Travel back in time to late Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain where Alfred the Great rules with a benevolent hand while the Danish King rules peacefully within the boundaries of the Danelaw. Trade flourishes, and scholars from throughout the civilized world flock to Britannia’s shores to study at the King’s Court School at Winchester.
Enter Concordia, a beautiful noblewoman whose family is favored by the king. Vain, willful, and admired, but ambitious and cunning, Concordia is not willing to accept her fate. She is betrothed to the valiant warrior, Brantson, but sees herself as far too young to lay in the bedchamber of an older suitor. She wants to see the wonders of the world, embracing everything in it; preferably, but dangerously, at the side of Thayer, the exotic Saracen who charms King Alfred’s court and ignites her yearning passions.
Concordia manipulates her besotted husband into taking her to Rome, but her ship is captured by bloodthirsty pirates, and the seafarers protecting her are ruthlessly slain to a man. As she awaits her fate in the Moorish captain’s bed, by sheer chance, she discovers that salvation is at hand in the gilded court of a Saracen nobleman.
While awaiting rescue, Concordia finds herself at the center of intrigue, plots, blackmail, betrayal and the vain desires of two egotistical brothers, each willing to die for her favor. Using only feminine cunning, Concordia must defend her honor while plotting her escape as she awaits deliverance, somewhere inside steamy, unconquered Muslim Hispania.
Bernal
paints a dazzling portrait of what life was like in 9th Century Hispania. There
is an elegant sweep of historical brilliance, giving this book an almost sensual
grounding of time and place. Bernal has certainly woven the history into this
incredibly enthralling tale. I was particularly interested in Bernal’s
depiction of the Emirate of Cordova (Emirate of Córdoba). This was a time of
power struggles and dynasties, but it was also the beginning of a political
decline of the emirate. I think Bernal has captured the essence of this era
very well through her fictional portrayal. The tension between the Muslim
community and the Christian one is evident throughout this story, and indeed
history tells us that there was much unrest, particularly at the Christian
border.
Although this is book #4 in the series, Concordia stands very firmly on her own two feet. So, if you are looking for your next fix of historical fiction, then why not check out The Briton and the Dane: Concordia (The Briton and the Dane #4) by Mary Ann Bernal.
Mary Anne Yarde
The Coffee Pot Book Club
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