Queen Cynewise returns in the second book of the popular series that examines her life, married to one of the greatest warrior-kings in Anglo-Saxon history: King Penda, founder of Mercia, one of the seven warring kingdoms that eventually united to become England. Known for killing more kings than any other of his age, Penda ruled in a Britain that seethed with violent struggles between rival kings who ruled by bloody sword and sealed alliances with forced marriages.
Christianity was just beginning to sweep the land--where most still practiced Anglo-Saxon paganism--in the time before the Viking invasion, generations before Alfred the Great. Told from her perspective, this is a richly imagined and gritty tale of a woman just trying to make it in a savage world, where--much like today--choices were limited, men held all the power, and it took courage to survive.
Note: this book contains explicit violence and adult themes.
Christianity was just beginning to sweep the land--where most still practiced Anglo-Saxon paganism--in the time before the Viking invasion, generations before Alfred the Great. Told from her perspective, this is a richly imagined and gritty tale of a woman just trying to make it in a savage world, where--much like today--choices were limited, men held all the power, and it took courage to survive.
Note: this book contains explicit violence and adult themes.
