What do you think?
Rate this book
Fridgyth The Herb-Wife #1
A Swarming of Bees
“A herbwife on a mule may go where warriors cannot – she may see what warriors cannot see and hear what warriors cannot hear!”
The Monastery at Whitby is ruled over by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. But when she needs someone to confide in, she turns to the honest warmth of her friend Fridgyth, the half-pagan herb-wife.
A divisive and life-altering decision taken at the Great Synod is swiftly overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. As she tends the sick, Fridgyth starts to suspect that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild’s stern warnings “not to meddle” she sets out to investigate.
Can Fridgyth’s wisdom and intuition unmask the murderer and unravel the dark politics surrounding the deaths and clandestine arrival of two young scholars?
A SWARMING OF BEES is an absorbing and richly atmospheric murder mystery.
The Monastery at Whitby is ruled over by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. But when she needs someone to confide in, she turns to the honest warmth of her friend Fridgyth, the half-pagan herb-wife.
A divisive and life-altering decision taken at the Great Synod is swiftly overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. As she tends the sick, Fridgyth starts to suspect that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild’s stern warnings “not to meddle” she sets out to investigate.
Can Fridgyth’s wisdom and intuition unmask the murderer and unravel the dark politics surrounding the deaths and clandestine arrival of two young scholars?
A SWARMING OF BEES is an absorbing and richly atmospheric murder mystery.
271 pages, Paperback
First published December 11, 2012
163 people are currently reading
625 people want to read
About the author
Theresa Tomlinson
43 books128 followersThough I was born in the South of England - my parents moved back to the North when I was one year old, and I have lived in Yorkshire ever since. I spent a few years as an infant teacher, but when my children were young I started making picture books for them and became hooked on writing. I love drawing and painting, but my main love is writing, often using the legends and history around me as inspiration.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
June 1, 2013
I really liked 'A Swarming of Bees', by Theresa Tomlinson, and have no hesitation in awarding five stars. The subject matter, the presentation, the writing style: all of this came together just right for my taste. And it had a couple of maps, which always please me. These help the reader become oriented in the community of Whitby, called here by the Old English name of Streonshalh. For those who are not familiar with English geography, Whitby is on the east coast, in the modern county of Yorkshire, looking across the North Sea towards Scandinavia. Somewhat later than this story, it would be part of the Viking-dominated region called the Danelaw (as in The Bone Thief), but at this time it was in Northumbria, a large swathe of land ruled from Bamburgh.
The historical setting is in the immediate aftermath of the Synod of Whitby, in 664AD. This was a key moment in British Christianity when the fledgling native church, which had been isolated from Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, was brought back under the authority of Roman Catholicism.
Now, many today might regret the loss to the church of the Celtic flavour of faith that this caused, but at the time, church unity was considered more important than insisting on an opinion. Individual Christian leaders might (and did) regret the loss, and expressed it by withdrawal to isolated communities, but there was no church schism resulting from this event.
Anyway, 'A Swarming of Bees' has this event, and the resulting shakeup of church leadership, as part of the background. But for many of the individuals who are central, the choice is not between Roman and Celtic Christianity. Rather, it is between any sort of Christianity and their continuing allegiance to the older beliefs. The British Isles were - and in many ways still are today - a meeting place for many different styles of life and faith.
This intersection of culture, and the different ways people approach it, is at the heart of Theresa's book. Abbess Hild, leader of the religious community, is willing and able to bridge the potential gap of religious experience in order to integrate the community rather than divide it. She is an inspirational figure, successfully threading the difficult line between compassion and compromise.
The plotline is basically a murder mystery, with the detective role played by the abbey herbalist Fridgyth. She personifies many of the tensions and insecurities of the age, and I found her an endearing character who it was easy to identify with. Along with that, the frequent references to, and recipes for, herbal and folk medicines give depth to her experience. Regarding the murder mystery, there are some echoes here of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, though the motives here reflect the turbulent political and social setting of the times, rather than the religious extremism that Eco likes to target. As such, the story, and the motives of the various protagonists, are much more accessible to a modern audience.
But the mystery is only part of the subject matter, and only part of the charm of this book. More prominent are the everyday difficulties and triumphs faced by the inhabitants of Whitby - both within and without the abbey walls. It is a time when plague ravages the land, leaving whole communities decimated, orphaned, and struggling in its aftermath.
This lends a sense of perspective to the grim events within the abbey - for many lay people living nearby, there are much more urgent survival challenges. In any age it is easy to interpret drastic events as divine commentary on momentous, perhaps questionable, decisions, and this era was no exception.
Theresa blends poetry in with her prose, faithfully mirroring the Old English alliterative style - I personally found this a great source of delight. It is a style which held sway in this country and elsewhere in Europe for a long time, before (many years later) being supplanted by the accentual and rhyme-dominated patterns which are much more familiar to many people. But in the world of Streonshalh, the traditional patterns of verse are alive and well, and used powerfully and beautifully by Caedmon and others to bridge the pre-Christian and Christian views of creation.
All in all, a very satisfying book to have read - and which I am sure I will re-read in a while. Five stars, definitely.
The historical setting is in the immediate aftermath of the Synod of Whitby, in 664AD. This was a key moment in British Christianity when the fledgling native church, which had been isolated from Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, was brought back under the authority of Roman Catholicism.
Now, many today might regret the loss to the church of the Celtic flavour of faith that this caused, but at the time, church unity was considered more important than insisting on an opinion. Individual Christian leaders might (and did) regret the loss, and expressed it by withdrawal to isolated communities, but there was no church schism resulting from this event.
Anyway, 'A Swarming of Bees' has this event, and the resulting shakeup of church leadership, as part of the background. But for many of the individuals who are central, the choice is not between Roman and Celtic Christianity. Rather, it is between any sort of Christianity and their continuing allegiance to the older beliefs. The British Isles were - and in many ways still are today - a meeting place for many different styles of life and faith.
This intersection of culture, and the different ways people approach it, is at the heart of Theresa's book. Abbess Hild, leader of the religious community, is willing and able to bridge the potential gap of religious experience in order to integrate the community rather than divide it. She is an inspirational figure, successfully threading the difficult line between compassion and compromise.
The plotline is basically a murder mystery, with the detective role played by the abbey herbalist Fridgyth. She personifies many of the tensions and insecurities of the age, and I found her an endearing character who it was easy to identify with. Along with that, the frequent references to, and recipes for, herbal and folk medicines give depth to her experience. Regarding the murder mystery, there are some echoes here of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, though the motives here reflect the turbulent political and social setting of the times, rather than the religious extremism that Eco likes to target. As such, the story, and the motives of the various protagonists, are much more accessible to a modern audience.
But the mystery is only part of the subject matter, and only part of the charm of this book. More prominent are the everyday difficulties and triumphs faced by the inhabitants of Whitby - both within and without the abbey walls. It is a time when plague ravages the land, leaving whole communities decimated, orphaned, and struggling in its aftermath.
This lends a sense of perspective to the grim events within the abbey - for many lay people living nearby, there are much more urgent survival challenges. In any age it is easy to interpret drastic events as divine commentary on momentous, perhaps questionable, decisions, and this era was no exception.
Theresa blends poetry in with her prose, faithfully mirroring the Old English alliterative style - I personally found this a great source of delight. It is a style which held sway in this country and elsewhere in Europe for a long time, before (many years later) being supplanted by the accentual and rhyme-dominated patterns which are much more familiar to many people. But in the world of Streonshalh, the traditional patterns of verse are alive and well, and used powerfully and beautifully by Caedmon and others to bridge the pre-Christian and Christian views of creation.
All in all, a very satisfying book to have read - and which I am sure I will re-read in a while. Five stars, definitely.
February 18, 2015
The original review, and many other reviews and features, can be found at www.thebookeaters.co.uk
In 664AD, the Monastery at Whitby is ruled by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. She has already proved her wisdom by making the local cunning-woman Fridgyth, the monastery’s herb-wife, thus incorporating the local pagan faiths into those of the church and gaining herself and honest and sensible friend.
As the Monastery plays host to King Oswry and dignitaries of the Irish and Roman Catholic Churches for the Synod of Whitby, several strangers arrive and seek to live within the sanctuary of its walls for a while. Two of them are young men that seem to be surrounded by intrigue.
The shocking and divisive decision taken at the Great Synod to return to the Roman Catholic Church is soon overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. But as Fridgyth works desperately to heal the sick she notices some of the symptoms are unusual, it seems that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild’s stern warnings “not to meddle” she sets out to investigate.
I’ve had this book on my kindle for a little while and I’ve been quite impatient to read it. The cover attracted me, and I do like historical fiction particularly era’s like this that have little written about them.
I found the characters felt like old friends very quickly, the story and the setting were absorbing and before I’d got even fifty pages in I was wishing I could have been there with them. I am quite seriously wanting a weekend away up near Whitby now so I can tread in their footsteps!
As a murder mystery is was good, maybe not quite the best as I guessed ‘whodunit’ a little quicker than Fridgyth did. But it still kept my interest as the political intrigues were unraveled to explain why the murders occurred.
It was very well researched and gave a compelling insight into the lifestyles of the time, I thoroughly recommend it and I would love for Theresa Tomlinson to write more with these characters and for this book to be adapted for a television series. My only complaint is that it didn’t go on long enough and I would have liked a closer look into the pagan lifestyle that was just under the surface of the story… A prequel could do this admirably (hint hint if you read this Ms Tomlinson!)
I found out after reading it that it was a winner of the B.R.A.G. Medallion Award. I hadn’t heard of this award before so I googled it and found out that B.R.A.G. is an acronym for Book Readers Appreciation Group. They are a privately held organization that has brought together a large group of readers, both individuals and members of book clubs, to discover new and talented self-published authors and help them give their work the attention and recognition it deserves.
According to their website they are pretty fussy about who they award their medallion to, apparently only around 10% of the books nominated get one, if this book is anything to go by I’ll be looking out for more awardees, until I read that I’d had no idea this wasn’t a traditionally published book!
4 bites
In 664AD, the Monastery at Whitby is ruled by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. She has already proved her wisdom by making the local cunning-woman Fridgyth, the monastery’s herb-wife, thus incorporating the local pagan faiths into those of the church and gaining herself and honest and sensible friend.
As the Monastery plays host to King Oswry and dignitaries of the Irish and Roman Catholic Churches for the Synod of Whitby, several strangers arrive and seek to live within the sanctuary of its walls for a while. Two of them are young men that seem to be surrounded by intrigue.
The shocking and divisive decision taken at the Great Synod to return to the Roman Catholic Church is soon overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. But as Fridgyth works desperately to heal the sick she notices some of the symptoms are unusual, it seems that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild’s stern warnings “not to meddle” she sets out to investigate.
I’ve had this book on my kindle for a little while and I’ve been quite impatient to read it. The cover attracted me, and I do like historical fiction particularly era’s like this that have little written about them.
I found the characters felt like old friends very quickly, the story and the setting were absorbing and before I’d got even fifty pages in I was wishing I could have been there with them. I am quite seriously wanting a weekend away up near Whitby now so I can tread in their footsteps!
As a murder mystery is was good, maybe not quite the best as I guessed ‘whodunit’ a little quicker than Fridgyth did. But it still kept my interest as the political intrigues were unraveled to explain why the murders occurred.
It was very well researched and gave a compelling insight into the lifestyles of the time, I thoroughly recommend it and I would love for Theresa Tomlinson to write more with these characters and for this book to be adapted for a television series. My only complaint is that it didn’t go on long enough and I would have liked a closer look into the pagan lifestyle that was just under the surface of the story… A prequel could do this admirably (hint hint if you read this Ms Tomlinson!)
I found out after reading it that it was a winner of the B.R.A.G. Medallion Award. I hadn’t heard of this award before so I googled it and found out that B.R.A.G. is an acronym for Book Readers Appreciation Group. They are a privately held organization that has brought together a large group of readers, both individuals and members of book clubs, to discover new and talented self-published authors and help them give their work the attention and recognition it deserves.
According to their website they are pretty fussy about who they award their medallion to, apparently only around 10% of the books nominated get one, if this book is anything to go by I’ll be looking out for more awardees, until I read that I’d had no idea this wasn’t a traditionally published book!
4 bites
May 22, 2015
A wonderful tale about a herb wife and her role within an abbey and the seaside town it's set in. She finds that she can help where others maybe hindered. The story is rich with characters, plots, plague and bees.
A lovely read.
A lovely read.
June 9, 2018
A quick, easy read that was enjoyable and full of great characters but had a rather lacklustre plot.
February 28, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. It had a good premise and I really liked the main character, Fridgyth the herb-wife. However there were too many characters and I had a hard time keeping track. I discovered when I finished that there was a character glossary in the back but I read this on my Kindle so I had no idea that it was there. It was just a little disappointing because I figured out the plot very quickly. I really liked the setting and time period but the story needed a little work.
March 29, 2013
This book was ok, I read my way through it as I enjoy this period of history and thought the plot sounded interesting. The Herb-wife in a Northumbrian monastry who is supposed to be able to go anywhere un-noticed and find who-ever is poisoning the community, but it was very slow and predictable. I kept waiting for the plot to pick up and give me some of the religous and political oomph that these times possessed, but it didn't really do that. There was a little excitement with the plague wiping out whole swathes of the country, but that was really as good as it got, left me wanting more in depth content.
May 28, 2013
A bit disappointed with this one - chosen for our book group because the Northumbria connection and the fact that we liked medieval fiction. Theresa has mainly writing for children/young adults before and I didn't feel that her cross-over to adult fiction had been entirely successful in this tale. The book lacked the suspense of Umberto Eco and wasn't as engaging as the Brother Cadfael novels of Ellis Peters. I felt the dialogue was a bit trite in places (sometimes the characters were speaking in old English and dialect and in other places they weren't). Towards the end I felt that the story was rushing towards a predictable ending.
Read
January 26, 2013This appealing historical mystery is set in seventh-century Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, in the monastery at Streonshalh (modern Whitby). When two young scholars arrive from Ireland seeking the protection of Abbess Hild, the monastery herb-wife, Fridgyth, gives them shelter. But soon after their arrival, plague breaks out in the monastery and as she cares for the sick Fridgyth suspects that not all the deaths are natural. Is the plague being used as cover for something more sinister – murder?
Review: http://www.carlanayland.org/reviews/s...
Review: http://www.carlanayland.org/reviews/s...
January 31, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the herb-wife's remedies in treating the sick. I did get a bit confused by the Anglo-Saxon names, but this didn't distract me from the mystery. I hope there are more adventures for the herb-wife, as I'll definitely read them.
October 27, 2021
After being utterly delighted by the second book in this series for its characters, mystery, and historical backdrop along with writing style and narration work, I had to go back for the first book to see how it all began.
Fridgyth is a homey, caregiving type who has seen her own share of loss and tough living. She may be an illiterate natural medicine dispenser, but she has a sharp way of observation and quick mind that endures her to the royal abbess friend who brought her to the abbey as their medical practitioner. Fridgyth is respectful of the upper classes though not awed and not above those who serve in and around the abbey so when odd behaviors and curious actions catch her notice, she is able to sort them and figure out what is going on with the deaths that can't be brought down to the devastating plague.
This one sets up meticulously and takes slow strides at first so that the reader/listener is utterly immersed in this post-Roman Britain world and the local situation there at the abbey. But, some of those details turn out very significant later and have strong-bearing on the mystery.
The historical details of the synod that met at the abbey to determine whether that kingdom would follow Roman or Celtic church polity, the people still transitioning from old pagan beliefs and superstitions, the reaction to a solar eclipse, and then the arrival of the yellow plague through infected rats along with the changing rule of royals and little Britain kingdoms before they are united was all so fascinating. It is also the little details of early medieval life that filled in so much wonderful color.
I felt the characters were well-written to fit with the world they lived in back then starting with Fridgyth herself, Abbess Hild, Caedmon the cowherding poet, and the other real life figures sprinkled throughout with the fictional ones.
As to the mystery, I had it figured out about half-way through, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of coming along with Fridgyth to the very end.
Danielle Cohen had already impressed me with her storytelling work in the second book so I was able to slip easily into this book with great anticipation for the way she rendered the book and the characters. Impressive were the way she gave accent to the various social statuses and foreigners.
All in all, it was fabulous and I am eager to press forward with the series. Historical mystery fans should definitely give this series a go.
Fridgyth is a homey, caregiving type who has seen her own share of loss and tough living. She may be an illiterate natural medicine dispenser, but she has a sharp way of observation and quick mind that endures her to the royal abbess friend who brought her to the abbey as their medical practitioner. Fridgyth is respectful of the upper classes though not awed and not above those who serve in and around the abbey so when odd behaviors and curious actions catch her notice, she is able to sort them and figure out what is going on with the deaths that can't be brought down to the devastating plague.
This one sets up meticulously and takes slow strides at first so that the reader/listener is utterly immersed in this post-Roman Britain world and the local situation there at the abbey. But, some of those details turn out very significant later and have strong-bearing on the mystery.
The historical details of the synod that met at the abbey to determine whether that kingdom would follow Roman or Celtic church polity, the people still transitioning from old pagan beliefs and superstitions, the reaction to a solar eclipse, and then the arrival of the yellow plague through infected rats along with the changing rule of royals and little Britain kingdoms before they are united was all so fascinating. It is also the little details of early medieval life that filled in so much wonderful color.
I felt the characters were well-written to fit with the world they lived in back then starting with Fridgyth herself, Abbess Hild, Caedmon the cowherding poet, and the other real life figures sprinkled throughout with the fictional ones.
As to the mystery, I had it figured out about half-way through, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of coming along with Fridgyth to the very end.
Danielle Cohen had already impressed me with her storytelling work in the second book so I was able to slip easily into this book with great anticipation for the way she rendered the book and the characters. Impressive were the way she gave accent to the various social statuses and foreigners.
All in all, it was fabulous and I am eager to press forward with the series. Historical mystery fans should definitely give this series a go.
April 26, 2020
My rating would actually be 3.5 stars. I wanted to give it four stars but there were a number of errors (loose where it should have been lose for example) and those are just really jarring for me. I did love the story and it is apparent that this author knows her Bede and other historical references. I appreciated that aspect of the story more than anything. Because there is little we do know of this time other than names and Bede's descriptions I am more than happy to let an author take license and run with filling in the gaps with their imagination. I love this time period and this novel addressed this period well. I will say that it is not a super thriller as far as a murder mystery is concerned but I am okay with that as well.
October 27, 2023
A totally unexpected joy. This book was wholesome and interesting, with warm, endearing characters, and set in a period of history often passed over.
The whole story echoed a real sense of genuine love for story telling, and it's main protagonist has been one of my favourite characters to get to know this year.
Some of the names can be slightly confusing in similarities, but that is a language barrier quickly overcome as the story progresses and the important characters take root.
It's also worth noting that some of the characters are based on real historical people, and the character table provided at the end of the book helps clarify their importance in the history books.
A Swarming Of Bees 🐝 is probably my comfort book of the year. It's like returning to an old friend, one you know will speak truth and provide a healing balm to quell any of life's worries.
10/10 would recommend for those seeking comfort and a good story.
The whole story echoed a real sense of genuine love for story telling, and it's main protagonist has been one of my favourite characters to get to know this year.
Some of the names can be slightly confusing in similarities, but that is a language barrier quickly overcome as the story progresses and the important characters take root.
It's also worth noting that some of the characters are based on real historical people, and the character table provided at the end of the book helps clarify their importance in the history books.
A Swarming Of Bees 🐝 is probably my comfort book of the year. It's like returning to an old friend, one you know will speak truth and provide a healing balm to quell any of life's worries.
10/10 would recommend for those seeking comfort and a good story.
January 18, 2018
Set in 'dark ages' in a monastary in Northumberland. I was glad I had some knowledge of the historical period before reading this, but it's not necessary.
April 6, 2024
Excellent story & narration
August 1, 2017
Skim read the end of this book for the last 100 pages or so. I had already worked out who the murderers were. Also found the names of the characters confusing at times which isn't the authors fault as she was trying to create authenticity, hence the two stars rather then one. The characters were a bit one dimensional not fully explored and I could always work out what they were going to do before they did it.
I wouldn't read another book by this author but I'm glad I gave it a whirl.
I wouldn't read another book by this author but I'm glad I gave it a whirl.
October 5, 2015
There was a lot to enjoy in this engaging tale. I was particularly drawn to it because of its setting in 7th century Whitby; I live locally to Whitby and abbess Hilda is one of my heroines. Tomlinson makes no great claims for historical accuracy, however, there was enough detail which gave it an authentic feel to me. The characters were interesting, the pace good and there was some wry humour to sweeten the pot.
November 17, 2020
I really enjoyed this historical crime fiction set around a monastery in 7th Century Whitby. I actually read this years ago when it was first published and couldn’t resist listening to the audiobook when it was offered to me for review.
As the synopsis above mentions the story centres around the relationship between the Abbess Hild, and her friend Fridgyth, the herb-wife. Hild is a Christian and Fridgyth a pagan who is intrigued by her friend’s Christian way of life but not ready to convert. I really liked their friendship and enjoyed hearing about Fridgyth’s pagan view of the world, how she mentioned the Norse gods when she was angry or worried.
The story starts with a synod being held at the monastery, with royalty and religious figures arriving to discuss very important issues of the day. There are a lot of people staying at the Abbey and the herbwife is needed to help out. Whilst Fridgyth is amongst the hordes she notices a few strange characters arriving and so the intrigue and mystery of this story begins.
There were lots of different characters to remember in this story, which was a bit confusing at first especially as the names were old English and Celtic names. However, but as the story moved on it didn’t matter so much. I enjoyed trying to work out what was going on and why, remembering certain plot twists from when I originally read the story.
I absolutely loved Danielle Cohen’s narration, it was superb and brought Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters to life perfectly. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to other books read by this narrator and have added her to my favourite narrators list.
I definitely recommend this audiobook to lovers of historical fiction and mysteries.
Thanks so much to Hope Roy at Tantor Media for my digital copy.
As the synopsis above mentions the story centres around the relationship between the Abbess Hild, and her friend Fridgyth, the herb-wife. Hild is a Christian and Fridgyth a pagan who is intrigued by her friend’s Christian way of life but not ready to convert. I really liked their friendship and enjoyed hearing about Fridgyth’s pagan view of the world, how she mentioned the Norse gods when she was angry or worried.
The story starts with a synod being held at the monastery, with royalty and religious figures arriving to discuss very important issues of the day. There are a lot of people staying at the Abbey and the herbwife is needed to help out. Whilst Fridgyth is amongst the hordes she notices a few strange characters arriving and so the intrigue and mystery of this story begins.
There were lots of different characters to remember in this story, which was a bit confusing at first especially as the names were old English and Celtic names. However, but as the story moved on it didn’t matter so much. I enjoyed trying to work out what was going on and why, remembering certain plot twists from when I originally read the story.
I absolutely loved Danielle Cohen’s narration, it was superb and brought Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters to life perfectly. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to other books read by this narrator and have added her to my favourite narrators list.
I definitely recommend this audiobook to lovers of historical fiction and mysteries.
Thanks so much to Hope Roy at Tantor Media for my digital copy.
December 30, 2020
I'm going to rate books 1 and 2 together. Book one gets off to a slow start as it sets up the location, the time period and the characters. Then it started to pick up steam as it introduced the mystery. I love medieval mystery series and so I was very excited to start this one. And once book 1 got going, it was a good read. Book 2 was better because it didn't have to introduce so much. I love them both very much but was very, very disappointed to learn that these are the only two books in the series. Book two ends as if it could go on but it apparently does not go on to a book 3. I love the fact that the two main characters are a Christian abbess and a pagan herb wife who are good friends. It provides terrific balance to the story. Both are strong characters in their own ways. The secondary characters are great too and it was nice to see them develop from book 1 to book 2.
February 5, 2025
I listened on Audible.
This is a pleasant, gentle book, albeit set in tumultuous times. It's set in a monastery/convent in the early days of British Christianity, the heroine herself is pagan, and there are dynastic feuds as various kings fight for power. Add in an horrendous plague, and Frigydth is a busy woman with lots to do.
I did enjoy the book in a distracted way, I really struggled with who's who, and the names are really quite difficult to follow. I think that's one of the drawbacks of audiobooks for me personally. But I found the descriptions of everyday life fascinating.
I'm atheist, thankfully the religious aspect is pretty minimal and is celebratory rather than condemnatory.
This was a very nice book.
This is a pleasant, gentle book, albeit set in tumultuous times. It's set in a monastery/convent in the early days of British Christianity, the heroine herself is pagan, and there are dynastic feuds as various kings fight for power. Add in an horrendous plague, and Frigydth is a busy woman with lots to do.
I did enjoy the book in a distracted way, I really struggled with who's who, and the names are really quite difficult to follow. I think that's one of the drawbacks of audiobooks for me personally. But I found the descriptions of everyday life fascinating.
I'm atheist, thankfully the religious aspect is pretty minimal and is celebratory rather than condemnatory.
This was a very nice book.
August 20, 2020
The book has a list of historical characters at the end which helps in distinguishing fact from fiction. The Abbess Hild did rule over the Whitby monastery as a double house. The Great Synod did decide to adopt the authority of the Roman church at the expense of the ways of Celtic Christianity. There was a plague that swept through England in the ninth century. Set against this backdrop, the book is a well-written and researched, if rather bleak, novel with some murders thrown in to meet the requirements of the genre. The author has a way of vividly portraying characters and Fridgyth is a very appealing protagonist.
October 3, 2022
This book was okay, but I thought that it was kind of boring. I thought there were too many minor characters with names that may have been common back then, but these names had so many similarities that it was difficult to remember which person was which. I found the name similarities to be confusing. I also thought that there wasn't much character development other than maybe Fridgyth. In spite of some of the events that happened in the story, I found this book to be very put downable. I feel as though the premise of the story was a really interesting one, but the author failed to make me interested.
September 7, 2020
While this book might not be for everyone, it checked off many of the boxes that define books that I personally love: historical fiction set in the Dark Ages of northern Europe, the interaction between paganism and Christianity, political intrigue, and a cast of likable but not perfect characters. Sprinkle in some herbal lore, a bit of chemistry, bees and bards, some mystery, a plague, and a rural setting and it makes it a 5-star book for me. I loved that the main character was a woman of about my age. This was a fast, pleasant relatively light, well-researched, and satisfying story.
October 13, 2020
Fun fast read of mideaval convent life.
I found myself intrigued by the life of a herb wife who tended the sick of the convent and monastery. A mystery involving the attempted assassination of a prince in hiding crowns the end of the story. I also found the tension of the Christian and Pagan religions to be resonant of our current culture's discord over morality and acceptance of the stress of differing ethical beliefs. Of course the inclusion of the first Plaines to disrupt lives echoes loudly .
I found myself intrigued by the life of a herb wife who tended the sick of the convent and monastery. A mystery involving the attempted assassination of a prince in hiding crowns the end of the story. I also found the tension of the Christian and Pagan religions to be resonant of our current culture's discord over morality and acceptance of the stress of differing ethical beliefs. Of course the inclusion of the first Plaines to disrupt lives echoes loudly .
February 6, 2025
the authoress has made several errors in the book regarding the bee hive mentioned. a straw skep did not contain frames nor an opening roof, it was a complete unit and had to be destroyed to extract the honey and wax. it was only post industrial revolution did hives became what is familiar to us today.
also the herbwife said sickening for the plague when it should’ve been sickening with the plague
also the herbwife said sickening for the plague when it should’ve been sickening with the plague
May 2, 2020
Well told story
fond memories of my visits to Whitby plus memories of climbing the 100 steps from town to St Hilds encouraged me to read this book. The story of the Synod and it’s effects on the English church in future generations are discreetly mentioned. The Norman nobles raised more opposing than Saxon peasants to the break from Rome. The character relationships and names are sometimes hard to grasp but worth making the effort. A phonetic pronunciation of the names may be helpful. All in all a good plot and enticing story.
fond memories of my visits to Whitby plus memories of climbing the 100 steps from town to St Hilds encouraged me to read this book. The story of the Synod and it’s effects on the English church in future generations are discreetly mentioned. The Norman nobles raised more opposing than Saxon peasants to the break from Rome. The character relationships and names are sometimes hard to grasp but worth making the effort. A phonetic pronunciation of the names may be helpful. All in all a good plot and enticing story.
October 23, 2020
Set in the the aftermath of the Council of Whitby, Fridgyth The Herb-Wife solves murder and mayhem which is disguised by an outbreak of plague. Reading this book during the 2020 pandemic might seem counter intuitive, but it was fascinating. While being unclear about the cause of the outbreak, Fridgyth and her allies discover that those who suffer and recover do have immunity, and they discover that fire is useful in purging contamination. I liked the blending of old and new religions, and the tolerance, gentility and holiness of Abbess 'Hild' and St. Cuthbert (who makes a couple of brief appearances). I look forward to the next books in the series.
August 13, 2021
A light read with pleasant characters. Having come across the Abbess Hild in the Cornwell Saxon series, I was delighted to find her here. I'll certainly continue this series just for the fun. If you are looking for the seriousness of Cornwell and the battles, you will not find it here. However, the place and character of a Pagan herb-wife is enough to keep me interested.
November 4, 2021
Enjoyable historical fiction novel set in what is now Northern England near the end of the first millennium. Fridgyth, the herb wife of the blended Christian-Pagan monastery settlement is an unforgettable character. She is full of wisdom, healing others and ultimately exposes assassins who poison their victims.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2023
This is not a book you should read right before bed, it is full of ups and downs and it gets adventurous too.
I love the switches it contains, and the book really carried me through it. I love the feeling of living in an old monastery, and it’s amazing how vivid the images get for me. I truly thank the writer for creating such a great novel, and I will be sure to read the follow up story too!!
I love the switches it contains, and the book really carried me through it. I love the feeling of living in an old monastery, and it’s amazing how vivid the images get for me. I truly thank the writer for creating such a great novel, and I will be sure to read the follow up story too!!
April 29, 2024
Woo-hoo… a real historic who did do it in the English convent community before 1066,
loved the factuality of this fictional fun, the climate, scenery, seasons, people, beliefs draw
you willingly into it’s midst, alas there are only two books in this series, so enjoy well.
Thank you for your researched words Theresa Tomlinson and Danielle Cohen your eloquence. :-)
loved the factuality of this fictional fun, the climate, scenery, seasons, people, beliefs draw
you willingly into it’s midst, alas there are only two books in this series, so enjoy well.
Thank you for your researched words Theresa Tomlinson and Danielle Cohen your eloquence. :-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews