Historical fiction set in medieval ENGLAND and DENMARK

29th October 2024

The Last Princess by Ellen Alspsten, historical fiction set in medieval England and Denmark -1066.

I grew up with history lessons which covered the Tudors, WW2, a bit of the Boer War and, of course,1066 when Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon English king, was killed at the Battle of Hastings. King Edward the Confessor, his predecessor, had died and Harold, just for a brief time (a matter of months), became king. At his coronation, the family in the novel muses: “Harold Godwinson is more the King of England than he is our Father“. His reign lasted from 5 January to 14 October 1066, killed by William the Conqueror, who took his crown.

In this novel Gytha Godwinson, one of Harold’s children, is placed centre stage, so that the story can revolve around her, rather than around the men. As her family discusses their new status and gets on with everyday life, keeping a wary eye on the Normans, there is a real sense of the myriad invaders that have come together in England, fought with each other and then been sent packing. The positives of invasion are that the legacy and influence of great cultures permeated Gytha’s family over previous generations and therefore they are in some small way internationalists – even then. This all comes through in the novel.

The early part of the novel is set in Bosham, which I know and where I served in a pub for a while, so it took me back in time personally and further back to the footsteps of the people who were living in the area. But as Gytha’s story changes, Bosham no longer feature in their lives and the family relocates to Havering. Then the Normans arrive and her whole world is changed and Denmark beckons.

The backdrop of time and place feels richly researched, will the smells, sights and sounds of the period assaulting the reader. I even discovered what frumenty is (look it up, it sounds delicious!).

At the end, in the Author’s Note, it becomes clear that researching and writing this novel has been such a personal journey, because Ellen Alpsten’s husband is Gytha’s 32-times removed grandson. What a heritage!

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