The dark age back story of a once lost broach

Historic records rarely write women into the narrative. This story - sparked by a finding of a once lost broach - imagines the life of women during waring times in the Dark Ages. Times and belief systems may change but the trauma of being a subjugated and mostly powerless group - which women mostly are - during periods of violence and national upheaval is a relived experience. The narrative tries to illuminate the importance of old belief systems as a way of understanding the world.
The story carries the reader along but these are women from a very different time and would not think as we now. I confess the story lost me in the middle when Isla developed C21 thoughts about the archaeological potential of the lost broach. Good that it was found.
An interesting take on an interesting time about which we know very little.

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An ambitious book that really disappointed

I bought this after reading a blog on LitHub describing how the author was inspired to write the story based on a brooch found in the British Museum and the speculative discussions she'd had with the curators and other history buffs and how it had taken two years to write. I saw the author was a professor of English lit at UEA so thought this would mean the book would be well-written (unlike a lot of popular historical fiction). Like anyone with an interest in ancient or early medieval history this period is a fascinating blank so I was intrigued by the possibility that someone could at least half-convincingly recreate this lost world.
Unfortunately the book wasn't able to live up to this ambition. Although there are attempts to paint a picture of post-Roman, the early Saxon London, it's very low resolution and the historical context is limited to a few references to tribes, customs and gods and a bit of ethnic mixing that doesn't even come close to exploring the complexity of what must have happened during those transitional years. 99% of the content is about a small group of protagonists with distinctly 21st century thoughts, manners, disease and social customs (although to be fair this latter criticism applies to most historical novels set during the middle ages) . The female characters are modern and paper-thin, and albeit nowhere near as much as the male ones. There's a strong 'sisters are doing it for themselves' vibe which might have worked if woven in to a more detailed and convincing plot but here just irritates. The main villain is pantomime-like and the plot to escape his evil clutches is utterly predictable and formulaic.
The quality of writing was competent but completely uninspiring or imaginative, making it even harder to place oneself in the time and place. Most content was dialogue or fast-paced action. I hate writing bad reviews but I feel a bit cheated. It should and could have been a lot better than this!

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1 person found this helpful

A good story that was let down by detail

I enjoyed this but was annoyed with details that didn’t fit the era and the ending felt rushed.

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