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Jill Dalladay
Autor(a) de The Abbess of Whitby: A Novel of Hild of Northumbria
1 Work 50 Membros 17 Críticas
About the Author
Includes the name: Jill Dalladay
Obras por Jill Dalladay
Etiquetado
15 de outubro (1)
2016 (1)
2024 GR wall shelf (1)
2024 reading plan (1)
7th century Britain (1)
a ler (11)
adult fiction (1)
Anglo-Saxon (2)
Biografia (1)
Britain (1)
Britânico (1)
C7th (1)
classic fiction (1)
Cristianismo (2)
Early Reviewers (4)
female author (1)
Ficção (8)
Ficção histórica (15)
have-review-copy (1)
Hilda of Whitby (2)
história (1)
História da Inglaterra (1)
histórico (1)
Inglaterra (2)
literary (1)
literary fiction (1)
literatura britânica (1)
literatura europeia (1)
LTER (1)
medieval (1)
Reino da Nortúmbria (2)
Romance (1)
Saint Aidan (1)
shelf: d (1)
single-novel (2)
St Hild (1)
stand-alone-novel (1)
Século VII (3)
unread (fred) (1)
women-in-history (1)
Conhecimento Comum
- Sexo
- female
- Locais de residência
- Whitby, Yorkshire, England, UK
Membros
Críticas
Assinalado
pluckedhighbrow | 16 outras críticas | Jun 26, 2017 | When I saw Lion Fiction (Kregel in the US) the Publisher of Edoardo Albert's fantastic Northumbrian Thrones Series, set in seventh century England were bringing out another book about a major figure from this time, I snapped it up. I confess to a long-enduring love for the Anglo-Saxon era, and the seventh century was a golden age for the famous Kingdom of Northumbria.
Whilst many other works set at this time are very masculine with an emphasis on battles, war and politics it was interesting to find a story that looks at the time from a female perspective focused on everyday life, family relationships and the management of estates.
Such a woman was Hild, sometimes known as St Hilda, born to a royal Saxon father and British mother. Little is known of her early life and adulthood, before she assumed the leadership of Whitby Abbey- in its day one of the most famous religious houses of Northern England.
As such, much of the novel is what I would call speculative history (based on likely circumstances of what might have been but we cannot know for certain), recounting Hild's journey through marriage, life the turbulent political circumstances of the time and place, and ultimately to faith.
After her conversion, and entry into a religious house, Hild has been lauded as one of the most powerful and influential women of her time- Kings and clerics came to her for advice, and her Abbey trained men who would one day become Priests, Bishops and Missionaries- even a poet.
Her story and those of her fellows are told with honesty, compassion and is compelling enough to hold the reader's interest. My only complaints were the writing style. Somehow, in the narrative passages it lacked the descriptive, almost poetic beauty of Edoardo Albert's novels which evoke Tolkien and the Epic Literature of the age, instead a rather informal conversational tone is used.
At times, this resulted in language that seemed too modern for the time, and certain turns of phrase which might have been unique to Northern England which might pass over readers from other backgrounds. I did spot a few anachronisms, and in places the writing seemed a little 'rushed', and I found myself reading passages again as within a sentence or two the characters would love to a different room, place or situation. Sometimes it could be hard to keep up.
However, the author's note suggests that much sound research had gone into the story, so maybe what felt like a lack of a 'sense of period' in some parts can be put down to personal opinion.
Aside from the above, this book had many positives. It is a wonderful spiritual biography of one of the most important women in Early Medieval Christian Britain. I would certainly recommend to any interested in women's history or this fascinating, formative era of England's past.
Thanks to Lion Fiction for the copy they gave me for review. I was not required to write a positive one an all opinions expressed are my own.
… (mais)
Whilst many other works set at this time are very masculine with an emphasis on battles, war and politics it was interesting to find a story that looks at the time from a female perspective focused on everyday life, family relationships and the management of estates.
Such a woman was Hild, sometimes known as St Hilda, born to a royal Saxon father and British mother. Little is known of her early life and adulthood, before she assumed the leadership of Whitby Abbey- in its day one of the most famous religious houses of Northern England.
As such, much of the novel is what I would call speculative history (based on likely circumstances of what might have been but we cannot know for certain), recounting Hild's journey through marriage, life the turbulent political circumstances of the time and place, and ultimately to faith.
After her conversion, and entry into a religious house, Hild has been lauded as one of the most powerful and influential women of her time- Kings and clerics came to her for advice, and her Abbey trained men who would one day become Priests, Bishops and Missionaries- even a poet.
Her story and those of her fellows are told with honesty, compassion and is compelling enough to hold the reader's interest. My only complaints were the writing style. Somehow, in the narrative passages it lacked the descriptive, almost poetic beauty of Edoardo Albert's novels which evoke Tolkien and the Epic Literature of the age, instead a rather informal conversational tone is used.
At times, this resulted in language that seemed too modern for the time, and certain turns of phrase which might have been unique to Northern England which might pass over readers from other backgrounds. I did spot a few anachronisms, and in places the writing seemed a little 'rushed', and I found myself reading passages again as within a sentence or two the characters would love to a different room, place or situation. Sometimes it could be hard to keep up.
However, the author's note suggests that much sound research had gone into the story, so maybe what felt like a lack of a 'sense of period' in some parts can be put down to personal opinion.
Aside from the above, this book had many positives. It is a wonderful spiritual biography of one of the most important women in Early Medieval Christian Britain. I would certainly recommend to any interested in women's history or this fascinating, formative era of England's past.
Thanks to Lion Fiction for the copy they gave me for review. I was not required to write a positive one an all opinions expressed are my own.
… (mais)
Assinalado
Medievalgirl | 16 outras críticas | Oct 4, 2016 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
I love this time period history - so little is known yet so much can be told. Ms. Dalladay creates a fictional beginning for the future Abbess by taking the norms of the time and extrapolating. So little written record is left from these ancient times. If not for the Venerable Bede we might not know of St. Hild at all.
I found the book very interesting despite the challenge of the old names. But I've done a fair amount of reading in this time period so the history is quite familiar. I'd read a couple of books previously about this character so I was excited to read another about a women who defied the times to be more than she was supposed to be.… (mais)
I found the book very interesting despite the challenge of the old names. But I've done a fair amount of reading in this time period so the history is quite familiar. I'd read a couple of books previously about this character so I was excited to read another about a women who defied the times to be more than she was supposed to be.… (mais)
Assinalado
BooksCooksLooks | 16 outras críticas | Aug 10, 2016 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
"The Abbess of Whitby" by Jill Dalladay tells the historically and religiously important true story of a remarkable woman that made a significant contribution to the history of England. St Hild was born in medieval Britain in a time that belonged to the Druids and pagans and their worship of nature and all things . Christianity was relatively new to the region. During the 7th century death, battles, illness, and travails were the daily way of life. Nothing was easy, but she persevered.
St Hild did not start out as religious; it was through her friendship and the teachings of Aidan, a leader in the early Christian church, that she began her conversion late in her life. Ultimately she built a small chapel and religious community in Whitby. There she taught, prayed, helped, and served the remainder of her life. Many sought her out for atonement and some were part of her early life looking for a final resting place near friends and family. All were unaware of her place in history.
It should be noted that several characters and situations are products of the authors imagination. With virtually no written records, save for the contemporary writings of the Venerable Bede, not much is known about her early life. She lost nearly everyone she loved and so traveled the eastern coast of England as necessary to stay alive. She made enemies to be sure, but her life seemed to be filled with honesty, endurance, and piety.
Recommended for anyone interested in historical biographies, life in medieval England, and early religions.… (mais)
St Hild did not start out as religious; it was through her friendship and the teachings of Aidan, a leader in the early Christian church, that she began her conversion late in her life. Ultimately she built a small chapel and religious community in Whitby. There she taught, prayed, helped, and served the remainder of her life. Many sought her out for atonement and some were part of her early life looking for a final resting place near friends and family. All were unaware of her place in history.
It should be noted that several characters and situations are products of the authors imagination. With virtually no written records, save for the contemporary writings of the Venerable Bede, not much is known about her early life. She lost nearly everyone she loved and so traveled the eastern coast of England as necessary to stay alive. She made enemies to be sure, but her life seemed to be filled with honesty, endurance, and piety.
Recommended for anyone interested in historical biographies, life in medieval England, and early religions.… (mais)
Assinalado
TheFlamingoReads | 16 outras críticas | Jul 25, 2016 | Listas
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 1
- Membros
- 50
- Popularidade
- #316,248
- Avaliação
- ½ 3.6
- Críticas
- 17
- ISBN
- 3
The story of Hild is really interesting but the only written accounts are from Bede and written many years after her death. Therefore Dalladay is faced with having to produce a fictionalised account of the early life of her subject. In this respect the first half of the book is moderately exciting - not quite as violent as Cornwell but well researched in terms of the everyday life of the early Britains. After Hild becomes Abbess the story gets more bogged down with ecclesiastical politics and loses the sense of being a 'story'. To me the two halves don't sit together as well as they could and therefore I found the book frustrating at times, it was neither a fiction based around historical figures (cf. Cornwall or Albert) nor a serious biography.… (mais)