Siege

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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

Siege

While Hildeburg mulls her choices before taking vows as a nun, her niece Enfleda experiences life at a warlord's court. Oswy and Panda, rivals for control in Northumbria regularly participate in skirmishes that are every more costly in men and treasure. But this time the stakes are higher. Penda's forces ravage the Northumbrian province of Bernicia and Enfleda is left to defend the fortress at Bamburg. She hopes her husband will arrive to rout their enemies, but more realistically fears Penda's men will breach the fortress. An unnerving situation, to say the least.

Book Excerpt

Saxon Heroines

Penda’s forces ravage Bernicia. He raids our cattle and sets our fields on fire. And King Oswy, that bellowing warrior, can’t stop him. Now Penda’s army camps outside Bamburg, our strongest fortress, unable to enter and refusing to leave.

I peer down from the wall overlooking our lands. Every day wagons stacked with thatch and fencing materials pull up outside the walls. Men unload wood, wattle, thatch—all dry in the August sun. The stack of kindling grows higher each day. They will burn us out, if my husband doesn’t force them away.
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