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Sandra Wagner-Wright

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Saxon Heroines

Literature & Fiction

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Synopsis
Seventh century England is a hodgepodge of warring Anglo-Saxon states filled with shifting alliances and treacherous grabs for royal power. Kings rise and fall, depending on Woden's Luck. Northumbria, the damp kingdom north of the River Humber, is a state riven with rivalries and kings determined to expand at any cost. Women have no obvious role in a warrior society, but by using their wits, four women—two queens and two abbesses—make monumental changes. One woman marries a pagan king and successfully converts him to Christianity before he dies in battle. One becomes the most powerful abbess in Northumbria and holds the Great Synod at Whitby Abbey, which brings the kingdom back to the Roman Church. Another becomes queen and keeps political alliances strong despite different religious denominations. The fourth woman ushers in a new age by negotiating with kings and churchmen to establish one united church in the Northumbrian kingdom. Based on true events and people, this is the story of Northumbria through the eyes of the most important women of their time.

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Author Biography

Sandra writes historical fiction. Her latest book, "Ambition, Arrogance & Pride" focuses on 18th century Salem MA. Sandra also blogs about history, travel, and other topics that catch her attention. For more information about Sandra, visit her website https://www.sandrawagnerwright.com

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Author Insight

Stability

Princess Hildeburg's thoughts reflect how little control anyone has over her or his destiny. Kingdoms rise and fall without any real pattern, and a woman's fate is of little concern in the broader frame of cosmic struggles. Nevertheless, Hildeburg finds gratitude for her new situation. Her husband is kind and her life stable. The situation could have been considerably worse.

Book Excerpt

Saxon Heroines

I often ponder the way God’s favor passes from one king to another, as capricious as fortune’s wheel. Our family’s misfortune brought back the princes my uncle drove out of Northumbria when he returned from King Redwald’s court. King Edwin said he ruled by Woden’s luck. Later, he gave credit to God. But he was only a small piece in a cosmic struggle. When gods dispute, kings die. Edwin’s princes are dead; his queen in a monastery; his daughter, Enfleda, neither nun nor princess; and I am less than that.

The kings of East Anglia have no use for a dispossessed princess, so King Eadbald marries me to an old man who served him well in battle. I bind my husband’s weeping wounds, keep his hall supplied, and warm his bed. In his battle-hardened way, he is kind, and I am grateful.
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