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Beheld: Godiva's Story
A darkly twisted psychological thriller exploring the legend of Lady Godiva’s naked ride.
Having survived a grave illness to become one of 11th-century England’s wealthiest landowners, Godgyfu of Coventry (Lady Godiva) remains forever grateful to the town whose patron saint worked such miracles. She vows to rebuild Coventry’s abbey and better the lives of its townsfolk. But the wider kingdom is descending into political turmoil, and her husband, Earl Leofric, starts to break under the strain. Godgyfu finds her own plans unravelling the moment she meets Thomas, a Benedictine novice with perverse secret desires. Three lives become dangerously entangled in a shocking web of ambition, voyeuristic lust, and horrid obsession. Can Godgyfu escape the monk’s menacing wiles and Leofric’s betrayals to secure her future in a changing kingdom? Perhaps, but first she faces a dark test of wills leading her perilously closer to a legendary ride…
Having survived a grave illness to become one of 11th-century England’s wealthiest landowners, Godgyfu of Coventry (Lady Godiva) remains forever grateful to the town whose patron saint worked such miracles. She vows to rebuild Coventry’s abbey and better the lives of its townsfolk. But the wider kingdom is descending into political turmoil, and her husband, Earl Leofric, starts to break under the strain. Godgyfu finds her own plans unravelling the moment she meets Thomas, a Benedictine novice with perverse secret desires. Three lives become dangerously entangled in a shocking web of ambition, voyeuristic lust, and horrid obsession. Can Godgyfu escape the monk’s menacing wiles and Leofric’s betrayals to secure her future in a changing kingdom? Perhaps, but first she faces a dark test of wills leading her perilously closer to a legendary ride…
242 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2022
5 people are currently reading
2310 people want to read
About the author
Christopher M. Cevasco
15 books20 followersChristopher M. Cevasco writes fiction inspired by history. His novel Beheld: Godiva's Story (April 2022, Lethe Press) is a darkly twisted psychological thriller set in 11th-century England, exploring the legend of Lady Godiva's naked ride through the streets of Coventry.
Some of his recent short stories have appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Distant Echoes (Corazon Books), Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, and the Prime Books anthologies Shades of Blue and Gray: Ghosts of the Civil War and Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages.
Some of his recent short stories have appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Distant Echoes (Corazon Books), Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, and the Prime Books anthologies Shades of Blue and Gray: Ghosts of the Civil War and Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 12, 2022
Beheld by Christopher M Cevasco is a deeply dark recounting of the legend of Lady Godiva.
Very well-grounded in the events of Saxon England from about 1040-1070, Beheld closely follows the lives of three characters, Godiva, her husband Earl Leofric, and a novice monk called Thomas and the rebuilding of the abbey at Coventry, alongside their sexual desires and needs, which cause both Godiva and Leofric to question themselves.
The interplay between Christianity and the blood religion of an older paganism leads to clashes of faith and desire and at times, it is difficult to know who the true victim of the story is. Both Godiva and Leofric are manipulated, by their faiths, Thomas, and by their desires. It is, at times, an uncomfortable read, and yet there is something that beguiles the reader and draws them into the narrative and the characters, sometimes against their wills.
This is a much darker image of Saxon England than I would ever think to recount, but it is fascinating to read about historical characters I've studied and to examine them in an entirely different light.
I would very much liken it to Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver - both stories share a fascination with Saxon saints, and with oppressive male counterparts.
The story is very well told, and will certainly appeal to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers firmly grounded in historical detail.
Trigger Warnings:
Sexual situations, psychological abuse, violence, brief references to suicide
Very well-grounded in the events of Saxon England from about 1040-1070, Beheld closely follows the lives of three characters, Godiva, her husband Earl Leofric, and a novice monk called Thomas and the rebuilding of the abbey at Coventry, alongside their sexual desires and needs, which cause both Godiva and Leofric to question themselves.
The interplay between Christianity and the blood religion of an older paganism leads to clashes of faith and desire and at times, it is difficult to know who the true victim of the story is. Both Godiva and Leofric are manipulated, by their faiths, Thomas, and by their desires. It is, at times, an uncomfortable read, and yet there is something that beguiles the reader and draws them into the narrative and the characters, sometimes against their wills.
This is a much darker image of Saxon England than I would ever think to recount, but it is fascinating to read about historical characters I've studied and to examine them in an entirely different light.
I would very much liken it to Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver - both stories share a fascination with Saxon saints, and with oppressive male counterparts.
The story is very well told, and will certainly appeal to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers firmly grounded in historical detail.
Trigger Warnings:
Sexual situations, psychological abuse, violence, brief references to suicide
June 16, 2022
“Beheld: Godiva’s Story” is a very interesting novel that blends historical characters and events within a compelling fictional storyline. As a fan of historical fiction and fantasy, I was impressed with the way Cevasco artfully combines both genres in a seamless narrative that presents interesting (and sometimes warped) characters with motivations and desires driven by the societal and moral conventions of medieval times. Or to put it another way, who wouldn’t enjoy a racy tale of noblemen and noblewomen behaving badly? Especially one that includes a secretive and sexy monk running amok! There were plenty of twists and turns in the storyline that drove the characters towards an explosive ending. Excellent concept and writing, a captivating and enjoyable read.
May 31, 2022
The soughing wind and a wren's whir lulled him, and behind his eyelids he saw her again as she'd revealed herself to him when first he'd come to Coventry late that Eastertide: a lady on a white horse, the morning sun rising behind her as she rode up the High Street. The horse's step had been slow and even, and bathed in that light, she'd seemed clothed in shining, golden silk. Thomas knew at once he'd found his long-sought beacon. A twin half of himself. A worthy haven for his soul.... Some small sound made him start, and Thomas came fully awake, dizzy for a time with the dappled sunlight shifting through the branches. How long have I slept? He looked down. Godgyfu had arrived.
Most everyone knows the ancient legend of Lady Godiva and her naked ride through Coventry, as well as the man who forever was labeled as the “Peeping Tom” in the story, but with Cevasco's novel, the reader is plunged into the depths of a quite deep and murky pond full of scummy characters and dark medieval history as England emerges from the grip of the Danes under King Harthacnut. Godgyfu, Lady Godiva's life is filled with hardship from the very beginning, married at a very young age, which was customary, and emerges from near death to a life under the stringent hand of her husband, who she despises. Yet, her life in service to the community of Coventry, and her monetary and emotional support in building the Abbey, helps keep her focused. She is a deep character, full of flaws and suffocated passions, and ,unfortunately, falls prey to the desires of men in her quest to feel true love.
From the historical aspect, Cevasco does a remarkable job in rendering the true sense of life in this time period, full of gritty blood-soaked battles and a fair share of scoundrels lusting after any woman that moved within their sight. First and foremost, is Godgyfu's husband, Leofric, whose days in battle has turned him into a lecherous old codger whose mind is half filled with voyeuristic imaginings about his own wife, while the other half is filled with mead-induced visions of Saint Paul. This is a world teetering precariously on the edge of devout Christianity while rearing back to the old carnal days of their primitive Celtic roots; a world where women are mere chattel to be done with as the men wish, no matter if they are the local strumpet or the highest noble born woman.
The history of the transition of the kingdom of England from Hathacnut to Eadward is remarkably rich in this story, and unfolds in a similar way to stories such as “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett or books by Bernard Cornwell; not to mention the mingling of religion, politics, and the relationships between men and women which bring to mind “Game of Thrones” by Martin. This book is by no means an easy light read, and the reader should be warned for some graphic battle and sex scenes; however, in delving deeper, the emotional turmoil of this young woman, of Godgyfu, whose inner conflict places her in a very vulnerable position as she falls for a monk novice named Thomas, reveals the author's ability to reach deep into a character's soul and extract an extraordinary narrative. This story is more than blood, guts, and lust... it is about a shattered young girl's desire to be wanted, loved, and accepted. And it reveals the depravity of men who use women for their own ambitions, discarding them at will.
Thomas, the “Peeping Tom”, in this story is a piece of work full of machinations in his voyeuristic world with his mind set on recreating Godgyfu as the goddess Rhiannon. He weasels his way into her life and uses her failing marriage as a way to entice her to his bidding, that of carving an image of her in the nude as Marie-incarnate in order to draw the Christians back into their old Pagan ways of worshiping the goddess. He makes a deal with Leofric, Godgyfu's husband, after Leofric discovers the young man watching his wife bathe in the river, and whose own depraved fantasies are ignited upon seeing Thomas watching her. In this story, Thomas is the impetus to Leofric's former impotence, and recharges the Earl's desire for his wife... all at a cost. Both of them use her in order to fulfill their own insatiable greed and desires.
He was such a soft thing beneath all his bluster – wounded somehow – and she wanted to mend him as her husband might have mended one of this falcons with a broken wing. But it was more, she knew. More than only a mothering impulse. She burned for him as she had never before burned for any man.
Then he drew back; he never let things go too far. Only enough to keep pulling her along in her need. And she did need him now, his touch, his words, his nearness..... It was like some men grew to need mead or wine, craving it, living for it. He noticed she'd even begun to shake at times, ever so slightly, another thing he had seen in those for whom drink had become lord and king. Only, for Godgyfu, Thomas himself was her drink, and he doled himself out in forsakingly small draughts.
From a storytelling aspect, this book is first rate. Cevasco has a sensational ability to tell a story rich with beautiful phrasing and well-selected verbiage to give a reader the true sense of character and place. You feel the pain in the hearts or the rain dripping from the beards, you smell the loamy green forests and the pungent urine-drenched streets, you hear the clashing of swords and Godgyfu's cries in the dark, and you can see the love twinkling in her aging eyes as she desperately wants to believe in Thomas's offerings. Cevasco is a remarkable storyteller... enough said. But... I do have to share this last gift of a passage, which, to me, shows the strength of his chosen words in placing a reader firmly into the setting:
A cow lowed outside, a gloomy sound. Cows seemed ever mournful to her, and she tried to call to mind if she'd ever seen a happy one? Wan light leaked past the room's dark beams through a spot of roof thatch wanting mending; daytime them – not night at all. It all felt the same. Poor cows. She suddenly wanted to weep over that frayed bit of thatch.
*****
“Beheld: Godiva's Story” by Christopher M. Cevasco receives five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award for excellence.
Most everyone knows the ancient legend of Lady Godiva and her naked ride through Coventry, as well as the man who forever was labeled as the “Peeping Tom” in the story, but with Cevasco's novel, the reader is plunged into the depths of a quite deep and murky pond full of scummy characters and dark medieval history as England emerges from the grip of the Danes under King Harthacnut. Godgyfu, Lady Godiva's life is filled with hardship from the very beginning, married at a very young age, which was customary, and emerges from near death to a life under the stringent hand of her husband, who she despises. Yet, her life in service to the community of Coventry, and her monetary and emotional support in building the Abbey, helps keep her focused. She is a deep character, full of flaws and suffocated passions, and ,unfortunately, falls prey to the desires of men in her quest to feel true love.
From the historical aspect, Cevasco does a remarkable job in rendering the true sense of life in this time period, full of gritty blood-soaked battles and a fair share of scoundrels lusting after any woman that moved within their sight. First and foremost, is Godgyfu's husband, Leofric, whose days in battle has turned him into a lecherous old codger whose mind is half filled with voyeuristic imaginings about his own wife, while the other half is filled with mead-induced visions of Saint Paul. This is a world teetering precariously on the edge of devout Christianity while rearing back to the old carnal days of their primitive Celtic roots; a world where women are mere chattel to be done with as the men wish, no matter if they are the local strumpet or the highest noble born woman.
The history of the transition of the kingdom of England from Hathacnut to Eadward is remarkably rich in this story, and unfolds in a similar way to stories such as “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett or books by Bernard Cornwell; not to mention the mingling of religion, politics, and the relationships between men and women which bring to mind “Game of Thrones” by Martin. This book is by no means an easy light read, and the reader should be warned for some graphic battle and sex scenes; however, in delving deeper, the emotional turmoil of this young woman, of Godgyfu, whose inner conflict places her in a very vulnerable position as she falls for a monk novice named Thomas, reveals the author's ability to reach deep into a character's soul and extract an extraordinary narrative. This story is more than blood, guts, and lust... it is about a shattered young girl's desire to be wanted, loved, and accepted. And it reveals the depravity of men who use women for their own ambitions, discarding them at will.
Thomas, the “Peeping Tom”, in this story is a piece of work full of machinations in his voyeuristic world with his mind set on recreating Godgyfu as the goddess Rhiannon. He weasels his way into her life and uses her failing marriage as a way to entice her to his bidding, that of carving an image of her in the nude as Marie-incarnate in order to draw the Christians back into their old Pagan ways of worshiping the goddess. He makes a deal with Leofric, Godgyfu's husband, after Leofric discovers the young man watching his wife bathe in the river, and whose own depraved fantasies are ignited upon seeing Thomas watching her. In this story, Thomas is the impetus to Leofric's former impotence, and recharges the Earl's desire for his wife... all at a cost. Both of them use her in order to fulfill their own insatiable greed and desires.
He was such a soft thing beneath all his bluster – wounded somehow – and she wanted to mend him as her husband might have mended one of this falcons with a broken wing. But it was more, she knew. More than only a mothering impulse. She burned for him as she had never before burned for any man.
Then he drew back; he never let things go too far. Only enough to keep pulling her along in her need. And she did need him now, his touch, his words, his nearness..... It was like some men grew to need mead or wine, craving it, living for it. He noticed she'd even begun to shake at times, ever so slightly, another thing he had seen in those for whom drink had become lord and king. Only, for Godgyfu, Thomas himself was her drink, and he doled himself out in forsakingly small draughts.
From a storytelling aspect, this book is first rate. Cevasco has a sensational ability to tell a story rich with beautiful phrasing and well-selected verbiage to give a reader the true sense of character and place. You feel the pain in the hearts or the rain dripping from the beards, you smell the loamy green forests and the pungent urine-drenched streets, you hear the clashing of swords and Godgyfu's cries in the dark, and you can see the love twinkling in her aging eyes as she desperately wants to believe in Thomas's offerings. Cevasco is a remarkable storyteller... enough said. But... I do have to share this last gift of a passage, which, to me, shows the strength of his chosen words in placing a reader firmly into the setting:
A cow lowed outside, a gloomy sound. Cows seemed ever mournful to her, and she tried to call to mind if she'd ever seen a happy one? Wan light leaked past the room's dark beams through a spot of roof thatch wanting mending; daytime them – not night at all. It all felt the same. Poor cows. She suddenly wanted to weep over that frayed bit of thatch.
*****
“Beheld: Godiva's Story” by Christopher M. Cevasco receives five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award for excellence.
May 31, 2022
The soughing wind and a wren's whir lulled him, and behind his eyelids he saw her again as she'd revealed herself to him when first he'd come to Coventry late that Eastertide: a lady on a white horse, the morning sun rising behind her as she rode up the High Street. The horse's step had been slow and even, and bathed in that light, she'd seemed clothed in shining, golden silk. Thomas knew at once he'd found his long-sought beacon. A twin half of himself. A worthy haven for his soul.... Some small sound made him start, and Thomas came fully awake, dizzy for a time with the dappled sunlight shifting through the branches. How long have I slept? He looked down. Godgyfu had arrived.
Most everyone knows the ancient legend of Lady Godiva and her naked ride through Coventry, as well as the man who forever was labeled as the “Peeping Tom” in the story, but with Cevasco's novel, the reader is plunged into the depths of a quite deep and murky pond full of scummy characters and dark medieval history as England emerges from the grip of the Danes under King Harthacnut. Godgyfu, Lady Godiva's life is filled with hardship from the very beginning, married at a very young age, which was customary, and emerges from near death to a life under the stringent hand of her husband, who she despises. Yet, her life in service to the community of Coventry, and her monetary and emotional support in building the Abbey, helps keep her focused. She is a deep character, full of flaws and suffocated passions, and ,unfortunately, falls prey to the desires of men in her quest to feel true love.
From the historical aspect, Cevasco does a remarkable job in rendering the true sense of life in this time period, full of gritty blood-soaked battles and a fair share of scoundrels lusting after any woman that moved within their sight. First and foremost, is Godgyfu's husband, Leofric, whose days in battle has turned him into a lecherous old codger whose mind is half filled with voyeuristic imaginings about his own wife, while the other half is filled with mead-induced visions of Saint Paul. This is a world teetering precariously on the edge of devout Christianity while rearing back to the old carnal days of their primitive Celtic roots; a world where women are mere chattel to be done with as the men wish, no matter if they are the local strumpet or the highest noble born woman.
The history of the transition of the kingdom of England from Hathacnut to Eadward is remarkably rich in this story, and unfolds in a similar way to stories such as “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett or books by Bernard Cornwell; not to mention the mingling of religion, politics, and the relationships between men and women which bring to mind “Game of Thrones” by Martin. This book is by no means an easy light read, and the reader should be warned for some graphic battle and sex scenes; however, in delving deeper, the emotional turmoil of this young woman, of Godgyfu, whose inner conflict places her in a very vulnerable position as she falls for a monk novice named Thomas, reveals the author's ability to reach deep into a character's soul and extract an extraordinary narrative. This story is more than blood, guts, and lust... it is about a shattered young girl's desire to be wanted, loved, and accepted. And it reveals the depravity of men who use women for their own ambitions, discarding them at will.
Thomas, the “Peeping Tom”, in this story is a piece of work full of machinations in his voyeuristic world with his mind set on recreating Godgyfu as the goddess Rhiannon. He weasels his way into her life and uses her failing marriage as a way to entice her to his bidding, that of carving an image of her in the nude as Marie-incarnate in order to draw the Christians back into their old Pagan ways of worshiping the goddess. He makes a deal with Leofric, Godgyfu's husband, after Leofric discovers the young man watching his wife bathe in the river, and whose own depraved fantasies are ignited upon seeing Thomas watching her. In this story, Thomas is the impetus to Leofric's former impotence, and recharges the Earl's desire for his wife... all at a cost. Both of them use her in order to fulfill their own insatiable greed and desires.
He was such a soft thing beneath all his bluster – wounded somehow – and she wanted to mend him as her husband might have mended one of this falcons with a broken wing. But it was more, she knew. More than only a mothering impulse. She burned for him as she had never before burned for any man.
Then he drew back; he never let things go too far. Only enough to keep pulling her along in her need. And she did need him now, his touch, his words, his nearness..... It was like some men grew to need mead or wine, craving it, living for it. He noticed she'd even begun to shake at times, ever so slightly, another thing he had seen in those for whom drink had become lord and king. Only, for Godgyfu, Thomas himself was her drink, and he doled himself out in forsakingly small draughts.
From a storytelling aspect, this book is first rate. Cevasco has a sensational ability to tell a story rich with beautiful phrasing and well-selected verbiage to give a reader the true sense of character and place. You feel the pain in the hearts or the rain dripping from the beards, you smell the loamy green forests and the pungent urine-drenched streets, you hear the clashing of swords and Godgyfu's cries in the dark, and you can see the love twinkling in her aging eyes as she desperately wants to believe in Thomas's offerings. Cevasco is a remarkable storyteller... enough said. But... I do have to share this last gift of a passage, which, to me, shows the strength of his chosen words in placing a reader firmly into the setting:
A cow lowed outside, a gloomy sound. Cows seemed ever mournful to her, and she tried to call to mind if she'd ever seen a happy one? Wan light leaked past the room's dark beams through a spot of roof thatch wanting mending; daytime them – not night at all. It all felt the same. Poor cows. She suddenly wanted to weep over that frayed bit of thatch.
*****
“Beheld: Godiva's Story” by Christopher M. Cevasco receives five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award for excellence.
Most everyone knows the ancient legend of Lady Godiva and her naked ride through Coventry, as well as the man who forever was labeled as the “Peeping Tom” in the story, but with Cevasco's novel, the reader is plunged into the depths of a quite deep and murky pond full of scummy characters and dark medieval history as England emerges from the grip of the Danes under King Harthacnut. Godgyfu, Lady Godiva's life is filled with hardship from the very beginning, married at a very young age, which was customary, and emerges from near death to a life under the stringent hand of her husband, who she despises. Yet, her life in service to the community of Coventry, and her monetary and emotional support in building the Abbey, helps keep her focused. She is a deep character, full of flaws and suffocated passions, and ,unfortunately, falls prey to the desires of men in her quest to feel true love.
From the historical aspect, Cevasco does a remarkable job in rendering the true sense of life in this time period, full of gritty blood-soaked battles and a fair share of scoundrels lusting after any woman that moved within their sight. First and foremost, is Godgyfu's husband, Leofric, whose days in battle has turned him into a lecherous old codger whose mind is half filled with voyeuristic imaginings about his own wife, while the other half is filled with mead-induced visions of Saint Paul. This is a world teetering precariously on the edge of devout Christianity while rearing back to the old carnal days of their primitive Celtic roots; a world where women are mere chattel to be done with as the men wish, no matter if they are the local strumpet or the highest noble born woman.
The history of the transition of the kingdom of England from Hathacnut to Eadward is remarkably rich in this story, and unfolds in a similar way to stories such as “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett or books by Bernard Cornwell; not to mention the mingling of religion, politics, and the relationships between men and women which bring to mind “Game of Thrones” by Martin. This book is by no means an easy light read, and the reader should be warned for some graphic battle and sex scenes; however, in delving deeper, the emotional turmoil of this young woman, of Godgyfu, whose inner conflict places her in a very vulnerable position as she falls for a monk novice named Thomas, reveals the author's ability to reach deep into a character's soul and extract an extraordinary narrative. This story is more than blood, guts, and lust... it is about a shattered young girl's desire to be wanted, loved, and accepted. And it reveals the depravity of men who use women for their own ambitions, discarding them at will.
Thomas, the “Peeping Tom”, in this story is a piece of work full of machinations in his voyeuristic world with his mind set on recreating Godgyfu as the goddess Rhiannon. He weasels his way into her life and uses her failing marriage as a way to entice her to his bidding, that of carving an image of her in the nude as Marie-incarnate in order to draw the Christians back into their old Pagan ways of worshiping the goddess. He makes a deal with Leofric, Godgyfu's husband, after Leofric discovers the young man watching his wife bathe in the river, and whose own depraved fantasies are ignited upon seeing Thomas watching her. In this story, Thomas is the impetus to Leofric's former impotence, and recharges the Earl's desire for his wife... all at a cost. Both of them use her in order to fulfill their own insatiable greed and desires.
He was such a soft thing beneath all his bluster – wounded somehow – and she wanted to mend him as her husband might have mended one of this falcons with a broken wing. But it was more, she knew. More than only a mothering impulse. She burned for him as she had never before burned for any man.
Then he drew back; he never let things go too far. Only enough to keep pulling her along in her need. And she did need him now, his touch, his words, his nearness..... It was like some men grew to need mead or wine, craving it, living for it. He noticed she'd even begun to shake at times, ever so slightly, another thing he had seen in those for whom drink had become lord and king. Only, for Godgyfu, Thomas himself was her drink, and he doled himself out in forsakingly small draughts.
From a storytelling aspect, this book is first rate. Cevasco has a sensational ability to tell a story rich with beautiful phrasing and well-selected verbiage to give a reader the true sense of character and place. You feel the pain in the hearts or the rain dripping from the beards, you smell the loamy green forests and the pungent urine-drenched streets, you hear the clashing of swords and Godgyfu's cries in the dark, and you can see the love twinkling in her aging eyes as she desperately wants to believe in Thomas's offerings. Cevasco is a remarkable storyteller... enough said. But... I do have to share this last gift of a passage, which, to me, shows the strength of his chosen words in placing a reader firmly into the setting:
A cow lowed outside, a gloomy sound. Cows seemed ever mournful to her, and she tried to call to mind if she'd ever seen a happy one? Wan light leaked past the room's dark beams through a spot of roof thatch wanting mending; daytime them – not night at all. It all felt the same. Poor cows. She suddenly wanted to weep over that frayed bit of thatch.
*****
“Beheld: Godiva's Story” by Christopher M. Cevasco receives five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award for excellence.
April 15, 2022
Pre-reading:
ARC sent to me by goodreads. Love a pony book.
Thick of it:
Book just leads right in with misogyny and rape. So much ye old speak. If you can read Cnut as a name and not as cunt you’re a better person than me. Leofric’s nasty. I’m not even a smidge religious but it’s fucking nasty how they just kept body parts everywhere. This book is not for me. I do not like it. But I am fucking stubborn. I know it’s ye old so misogyny is everywhere, but dear god this book is hateful. Something about this book reads like a play. This book doesn’t allow anyone any bit of consensual lust.
Post-reading:
This book could be much shorter. I don't know. It's not my genre. It is very much not a pony book. I know it's back in ye old, but literally no one’s allowed to like being naked or have lusts. Godgyfu reads like she has no agency. They spend the book trying to reform a prostitute while she claims she wants to do it/likes her life, only to have the book end with her being “freed” to go tend bees. No one’s likable or admirable. I thought it’d be raunchy or a fun romp from the description but it's not. I would not classify this in any way as a thriller. I feel bad blasting a book with so few reviews. I love the cover, but it reads more like a historical slang lesson than a juicy story.
Who should read this:
People really, really into history.
Do I want to reread this:
No
Similar books:
* Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
* A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood
ARC sent to me by goodreads. Love a pony book.
Thick of it:
Book just leads right in with misogyny and rape. So much ye old speak. If you can read Cnut as a name and not as cunt you’re a better person than me. Leofric’s nasty. I’m not even a smidge religious but it’s fucking nasty how they just kept body parts everywhere. This book is not for me. I do not like it. But I am fucking stubborn. I know it’s ye old so misogyny is everywhere, but dear god this book is hateful. Something about this book reads like a play. This book doesn’t allow anyone any bit of consensual lust.
Post-reading:
This book could be much shorter. I don't know. It's not my genre. It is very much not a pony book. I know it's back in ye old, but literally no one’s allowed to like being naked or have lusts. Godgyfu reads like she has no agency. They spend the book trying to reform a prostitute while she claims she wants to do it/likes her life, only to have the book end with her being “freed” to go tend bees. No one’s likable or admirable. I thought it’d be raunchy or a fun romp from the description but it's not. I would not classify this in any way as a thriller. I feel bad blasting a book with so few reviews. I love the cover, but it reads more like a historical slang lesson than a juicy story.
Who should read this:
People really, really into history.
Do I want to reread this:
No
Similar books:
* Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
* A Tyranny of Petticoats by Jessica Spotswood
August 14, 2022
Cevasco takes the tale of Lady Godiva and tries to fit it into its historical context in the decades just before the Norman Conquest. This was a politically tumultuous period, with the throne of England changing hands through violence. I'm not very familiar with this history, so I occasionally struggled to place all the names. I rejoiced when I eventually came across some names I knew: William of Normandy, Harold Godwinson, Edward the Confessor. But the author conveys a real sense of what it was like to be a noble in this setting.
The book focuses, of course, on Godiva and her husband, Leofric. Given the story the book is based on, it's not a surprise that nudity and exposure are strong themes. Personally, I'm a little squeamish reading about other people's sex lives, but as I say, it's not a surprise in a book about a woman who rode naked. But I'd say the biggest theme is the effect of violence--violence in battle and in its aftermath. Godiva says something about this near the book's end. She thinks about "the things men do to punish those who hurt them...and end up hurting themselves along the way."
Trigger warning for violence, including rape.
The book focuses, of course, on Godiva and her husband, Leofric. Given the story the book is based on, it's not a surprise that nudity and exposure are strong themes. Personally, I'm a little squeamish reading about other people's sex lives, but as I say, it's not a surprise in a book about a woman who rode naked. But I'd say the biggest theme is the effect of violence--violence in battle and in its aftermath. Godiva says something about this near the book's end. She thinks about "the things men do to punish those who hurt them...and end up hurting themselves along the way."
Trigger warning for violence, including rape.
June 2, 2022
This is the story of Godgyfu (Lady Godiva) during the reign of Edward the Confessor. It is very good on the realities of harsh, brutal Anglo-Saxon/Danish England and the characters of Godgyfu’s husband, Earl Leofric of Northumbria and Thomas the novice monk, complement the portrait of Godgyfu, while the explanation for her famous ride is plausible. The connection between Godgyfu and Thomas is a little bit laboured and hard to believe at times, but it is still thoroughly engaging, well-written and full of the sights and the attitudes of the 1140s-1150s.
February 10, 2023
Christopher M. Cevasco has taken a legend and turned her into a flesh-and-blood heroine with all the faults and virtues that come with that designation. Easy-to-read, captivating and memorable. A job well done, Mr. Cevasco!
June 26, 2022
This is a well told story based on the legend of Lady Godiva. However, due to the dark nature of the book as well as the graphic sex scenes, this book was outside my reading comfort zone.
April 12, 2022
This is the perfect historical fiction. It is well researched with a map and a list of historical figures. Cevasco cleverly blends old paganism and 11th century Christianity in an entertaining retelling of the story of Lady Godiva, Peeping Tom and the Welsh myth of Rhiannon complete with violence, perversions and obsessions. I received a free copy of this book via The History Quill Book Club.
June 5, 2023
All I knew about Lady Godiva before reading Christopher M. Cevasco's Beheld was her picture on a box of chocolates.
This author brings to life a dark period in English history. At the center of it is Godgyfu (that's Godiva in Old English). She's a woman of strength, faith and conviction in a small town. All around her political turmoil threatens everything, including her husband. In the shadows is Thomas, supposedly a Benedictine novice, but he seems just as threatening to Godiva/Godgyfu.
You're going to read this slowly to savor the strange names and sink deeper into the richly wrought landscape filled with intrigue. What a thrill.
This author brings to life a dark period in English history. At the center of it is Godgyfu (that's Godiva in Old English). She's a woman of strength, faith and conviction in a small town. All around her political turmoil threatens everything, including her husband. In the shadows is Thomas, supposedly a Benedictine novice, but he seems just as threatening to Godiva/Godgyfu.
You're going to read this slowly to savor the strange names and sink deeper into the richly wrought landscape filled with intrigue. What a thrill.
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