Born in the 7th century, Hild was a member of the royal family of Northumbria at a time when warfare and rivalry between the different kingdoms of Britain was at its peak. Hild was anointed a handmaiden of Eostre and then married off to a vassal of her king. Widowed early she became fascinated by the new religion of Christianity after compulsory baptism. To celebrate a great victory the King made Hild found a monastery at Whitby which welcomed both monks and nuns. This abbey hosted an important synod in 664 to unite the branches of Christianity and cement the religion in the country.

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. ( )

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.
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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. ( )

"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. ( )

This historical fiction work is based on the real Saint Hilda (or Hild) of Whitby, who lived c. 614–680 in what is now present-day England.  Much of her life is covered in The Ecclesiastical History of the English written by the Venerable Bede in 731 AD.

According to author Jill Dalladay, who is a classicist, historian, and Latin teacher who lives in Whitby, Bede does not speak of Hild's life between the ages of 13 and 33.  Dalladay invents a husband and child for her, surmising that a woman of royal blood would have been married off to seal an alliance, but by 33 Dalladay has her widowed.

This section of the book, as well as Hild's early years, was the most interesting to me.  Dalladay does a good job of painting a picture of what life was like in early Medieval England.

Not being very knowledgeable about this period of England's history, I had a harder time following all the names and locations in the book, even with a family tree, maps, and list of characters in the front of the book.  The last third of the novel, after Hild becomes a nun at age 33 and later an abbess, was least interesting to me.  It was far too long and could have been trimmed considerably, in my opinion. This section dragged for me and took forever to finish reading.

Nevertheless, if this is your favorite era in history, you should enjoy this novel and learning more about this saint. The author provides additional sources for research in her note at the end of the book.

© Amanda Pape - 2016

[I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  It will be added to my university library's collection. This review can also be found at Bookin' It.] ( )