is smaller than those in Griffith’s Hild, we don’t come to ‘know’ them or Hild in quite the same depth, but that does not detract from the core story as it unfolds. It is good to see this era brought alive under the pen of a fine author, and Dalladay has the added advantage of living in Whitby where many of the novel’s events take place. Definitely a good and accessible read!
https://www.robmackintosh.net

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by this period of history, when Christianity was taking hold in Britain, and particularly the women who lived through it. Which is why I picked up this novel. It's roughly in three parts - Hild's maidenhood, her marriage, and her time as an Abbess. I loved the first section, enjoyed the second, and got rather bored by the third, which is a shame. By the end there were just too many characters coming in and out to get attached to, too many big events covered in just a chapter (hello, the plague!). I also wanted a better sense of Hild's own spiritual experience.

So overall, I enjoyed it, but would have preferred the same energy from the early pages to have been sustained the whole way through.

[Devin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as it was my first introduction to Hild but it was written in such a way that I couldn’t see why I was reading it. Basically even when things were going “wrong” it was all sunshine and roses. While Hild changed over the years, there was no real character development. Her son disappears and is never mentioned again. Does that sound even remotely likely? I know that storyline isn’t necessarily based in fact but to not even have it tie in with the second half of the book just doesn’t make literary sense. Why make up history if it doesn’t help further develop and explain decisions faced by the character later in life? I’m still learning about Hild so I’m not upset I read this book, but I wish it could have been so much more than it was.

[Saphraneet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually I give this book a 3.5 rating. It showed me a way of life at a time and place in history that I have been curious about for a while. The so-called kings in seventh century Britain lived more like nomads than potentates in permanent castles. They seemed to always be on the move and on the alert to keep rule over their territories, which naturally affected their families and "subjects" living with them. Most of the characters in the book were real historical people and I appreciated learning how they impacted the development of Christianity in early Britain. But although the book was interesting, the author's style of writing did not click with me.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book slow at start, and a little confusing. However I kept going and I’m pleased I did. The family tree diagrams and maps were really helpful - I think I’d have given up without them, but when i embraced its fictional nature it was much better. It’s good to see an inspirational woman of old written about and acknowledged. Did it say somewhere what a thegn is? It referred to them constantly and I found out, but an explanation near the beginning would have been good. In summary it opened my mind to a world I knew nothing about and sparked my curiosity. Surely that’s why we read books…?

[David Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read with an obvious historical bent in a little known period of English/British history. Dalladay did some very good research and her speculative jumps are well nuanced, logical and interesting. The prose is good and her characters are well studied.

It is worth reading Hild by Nicola Griffith on this character for another excellent foray into Hild's life and times.

Add to that Mervyn Bragg's Credo (1996) on these times and the same characters if you are interested in this period.

[Corinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoy Celtic stories, especially about those who are considered Orthodox saints. This book is about Queen Ethelburga, whose incorrupt hand I have seen in England and King Edwin of Northumbria whose icon we have, as Edwin is my husband’s middle name and his mother was from near there. But, the book was very boring to me. I gave up at 100 pages in.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this insight into the 7th century as Britain is starting to unite. The transition from pagan to Christian and the different impact of Celtic and Roman traditions are well told through the eyes of a young girl who grows to influence all levels of society.

[Sabrina]

I have picked up this book 3 different times. I just can't finish it. It seems disjointed and hard to follow. I think I will try again at some point, but am putting this book back in my TBR pile for now.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great immersive story line. Loved the storytelling of a historic story of Britain, with strong characters you get to know before the end. A great read all around.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more. The story was good, but the writing style just wasn't for me.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Fascinating character, Hild of Whitby.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Kregel Publications for no charge in exchange for my honest review of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.







Book Description:




The dramatic story of a seventh-century evangelist


Chosen as Eostre s handmaid, Hild will serve the fertility goddess for a year before being wed. Her future is predictable until King Edwin claims her as kin and she learns that her father was murdered.
Her first love is given a command in Edwin s forces and vanishes from her life, wed to her sister. The court is baptized, ending the old religion and Hild s role. Life looks bleak. She can t stop wondering who killed her father.
Suspecting Edwin, she challenges him, only to be married off to safeguard his northern frontier. Struggling in a loveless marriage, she is intrigued by the Iona priests making pilgrimages to spread Christ s love. When home and family are lost in Oswy s sack of Edinburgh, she finds herself in enemy hands, but meets the charismatic Aidan.
Inspired and guided by him, she builds communities to live and teach Christ s love. She attracts followers. Even her old enemy, King Oswy, entrusts his child to her, gives her Whitby, and seeks her help to reconcile divisions in his kingdom.
She never ceases battling against old superstitions resurrected by storm, plague, and solar eclipse, but at last she receives a bishop s blessing from a man she trained herself.







My Thoughts:




The Abbess of Whitby: A Novel of Hild of Northumbia is Jill Dalladay's debut novel and it is fantastic. As a huge fan of Christian Historical Fiction and of debut authors, I couldn't not pass of the opportunity to read this. This book takes place in 7th Century Medieval England, where beliefs are in the gods and goddesses, making sacrifices in their names but the belief of the One God is starting to pick up throughout the world. This story starts when Hild is 12 years old and goes through her life and her role in Christianity in England. I learned so much about Christianity's beginnings, the ending of the worship of many gods, and 7th Century England. I am not very familiar with this time in history so there were many things I found myself looking up and reading more about. Jill Dalladay writes with authority about 7th Century England, beliefs of that time, the hierarchy of this time, and the ups and downs of war. I found myself in awe of how the transition from pagan religion to Christianity took place, how Christianity was spread throughout the countries, and how whole countries accepted Christ and were baptized. Even Hild's story shows the transformation from pagan worship to acceptance of the Christ. I found myself unable to put this book down as I found myself caught up in Hild's story. I enjoyed Jill Dallady's style of writing and am excited to read more from her. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Historical Fiction, especially about Christianity. I give this book 4.5 STARS

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew about the saints of northern England. I went to a school named after Saint Aidan. I had been to Durham and seen the shrine of Saint Cuthbert. I’d visited Durham and Lindisfarne. But I don’t recall hearing about Hild, and other female saints, until recently. And, since English history tends to begin around 1066, I knew nothing of the individual kingdoms except maybe their names. The Abbess of Whitby has changed all that. This is an in-depth look at seventh century life in what is now northern England and southern Scotland.

It’s a complex book. At the beginning there are maps, family trees and a list of characters. I referred to them often. Hild lived in two different kingdoms before joining religious communities. There were different kings with their wives, sons and advisors. There were different people with similar names, and fathers and sons with the same name. Alliances kept changing and kings were almost always going off to war with each other. Royal women were used as brides to seal deals, but often outlived the men they were forced into marrying. Jill Dalladay has captured all of that.

Dalladay also shows the reader how Christianity gradually came to the land. Edwin kept to the pagan rituals although his wife was Christian. A bargain made with her religious advisor ensured that their newborn daughter was baptized. Eventually, Edwin was also baptized and made his court go through the process as well. I found it interesting that although Hild was baptized at that time she kept to some of the old ways, even as she learned more about Christianity. Her conversion was not immediate. I also learned about the divisions between Roman and Celtic Christianity. Saint Wilfrid, it turns out, was partly responsible for these, favoring the pomposity and power that came from Rome while Hild and her communities preferred a simpler way of living.

I loved reading The Abbess of Whitby. Yes, it gets confusing due to the issues I’ve listed above. But Jill Dalladay has brought all these historical people to life in such a way that I felt I got to know them a lot better than I did previously. I now have a deeper understanding of what life was like in the British Isles at that time, both the good and bad of it. Hild was a woman raised to endure bloody battles between rival kingdoms, but who finally found her place and peace in the Lord. This is definitely one of my favorite books of 2015.

Thank you to Kregel for my complimentary copy of The Abbess of Whitby, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

[Beckie Burnham · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a time of low literacy, pagan worship and a male dominated society, Hild of Whitby was a great woman of learning and influence in the early church in England. In The Abbess of Whitby, Jill Dalladay successfully creates a story of love, grace and redemption out of a murky past. If you are looking for a novel that exemplifies the passion for the gospel combined with a riveting historical narrative, then you need to check this one out.

The novel begins when 12 year old Hild, the cousin of King Edwin of Deria, has been chosen as Eoster’s maid. Fully immersed in the lore of the pagan gods who determine everthing — success in war and crops and fertility — Hild embraces the life she has been given. Life in the royal court in 7th century England is not glamorous, but consists of hard work, deprivation and constant political intrigue and war. And as a woman, Hild must fulfill her duties to king and husband. But the old ways are slowly being replaced by a new God who is personal and sacrifices Himself instead of demanding sacrifice.

The Abbess of Whitby is a well-crafted historical novel. Dalladay does a wonderful job of putting the reader right in the middle of a very foreign world. Seventh century England is very different from our modern world. Just the day to day routines of life seem overwhelming without modern sanitation, medicine and technology. There is also the constant struggle for prominence and power by the leaders of the day. Alliances are built and betrayed, wars are fought, territory is traded, but life continues to go on. Hild’s character dominates the narrative. Building on the historical record, Dalladay creates a very plausible and intriguing picture of the woman who established religious houses, trained young men to the gospel work and helped to broker peace within the early church. The Abbess of Whitby is not dry and dusty, but a personal view of a woman who sought answers to the complex questions of life. And while the writing style took a bit of getting used to, and I wished there had been a glossary of Anglo-Saxon terms, I found this novel to be beautifully written and relevant to our modern day life. Yes, life in the 7th century was different, but people haven’t changed that much. Fourteen hundred years after Hild’s death, men still long for peace in a chaotic and confusing world.

For those who love historical fiction, The Abbess of Whitby is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

Great for book clubs.

(Thanks to Kregel and Lion Hudson for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

[Vera Godley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently read several novels written by individuals highly involved in the histories of the medieval period. I have found them interesting though a bit difficult to read because of the names of the people and places. I personally like to actually involve myself a bit in researching a period in which a story is immersed to garner more information on said period and to judge the authenticity of it as well.

The Abbess of whitby is staged in the 7th century of medieval Britain. It involves an actual historical individual - Hild of Northumbria. The author, Jill Dalladay, has extensively researched other author's works including the venerable Bede. I found that Hild's story parallels previous works, Edwin: High King of Britain and Oswald: Return of the King by Edoardo Albert. I found it interesting to again meet these ancient kings in Hild's story.

While Hild is actually born into the royal line, her plight is not easy. Life was very rustic and hard in Northumbria in the 7th century. It was interesting to read about the life and activities of the times fleshed out by the author who based much of it on archeological finds and her own imagination. The peoples of Northumbria worshiped the ancient gods but were gradually being introduced to Christianity.

I found it interesting how the transition from pagan religion to Christianity took place. How Christianity was spread and how whole clans or "countries" accepted it. Hild's story is just that - transition or transformation from pagan worship to acceptance of the Christ as Savior. It is about how Hild became a leader through her very humble servant's heart, and of the eventual establishment of a very important religious house in Northern England.

I found this an easier to read than other medieval historical novels, yet still I flipped back and forth a bit to review people and places on the informational maps and lists in the front of the book. These were a big help. The author gives a short dialogue in the back on her research of the period and her reading list of helpful works.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Kregel Publications on behalf of Lion Fiction to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

[Meagan Myhren-Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Abbess of Whitby
A Novel of Hild Northumbria
By Jill Dalladay

Seventh century Britain is a land that is in turmoil the old ways are in conflict with the new ways that are moving in. This is the world in which Hild finds herself.

A father never known murdered at her birth. A king's niece, brought up to be the price of allegiance. A servant of the goddess Eostre. Wife. Mother. All those describe Hild but these only touch the surface of who she was.

Caught between the warring of kings and princes at the time of Edwin, Penda, Cadwallon, Oswald, and Oswy Hild's life offers a glimpse of this world from the eyes of a woman. In the midst of the chaos wrought by war, priests for an unknown God bring a message of peace.

This message of peace is exactly what Hild will need as she loses all she holds dear. One traveling priest had a profound impact on Hild's life. Aidan's teachings helped Hild come to understand this Christ who was starting to have an influence across Britain. This influence would lead Hild to become both a servant and a teacher transforming the nation by helping to setup missions throughout. Her influence would help guide the hearts of the nation through her intelligence and understanding of the gospel message.

The nation was ready to listen and Hild was seeking a purpose for her life to provide meaning after the loss of her family. The history of Northumbria is fascinating and The Abbess of Whitby is the newest book to open another window into this world. Those who have read and enjoyed Edoardo Albert's Edwin High King of Britain and Oswald: Return of the King will find this book an intriguing addition to their Northumbrian reading library.

I was provided a copy of this book by Kregel in exchange for my honest review.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Born in the 7th century, Hild was a member of the royal family of Northumbria at a time when warfare and rivalry between the different kingdoms of Britain was at its peak. Hild was anointed a handmaiden of Eostre and then married off to a vassal of her king. Widowed early she became fascinated by the new religion of Christianity after compulsory baptism. To celebrate a great victory the King made Hild found a monastery at Whitby which welcomed both monks and nuns. This abbey hosted an important synod in 664 to unite the branches of Christianity and cement the religion in the country.

The story of Hild is really interesting but the only written accounts are from Bede and written many years after her death. Therefore Dalladay is faced with having to produce a fictionalised account of the early life of her subject. In this respect the first half of the book is moderately exciting - not quite as violent as Cornwell but well researched in terms of the everyday life of the early Britains. After Hild becomes Abbess the story gets more bogged down with ecclesiastical politics and loses the sense of being a 'story'. To me the two halves don't sit together as well as they could and therefore I found the book frustrating at times, it was neither a fiction based around historical figures (cf. Cornwall or Albert) nor a serious biography.

[Mirella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing about a woman in the Dark Ages, is no easy feat, as record keeping, especially when it came to women, was rare indeed. To recreate the path of a woman's life requires a painstaking piecing together of facts along with the author's imagination. In The Abbess of Whitby, the author has succeeding in blending fact with fiction to recreate Hild of Northumbria's life. With its stunning cover, Hild's story is a compelling one. As the daughter of the king's nephew, she is chosen as a handmaiden to the queen. She loses favor when she questions the king regarding whether he had a hand at poisoning and murdering her father. The king marries her off to a very difficult, hard man. Her life is miserable until she learns about Christ and becomes a Christian.

This was an easy read, albeit a little slow at times, but this is typical for biograhical novels. The characters are based on real, colorful persons who lived the historical events described. I have never read a book set in the 7th century, so found it fascinating to learn about this era. More than anything else, this is the story of a fascinating woman who overcame the rigid rules and hardships women faced to gain respect and admiration from the people. A grand tale beautifully told!

[kerrycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hild is a well known historical figure honored for her role in brokering a peaceful acceptance of Christ among the Celts of Britain, and Dalladay captures the personality one might expect of such a gifted leader. Readers will find this complicated girl easy to know and love while following the historical details of her adventurous life.

Hild spends her youth in 7th century Northumbria alongside her mother, serving a Christian queen married to a pagan king, valued as a maid of Eostre but curious about her queen’s beliefs. She carries royal blood herself and is at the heart of the constant threats to the family. Always thoughtful and helpful in the midst of strife, when she is offered as a peace weaver, a bride meant to heal the rifts caused by men, her leadership skills and faith in both Eostre and Christ are put to the test. (LION, Nov., 352 pp., $14.99)
Reviewed by:
Kerry Sutherland
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[Jill Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intriguing and informative novel. I didn't know much about Hild/Hilda of Whitby before encountering it, and although much of the abbess's story was of necessity invented by the author, as far as I could make out where the history is known she seems to have remained faithful to it. The characters were engaging and the storyline satisfying. The Christian faith of many of the characters was recognisable by a 21st century believer as being of the same nature as his own, yet without seeming anachronistic. Definitely 'a good read'.