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Glynda
HER HEART BELONGED TO ONE MAN. HER BODY TO MANY.
Glynda was an outcast of society, the bastard daughter of a lascivious lord — and the object of desire of every man who laid eyes upon her.
Her first lover was Philip — and willingly Glynda would have been satisfied with this proud and powerful Norman Duke who ripped through her resistance, woke her womanhood, and kindled a flame within her secret heart she was never to forget.
But her passionate journey had only begun — as she moved through the hands of a ruthless and tantalizingly virile Knight Templar...a cruel and corrupt English Prince...a merciless German master...a perverted Turkish Sultan...and a brutal army of nameless men who paid for her favors.
But behind Glynda's violent and perilous odyssey was an overwhelming sensual craving for Philip — and she would take the most fearful, degrading risks to be reunited in exquisite tenderness and wild, rapturous union with this one man whose burning love she could not live without....
Glynda was an outcast of society, the bastard daughter of a lascivious lord — and the object of desire of every man who laid eyes upon her.
Her first lover was Philip — and willingly Glynda would have been satisfied with this proud and powerful Norman Duke who ripped through her resistance, woke her womanhood, and kindled a flame within her secret heart she was never to forget.
But her passionate journey had only begun — as she moved through the hands of a ruthless and tantalizingly virile Knight Templar...a cruel and corrupt English Prince...a merciless German master...a perverted Turkish Sultan...and a brutal army of nameless men who paid for her favors.
But behind Glynda's violent and perilous odyssey was an overwhelming sensual craving for Philip — and she would take the most fearful, degrading risks to be reunited in exquisite tenderness and wild, rapturous union with this one man whose burning love she could not live without....
636 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 13, 1979
About the author
Susannah Leigh
13 books5 followersSusannah Leigh was born in Minneapolis and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Minnesota she moved on to New York City, where she worked at a variety of jobs and appeared in many off-Broadway productions. She stayed in New York for twelve years and then left for a year of traveling to such spots as Morocco, Nepal, and Afghanistan.
Ms. Leigh is currently living in West Los Angeles, where she spends her non-writing time indulging her interests in reading, travel, history, and lying in the sun.
Ms. Leigh is currently living in West Los Angeles, where she spends her non-writing time indulging her interests in reading, travel, history, and lying in the sun.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 13, 2022
The story is set in the time of Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades, everything is fictional based on history with complex mingling of reality.
Glynda is the bastard daughter of a Saxon lord, she craves every fairytale-ish adventure of a girl who has not seen the word. She was also an epitome of beauty, her curvy figure and bastardry making her easy availableto men.
Philip was a son of a duke, being the third son he has to work for his keep but he was best and loyal friend of Richard. You'll like Philip. He was a loyal and loving husband and father to his family. While the lords of those times marry to rich ladys to gain fortune he fought to marry his wife who has very little wealth.
Philip buys Glynda from her father after a night where Glynda rejects Philip of his advances. Glynda meets Philips family and she finds a friend in Lady Blanche and Henry, Philip's wife and sickly son. Glynda is a mistress now of Philip and while she is attracted to him she does not want to sleep with him because she feels guilty for Blanche. She is surprised that Blanche accepts her as Philip's mistress and even more surprised when Blanche doesn't mind her husband sleeping with Glynda. Philips love for his wife never deters but he is angry for his attraction towards Glynda not able to able to resist her.
Luck comes for Philip when both his brothers and father die in a battle making him the Duke. Now a Norman lord Philip needs to go to the court to claim his rights. Glynda's next part of life starts. Glynda is admired by many men, she was raped, she whored and was even paid for her services. All along she loved Philip, waiting to reunite with him.
Where men praised Glynda's beauty but they were readily able to give her up easily. Among them Guy de Montforte's advances felt real to me until he gave Glynda up to a sultan. There was beautiful Deborah or the bold, reckless Templar, whom Philip lusted after. Glynda's adventure with the outlaws and Robin and her unpleasant encounter with the king's brother, Count John. She endures ruthlessness and petty malice of John. And finally William Longchamp, who is the hated chief justiciar of Richard was universally despised by everyone and Glynda didn't escape his sadistic cruelty.
Glynda's life was a mess once she stepped out of her father's household, she was always a temptation to men while wanting one man's love who misunderstood her most of the time. The villains of historical time are unique and I always like them. Guy, John, Longchamp are harsh villains and their end was satisfying.
Glynda is the bastard daughter of a Saxon lord, she craves every fairytale-ish adventure of a girl who has not seen the word. She was also an epitome of beauty, her curvy figure and bastardry making her easy availableto men.
Philip was a son of a duke, being the third son he has to work for his keep but he was best and loyal friend of Richard. You'll like Philip. He was a loyal and loving husband and father to his family. While the lords of those times marry to rich ladys to gain fortune he fought to marry his wife who has very little wealth.
Philip buys Glynda from her father after a night where Glynda rejects Philip of his advances. Glynda meets Philips family and she finds a friend in Lady Blanche and Henry, Philip's wife and sickly son. Glynda is a mistress now of Philip and while she is attracted to him she does not want to sleep with him because she feels guilty for Blanche. She is surprised that Blanche accepts her as Philip's mistress and even more surprised when Blanche doesn't mind her husband sleeping with Glynda. Philips love for his wife never deters but he is angry for his attraction towards Glynda not able to able to resist her.
Luck comes for Philip when both his brothers and father die in a battle making him the Duke. Now a Norman lord Philip needs to go to the court to claim his rights. Glynda's next part of life starts. Glynda is admired by many men, she was raped, she whored and was even paid for her services. All along she loved Philip, waiting to reunite with him.
Where men praised Glynda's beauty but they were readily able to give her up easily. Among them Guy de Montforte's advances felt real to me until he gave Glynda up to a sultan. There was beautiful Deborah or the bold, reckless Templar, whom Philip lusted after. Glynda's adventure with the outlaws and Robin and her unpleasant encounter with the king's brother, Count John. She endures ruthlessness and petty malice of John. And finally William Longchamp, who is the hated chief justiciar of Richard was universally despised by everyone and Glynda didn't escape his sadistic cruelty.
Glynda's life was a mess once she stepped out of her father's household, she was always a temptation to men while wanting one man's love who misunderstood her most of the time. The villains of historical time are unique and I always like them. Guy, John, Longchamp are harsh villains and their end was satisfying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2025
”I think Fate likes to play tricks on helpless mortals, taking two people whose paths were never meant to cross and thrusting them together, intertwining their lives until neither man nor God has the power to separate them.”
An exhausting, brutal read in the finest tradition of vintage bodice-shredding doorstoppers. 💕 This book is long, wordy, & emotionally draining—but it’s all those things in a good way. Excepting rare throwbacks like BELLE CORA or THE REVOLUTION OF MARINA M., they really don’t write historicals like this anymore. And that’s a damn shame.
The titular heroine is Glynda, natch. But it’s much more of an ensemble cast than the blurb indicates. Aside from Glynda & her bonehead beloved Philip (seriously, the dude defines ‘slow learner’ 😂), we have a love-pentagram tying them to… *shuffles papers* …Blanche, Philip’s long-suffering wife; Guy, an arrogant alpha Templar; & Deborah, a beautiful young Jew. We also have lengthy cameos by Crusade-era personages like King Richard, Prince John, Robin Hood, & Saladin, plus an assortment of minor OCs that are generally either downtrodden + sympathetic or evul + repulsive. The settings are gritty & vivid, leading to gory, flamboyant vignettes, including an excellently tense final combat between Guy & Philip (one of my fave moments in the story); though the author inserts calm chapters of respite both for characters & reader, the angst & violence accelerate into overdrive at the drop of a hat, which is (partly) what makes it so draining. You’ve been warned. 🫣
NB: the heroine spends much of this novel as the OW—it’s a complicated situation between Glynda, Philip, & Blanche—but it also makes for an interesting juxtaposition in the final section as the triangle between Glynda, Philip, & Guy flips Philip into the role of OM. (Special mention goes to Templar villain Guy, who broke my heart with his unrelenting & unsatisfactory pursuit of Glynda. Poor fellow just couldn’t win. 😗💔)
Special mention also goes to the author not shying away from various characters’ struggles to reconcile self + conscience with the brutality + hypocrisy that ran rampant during the Third Crusade. There are some painfully heavy moments in this sprawling book—which is as it should be, given the period & subject matter. You’ve been warned (again).**
Anyway…I really loved this, despite wanting to bang Philip’s head against a wall on multiple occasions. 😬 Five shiny stars! Thank you, GLYNDA, for being a doorstopper that was worth the effort. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Squick list:
-rape/dubcon
-hero raped in prison
-infidelity
-miscarriage
-un-PC language
-Crusades battle gore
An exhausting, brutal read in the finest tradition of vintage bodice-shredding doorstoppers. 💕 This book is long, wordy, & emotionally draining—but it’s all those things in a good way. Excepting rare throwbacks like BELLE CORA or THE REVOLUTION OF MARINA M., they really don’t write historicals like this anymore. And that’s a damn shame.
The titular heroine is Glynda, natch. But it’s much more of an ensemble cast than the blurb indicates. Aside from Glynda & her bonehead beloved Philip (seriously, the dude defines ‘slow learner’ 😂), we have a love-pentagram tying them to… *shuffles papers* …Blanche, Philip’s long-suffering wife; Guy, an arrogant alpha Templar; & Deborah, a beautiful young Jew. We also have lengthy cameos by Crusade-era personages like King Richard, Prince John, Robin Hood, & Saladin, plus an assortment of minor OCs that are generally either downtrodden + sympathetic or evul + repulsive. The settings are gritty & vivid, leading to gory, flamboyant vignettes, including an excellently tense final combat between Guy & Philip (one of my fave moments in the story); though the author inserts calm chapters of respite both for characters & reader, the angst & violence accelerate into overdrive at the drop of a hat, which is (partly) what makes it so draining. You’ve been warned. 🫣
NB: the heroine spends much of this novel as the OW—it’s a complicated situation between Glynda, Philip, & Blanche—but it also makes for an interesting juxtaposition in the final section as the triangle between Glynda, Philip, & Guy flips Philip into the role of OM. (Special mention goes to Templar villain Guy, who broke my heart with his unrelenting & unsatisfactory pursuit of Glynda. Poor fellow just couldn’t win. 😗💔)
Special mention also goes to the author not shying away from various characters’ struggles to reconcile self + conscience with the brutality + hypocrisy that ran rampant during the Third Crusade. There are some painfully heavy moments in this sprawling book—which is as it should be, given the period & subject matter. You’ve been warned (again).**
Anyway…I really loved this, despite wanting to bang Philip’s head against a wall on multiple occasions. 😬 Five shiny stars! Thank you, GLYNDA, for being a doorstopper that was worth the effort. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Squick list:
-rape/dubcon
-hero raped in prison
-infidelity
-miscarriage
-un-PC language
-Crusades battle gore
July 16, 2010
I would like to hop into a time machine and warn my sixteen year old self about this novel and then punch myself in the face. I would also take this book away from me and hand myself Susan Faludi's Backlash or some other radical feminist theory book. Many of my ideas regarding male/female relationships were formed by these novels.
When I read Glynda all those years ago, I had a penchant for the heroines who tamed their wild beast warrior lords with their gentle, loving, passive, and yes, we can say it, their masochistic ways. Abuse, rape, infidelity--well that was the lot of womenfolk. They sprinkle it with love and make it all taste good. Naturally I thought this was a very good book, an instruction manual of sorts. Because I was not very gentle, patient or passive. Me? Not a Melanie. But I really, really, really wanted to be.
Glynda, that sweet, passive vessel of sperm, needs a good kick in the beaver as she loves her rapist/lord as well as his wife and son. Phillip, the moody, manly woman hater, spreads his seed and his anger all over medieval England and The Holy Land. There are evil, malicious dwarves. Menacing Saracens aka INFIDELS. Perverted knights Templar with a sadistic streak that comes from the gaping black hole of his lovesick heart. Cameos by King John, Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and Saladin, himself.
I still want to love this novel. It's two scoops of crazy covered in a tasty crazy sauce.
When I read Glynda all those years ago, I had a penchant for the heroines who tamed their wild beast warrior lords with their gentle, loving, passive, and yes, we can say it, their masochistic ways. Abuse, rape, infidelity--well that was the lot of womenfolk. They sprinkle it with love and make it all taste good. Naturally I thought this was a very good book, an instruction manual of sorts. Because I was not very gentle, patient or passive. Me? Not a Melanie. But I really, really, really wanted to be.
Glynda, that sweet, passive vessel of sperm, needs a good kick in the beaver as she loves her rapist/lord as well as his wife and son. Phillip, the moody, manly woman hater, spreads his seed and his anger all over medieval England and The Holy Land. There are evil, malicious dwarves. Menacing Saracens aka INFIDELS. Perverted knights Templar with a sadistic streak that comes from the gaping black hole of his lovesick heart. Cameos by King John, Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and Saladin, himself.
I still want to love this novel. It's two scoops of crazy covered in a tasty crazy sauce.
August 2, 2026
I've read thicker novels than this that didn't drag out as long as often. Fortunately or not when you set this aside its easy to get back in the story without having to remind yourself what's going on or who's who. I could warn anyone in a reading slump to avoid this one until you can appreciate its lengthy-ness.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews