Shriveled & Ugly

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Sandra Wagner-Wright

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Saxon Heroines

Literature & Fiction

synopsis

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.

bio

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

Shriveled & Ugly

Superstition is a powerful force. For example, for hundreds of years people thought that if an infant or child was too perfect, the fairies would steal him or her. Sometimes they replaced the child with an imposter; sometimes they didn't. Enfleda thinks her child is beautiful, but doesn't share the thought. The king declares his son to be shriveled and ugly before giving him a warrior's name. Egfrid lived to inherit the throne, so the fairies must have believed the subterfuge.

Book Excerpt

Saxon Heroines

I grit my teeth, give the most powerful push I can imagine, and expel my infant. The child cries.

“You have a prince, Your Majesty.”

I’ve never heard sweeter words.

The ladies clean me, put me in bed, and put my swaddled son to my breast. He’s beautiful.

“He is shriveled and ugly,” my husband says to keep the fairies from taking him. “Too weak to be a warrior. I will call him Egfrid, the sword’s edge.”
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