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Author Insight
A Queen's Duty
As King Egfrid's wife, Etheldreda is Queen of Northumbria. Another woman might be thrilled. Etheldreda longs only to join a monastery. Her vow of chastity doesn't please her husband. Now, more than ever, he needs a son and sends Bishop Wilfrid to persuade his wife to do her duty to her king. Etheldreda refuses to relinquish her vow. Is her refusal a pure act of faith? It could be. Or, is it a desperate attempt to exercise autonomy from her husband's rule over her? Could it be both? And what will be the cost?
Book Excerpt
Saxon Heroines
I kneel on the stone floor, facing Bishop Wilfrid, and confess my sins—particularly vanity.
“Forgive me, for I have sinned,” I beg.
Bishop Wilfrid looks at me with a bland, expressionless face. “What is your sin, daughter?”
I touch the gold torc at my neck. “I cannot tear myself away from worldly adornment.”
Bishop Wilfrid looks slightly bored. “Have you any other sins to confess?”
“No. I spend my days keeping the holy offices and embroidering vestments.”
“I wasn’t speaking of vestments, but of your duty to your husband.”
“My duty to God is greater.”
Bishop Wilfrid sighs, makes the sign of the cross over me, and says God forgives my vanity, so long as I strive to overcome it.
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