Review: Women in Medieval England by Lynda Telford

I am privileged to have received a pre-publication copy of this wonderful new book by Lynda Telford, a fellow Amberley author.

Perhaps I should start this review by quoting a section of the press-release:

'The author starts by contrasting the differences in status between Anglo-Danish or Saxon women with those who fell under the burden of the feudal system imposed by the Normans. She covers such subjects as marriage and childbirth, the rights an responsibilities of wives, separation and divorce, safety and security and the challenges of widowhood.'

The first chapter drew me in immediately. 'The Loss of Equality' gives an overview of the status and general lot of pre-Conquest women. I spend my life writing and reading about Anglo-Saxon England, so there were few surprises here for me. The chapter provides a good overview, although it is not reign-specific. However, the author makes good use of the law codes, which is where we find most of the information about the rights of women at this time. There is always something new to ponder, and the author makes a particularly good point, and one which I've not heard mooted before, regarding the changes which came about after 1066. She says that the noble widows, forced to marry new Norman overlords, might at least have had a rudimentary understanding of the language - there were many Normans at the court of Edward the Confessor, who had himself spent many years in Normandy - but the 'peasantry' would not have had any grasp at all of the foreign language. How truly terrifying that must have been.

Of course, the main focus of the book is the fate of women after the Normans took control, and the subsequent chapters contain a wealth of information about how women lived and what was expected of them. Nuggets of information include discussions about what exactly constituted marriage, and the fact that it was not uncommon for two women to claim consummation with the same man.

In Chapter Three we learn of rather unusual, but quite logical, methods of contraception and some rather brutal cures for male impotence, including one which might have worked, but resulted in a crop of nettle stings. Ouch!

This is not a 'sensational' book in that sense, however. The horrors of childbirth, while told in unflinching detail, serve only to demonstrate how precarious life was.

The legal status of married women is explored in detail, and we learn how much women were supposed to defer to their husbands, and how much and often their husbands could chastise them. (I had not hitherto known the derivation of the phrase 'rule of thumb'.)

Although this is a general history, looking at the plight and situation of women across the social spectrum, it is liberally peppered with examples of individual stories, and is the richer for it. We also learn some interesting specifics: in 1422, women who sold fish were not allowed to oversee the trading in oysters in London's Queenhithe. We also learn of the opportunities which opened up for survivors of the Black Death.

This is a thoroughly researched book, an easy read, but packed full of information. Some of it familiar, but much of it new, certainly to this reader. As with the first chapter, that information is presented in a thematic way, and not reign-specific. Because I not only read about history, but use books for my own study and research, I would have preferred a little more detail about how life changed for women, not only post-Conquest, but in the subsequent centuries covered in this book.

In that vein, I would also have preferred a little more information in the notes at the back of the book, where only the names of the source books are given, and not the relevant page numbers. For those wishing to pursue further study, this will be frustrating.

All in all, an accessible book which provides masses of detail in an extremely readable way. I'd heartily recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the role, status and general lot of women in medieval England.

Discovering Diamonds and Chilling with Books

So, you've written your book. You've published your book. And, unless you are one of what must be a very rare breed, you are now flip-flopping between thinking you've produced the best story that ever appeared in print, or the worst since man picked up a stone and started scratching on the walls of his cave.

What you need is a critical eye. You need to submit your book for reviews. Oh, so easy to say. Frequently though, you'll find that if you're self-published, many review sites will not accept your work.

Once upon a time, the Historical Novel Society ran two review schemes; one for traditionally published books and one for 'Indie' books. Not only did it offer to review, but there was a system which meant that each month a few books were chosen as Editors' Choice books and were put forward for Book of the Year.

This was a boon for Indie authors. It meant that not only did they get a review by highly respected reviewers, but they had the chance to win a prize.

Following some structural re-organisation, the HNS decided recently to combine their two review schemes and whilst they do continue to accept submissions from Indie authors, there is no longer a chance to be put forward for Indie Book of the Year.

However, there are a couple of places where you can send your book where you'll not only get an unbiased review but also get the chance for book of the month, and year.

The first of these is for historical fiction and is run by Helen Hollick, who used to be Managing Editor of the HNS Indie Reviews. At Discovering Diamonds, she has a team of highly professional, experienced reviewers who take their job - although they are all volunteers - very seriously. If a book is accepted for review it will be given a considered appraisal and if deemed outstanding, it will be declared a Discovered Diamond and put forward for further awards, such as Book of the Month. The blog is fantastic, with guest posts, articles, and even a competition for book cover design.

Helen was adamant that when the HNS revised its policy that there should still be somewhere for Indie Authors to get a 'stamp of approval' which is otherwise so difficult to come by. If you don't know Helen, she is a globally successful author of several books: an Arthurian Trilogy, an Anglo-Saxon series, and now a series about Jesemiah Acorne, who features in the Sea Witch Series. Helen has also written non-fiction books. She is one of another rare breed, that of successful author who will do almost anything in her power to help, support and encourage upcoming authors.

Find the submission guidelines HERE

Another great place to send your book is Chill with a Book. They won't review, but they will send your book out to a number of their team readers who will then assess the book according to certain criteria. If your book passes all these, it will be awarded a Chill with a Book award and, again, there are also monthly and yearly awards, as well as a special award bestowed by its creator, Pauline Barclay. Chill accepts books of - almost -all genres.

Chill with a Book also offers a book cover design award. Pauline is an author herself; another one who 'pays it forward'.

Find the submission guidelines HERE

Both Helen and Pauline work closely with Avalon Graphics, where designer Cathy Helms takes time from her work of designing quality book covers to help with judging competitions and designing logos.

More about Avalon Graphics

So, if you are an Indie Author - or indeed a Traditionally published author, submit your book/s. Not every book gets accepted, and even those which do don't necessarily win a Diamond or a Chill logo. But this just means that these are marks of quality, awarded after careful consideration by people who really know what a good book looks like, inside and out.

Interview with Suzanne Adair

Today on Reads, Writes, Reviews I'm delighted to welcome author Suzanne Adair, who has new book out:

AW: Welcome to the blog, Suzanne. You write about the American Revolution and when I first read this I thought to myself Yes - what a brilliant era to pick. Excitement, danger, idealism, great costumes... And my second thought was - I don't read of many authors writing historical fiction like this. Am I, as a Brit, uninformed, or are you blazing a trail here?

SA: Neither, actually. A number of authors write fiction based during the American Revolution. I have the only mystery series set in the southern theater of the war. I won’t deny, however, that other historical settings are far more popular for fiction: 18th-century Scotland, Elizabethan England, the American Civil War, Regency and Victorian England, and so forth.

The major presses based in New York City are reluctant to publish fiction set during the Revolution. American high-school history class has so thoroughly populated the period with bewigged, boring men spouting unintelligible political philosophy that publishing professionals are convinced the time period “isn’t sexy enough.” (That’s a direct quote I heard from a New York literary agent.)

Also, the American Revolution is hallowed ground for many people: the Great Founding Myth. Authors are afraid to rock the boat and challenge stereotypes and anecdotes. They stick with what they think they know. The result is bland fiction that reinforces all those “bewigged, boring men.”

Yet the thirteen original colonies and surrounding territories had an incredibly diverse population: multiple ethnicities, religions, and political views. There are so many stories waiting to be told for those who are willing to do the deep research and help make history three-dimensional.

AW: I know that you don't just write books, but that you run a successful blog. For those who aren't aware, can you explain the ethos behind your blog, Relevant History, and what makes it different?

SA: Back in 2011, I was searching for a way to give visibility to authors of historical fiction because I felt they were underrepresented in the literary spotlight. At the same time, I was considering shutting down my blog because it wasn’t getting much traffic. I asked several people who were devoted readers of my books what would interest them in my blog, make them come back again and again to read what was there. They said history, any time period of history, as long as it’s the provocative, horrific, or hilarious bits that get excised from high school history class. In other words, what connects us to people of past eras and makes history relevant to the 21st century.

Knowing that I didn’t personally have the time to do all that research and write all those essays, I set up some guidelines, put the call out to authors, and, when I had a few guests scheduled, launched the feature on my blog. My blog traffic skyrocketed, so I kept scheduling Relevant History posts. I also developed a quarterly newsletter that’s mostly publishing news my Relevant History author guests share about their book releases, discounts, freebies, and so forth.

I’ve taken a short hiatus from Relevant History this year, March–May, to run a successful crowdfunding campaign for Killer Debt, book #4 of my Michael Stoddard American Revolution mysteries, then release the book. Relevant History posts will resume in early June. It’s my pleasure to help other authors with visibility. And the history I’ve learned from reading posts for this feature has been amazing.

AW: You mention Michael Stoddard, but you've written two series, Mysteries of the American Revolution and The Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mysteries. Are they completely separate, or was one born of the other in any way?

SA: Great question! The Mysteries of the American Revolution trilogy came first. While I was researching the final book of it, I learned that Crown forces of the 82nd Regiment of Foot sailed out of Charleston, South Carolina and occupied Wilmington, North Carolina in January 1781. This small regiment of redcoats (only about 200 soldiers) occupied Wilmington through November 1781 and was successful at snarling the Continental Army’s strategies for much of that year.

This astonishing history wasn’t being taught in American public schools—I suspect because the redcoats did a really professional job on the campaign while the patriots were disorganized and ineffective throughout most of it. We don’t do our kids justice by teaching them only about our successes. It’s a good idea to also study where opponents have excelled and why we’ve failed. Because many people learn history today by reading historical fiction, I decided to create the Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mystery series as a vehicle for the story of 1781 in North Carolina.

Michael Stoddard, a fictional, twenty-something junior officer in the British Army, appeared in all three books of the original trilogy as a minor character. I transferred him to the 82nd Regiment in Charleston in time for the King to pay his fare to Wilmington with the rest of the regiment. There the 82nd’s commander, Major James Henry Craig, makes Michael the regiment’s criminal investigator (see book #1, Deadly Occupation), thus launching Michael’s career as a detective. And North Carolina’s Revolutionary history, the driving force for the series’ external conflicts, gets the spotlight in each book.

AW: That's a really interesting concept! Can you tell us about your new novel?

SA: Certainly. Killer Debt is set in July 1781, in Wilmington, North Carolina, when the 82nd Regiment was at the height of its power. Aided by several thousand North Carolinians who were loyal to King George III, the 82nd blocked the Continental Army from moving troops and supplies between Virginia and South Carolina overland through North Carolina, effectively stalling the war for the better part of the year. It was a great time and place to support the Crown.

Since there’s a murder or two in Killer Debt, and Michael Stoddard is a criminal investigator, he must make sure that justice prevails in the end. However in this book, Michael, who’s generally a by-the-rules sort of fellow, receives a jolt to his self-respect when he must implement a different kind of justice.

In Killer Debt, I also showcase an amazing piece of history that exemplifies the ancient wartime code of honor under which both the British and Continental Armies operated for most of the war. Wartime code of honor—what’s that? Set aside your cynicism. The last time that code of honor operated was early in World War I, so opponents extending courtesy to each other isn’t something you’d remember. But what an excellent subplot it makes in Killer Debt.

Thank you, Annie, for this opportunity to appear on your blog!

AW: Thank you, Suzanne, for telling us all about your books and blog.

*****

Bio
Award-winning novelist Suzanne Adair is a Florida native who lives in North Carolina. Her mysteries transport readers to the Southern theater of the American Revolution, where she brings historic towns, battles, and people to life. She fuels her creativity with Revolutionary War reenacting and visits to historic sites. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, dancing, and hiking. Recently she was appointed by North Carolina’s Daughters of the American Revolution to a state-wide committee formed by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to help share information about and coordinate events of the Semiquincentennial. Killer Debt, book #4 of her Michael Stoddard American Revolution Mystery series, was released 9 May 2018 after a successful crowdfunding campaign during March 2018. Check her [http://www.SuzanneAdair.net/]web site for the latest information.


Book description
A slain loyalist financier, a patriot synagogue, a desperate debtor. And Michael Stoddard, who was determined to see justice done.
July 1781. The American Revolution rages in North Carolina. Redcoat investigator Captain Michael Stoddard is given the high-profile, demanding job of guarding a signer of the Declaration of Independence on a diplomatic mission to Crown-occupied Wilmington. When a psychopathic fellow officer with his own agenda is assigned to investigate a financier’s murder, Michael is furious. The officer’s threats to impose fines on the owner of a tavern and link her brother to the financier’s murder draw Michael into the case—to his own peril and that of innocent civilians. For neither killer nor victim are what they first seem.

Social media links
Web site  http://www.SuzanneAdair.net/
Blog  http://www.SuzanneAdair.net/blog/
Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/Suzanne.Adair.Author/
Twitter  http://www.twitter.com/Suzanne_Adair/

Buy links for the Michael Stoddard series
Deadly Occupation 
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1VNuBAc
Nook: http://bit.ly/1VNuvIP
Apple: http://apple.co/1PpzFG1

Regulated for Murder  
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1jCIq1y
Nook: http://bit.ly/1iHjaUj
Apple: http://apple.co/1WFEIEc

A Hostage to Heritage  
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1hhKdpw
Nook: http://bit.ly/1o7r5zQ
Apple: http://apple.co/1WIBDmW

Buy Links for Killer Debt
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Adair/e/B003WH8Q36/
Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killer-debt-suzanne-adair/1128621210
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1382260670