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Judith Arnopp

Judith Arnopp

About

I write historical novels set in the late Anglo Saxon/ early Medieval period. My first novel Peaceweaver is told from the perspective of Eadgyth, wife and queen to Gruffydd ap Llewellyn of Wales and Harold ii of England. EAdgyth provides a female view of the  years leading up to and encompassing the Battle of Hastings.  My current novel is called The Forest Dwellers and is the story of a family's struggles when they cast out of their home to make way for William the Conqueror's Royal hunting ground in The New Forest.

Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver)

Divided against Yourselves (Spell Weaver)

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Description

<h2>Taliesin Weaver thought that he had saved himself and his friends when he defeated the witch Ceridwen. He was wrong.</h2><h3><i>He always thought of evil as embodied in external threats that he could overcome in combat. Soon he will discover that the worst evil has been inside of him all along....</i></h3><p>Tal’s girlfriend is in a coma for which he holds himself responsible. A close friend, suffering from a past-life memory trauma similar to Tal's, is getting worse, not better. Morgan Le Fay is still lurking around and has an agenda Tal can’t figure out. Supernatural interruptions in his life are becoming more frequent, not less so, despite his expectations. In fact, Tal learns that something about his unique nature amplifies otherworldly forces in ways he never imagined were possible, ways that place at risk everyone close to him.</p><p>Tal and his allies must face everything from dead armies to dragons. As soon as they overcome one menace, another one is waiting for them. More people are depending on Tal than ever; he carries burdens few adults could face, let alone a sixteen-year-old like himself. Yet somehow Tal at first manages to handle everything the universe throws at him.</p><p>What Tal can’t handle is the discovery that a best friend, almost a brother, betrayed him, damaging Tal’s life beyond repair. For the first time, Tal feels a darkness within him, a darkness which he can only barely control...assuming he wants to. He’s no longer sure. Maybe there is something to be said for revenge, and even more to be said for taking what he wants. After all, he has the power...</p><p> </p><h2><u>Can Tal stop himself before he destroys everyone he has sworn he will protect? Scroll up to buy a copy and find out!</u></h2>

Story Behind The Book

Eadgyth, daughter of the powerful Earl Aelfgar of Mercia, is sold into marriage at the age of thirteen to the former enemy of her father, Gruffydd ap Llewellyn, the king of the Welsh. At his court at Rhuddlan she finds freindship and love but ultimately is accused of treason and incest. During a raid on the castle by Harold Godwinson of Wessex she is detached from the household and taken to the English court. There, she befriends Queen Edith and King Edward, ultimately marrying Edith's brother, HArold on his accession to the throne. Her future happines is threatened as William the Conqueror gathers his army in the south and Harold Hardrada plans to invade from the north. The fourteenth of October, 1066 looms. Peaceweaver is a story of a girl plunged into the feuding, male dominated world of Anglo Saxon Britain.

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Reviews

The setting and characters came alive in the very first paragraph, and The Conqueror came to town. Judith is an amazing, prolific writer, and the feeling of being placed in a different time and place was immediate. This read so authentically. I felt the rain, and most important, I felt the hatred the narrator had for this king. That hatred, in itself, is a brilliant hook into the story. I've seldom seen such succinct descriptions, and I'm thinking now of the dank description of King Diarmaid's cout - not at all what I expected, and these kinds of surprises, whether in character or environment, are always wonderful.  I especially loved the simple but profound statement at the end of the chapter - that an enemy can become a friend as easily as a friend becomes an enemy. What a brilliant segue into the rest of the story. <br />                                               **<br /><br />This is an intelligent book, one we not only enjoy but learn from. Because of the elegant prose, it is a lovely experience in every way. The text is polished to perfection and the literary talent sings.<br /><br />                                                ***<br /><br /><p>Wonderful. Really good historic novel writers don't need to constantly remind the reader where they are, they know their period so well they live it and because of that, the reader lives there as well.<br />This author knows her period and I was there. <br /><br />                                                    ***<br />Rich, brooding, atmospheric, this well-written tale of medieval plotting and politicking feels entirely authentic. The landscape is alive in an animistic way, powerful, cruel, and beautiful. Eadgyth is chattel, a political pawn, as were all women of the period. A beautifully painted historical novel.<br /></p>