Edith, Fair as a Swan
The Edith of the title was the hand-fast wife of Harold II, famously killed at Hastings in the year 1066. However, this a multi-layered tale related by Bowdyn the Gleeman – or ‘storyteller’ to the inhabitants of a small village in the year 1687. The tales he tells – there are two previous volumes, but each book is a stand-alone – are designed to inspire and give hope to the descendants of the people he tells about.
And yet, this book is even more than that. Bowdyn narrates in the voice of Edmund, a cripple, who sees his village destroyed by Norman invaders not long after the Conquest. Edmund escapes and is taken by his outlawed chief – or headman – to a place where he meets with Edith. Edith is being sought by King William because she alone knows where Harold is buried and she also holds a valuable artefact which William desires. During the course of the tale, we hear how Edith had the harrowing task of identifying the body of her husband and how she deceived William and buried the true remains in a secret place.
The stories of both Edmund and Edith are now intertwined – along with others – and we hear how they flee through Wales and northwards to York and then on to Ely where Hereward helps them escape on a ship to Scandinavia. From there they travel to what is now part of Russia and the end of their story.
The book is very well written, beautifully descriptive and, for the main part, based on fact. Edith does appear to disappear after Hastings, and her daughter, Gytha, who is part of this tale, certainly did marry a Prince in Eastern Europe: Hockey cleverly tells the story with great plausibility.
My one question mark is quite small: Edith is referred to as ‘My Queen’ and I query whether the hand-fast wife of a future king and, as such, unrecognised by the church, would be so addressed, especially as Harold had another, ‘official’ wife.
One unfortunate criticism – and I’m afraid, dislike, is the cover which, sadly, is most uninspiring, somewhat dull and very un-eye-catching, especially considering the high price of the book. Had I seen this on the shelf I would not have picked it up. What a pity, as such a brilliantly written book deserves a professional cover to do it justice.
