📖 His Fic Saturday ~ The Coming of the Wolf by Elizabeth Chadwick

 

On Hist Fic Saturday

Let's go back to ...1069

Sphere
6 August 2020

The Welsh Borders, 1069

When Ashdyke Manor is attacked, Lady Christen is forced to witness her husband's murder and the pillaging of her lands at the hands of brutal Norman invaders.

It seems the pain is finally over when Miles Le Gallois, Lord of Milnham-on-Wye, calls off the attack. But he has Christen's brother under armed guard and a deal to offer: her brother's freedom for her hand in marriage. Christen finds herself hastily married into the enemy side, with her brother swearing his vengeance on her new husband.

Miles and Christen's precarious union invites enemies from all sides and when Miles is summoned for a lengthy campaign by the King, Christen is left to watch his lands. In the midst of war, two enemies must somehow learn to trust one another if they are to survive 

📖 My Thoughts..

The Coming of the Wolf  begins in the mid-eleventh century in the early years of the reign of William the Conqueror when the border lands were particularly troublesome with Norman marauders searching for easy prey. When Ashdyke Manor on the Welsh Borders is attacked and Lady Christen's elderly husband is savagely murdered she has no-one to to come to her aid except a Norman knight, Miles le Gallois, Lord of Milnham-on-Wye, who calls off the attack and sends the culprits fleeing into the night. 

With her home, and personal circumstances in ruins, and with her life in danger, Lady Christen has no choice but to accept the protection of this enigmatic Norman knight even if it means entering into a marriage of convenience which alienates her from everything she has known. However, Christen finds to her cost, that the hand of fate is fickle and her sheltered life once so precious is now over and times are about to get far more dangerous.

It's been nearly thirty years since I read The Wild Hunt trilogy of historical adventures and this prequel makes an interesting addition to the series. I have enjoyed starting back at the beginning and getting to know the characters who have only ever existed as a shadowy mention in the later novels. There's no need to have read any of The Wild Hunt novels in order to enjoy this story, in fact I think you are probably at an advantage if you are entirely new to the stories as this book will blend beautifully into The Wild Hunt which opens in 1098.

The Coming of the Wolf  is a beautifully written historical adventure which has at its heart, a dash of danger, a smattering of intrigue and an exciting love story.

 

About the Author

Much of Elizabeth Chadwick’s research is carried out as a member of Regia Anglorum, an early mediaeval re-enactment society with emphasis on accurately re-creating the past. She also tutors in the skill of writing historial and romantic fiction. She won a Betty Trask Award for The Wild Hunt and has been shortlisted for the RNA Awards four times ( Publisher)

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