Persia Woolley (1935–2017)

A rare reread of something I loved in high school that completely holds up. Beautifully written, tightly plotted, a meaningful update of the Matter of Britain that is simultaneously immaculately researched and sensibly feminist. Cannot recommend this highly enough.

Guinevere has never been a character I enjoyed. In fact, I often find her the spoiled and nettlesome one from Arthurian legend and much like Viviane says of her in of The Mists of Avalon, a bit of a ninny. Indeed, the only version of Guinevere I have ever found myself rallying behind was Angel Colby’s adaptation on BBC’s Merlin.

In my mind (and if the adage of a man only being as strong as the woman behind him holds true), Arthur—High King and unifier of a warring Albion—would not show more fall in love with a mollycoddled and sapless damsel. He would fall in love with someone with spirit, with fire, someone multi-faceted and with such devoted belief in him and his abilities to rule Britannia that he would never need doubt himself … and this is what Persia Woolley delivers in Child of the Northern Spring and why it has garnered itself a spot in my permanent collection.

As far as historical accuracy goes, Persia stayed true. We have a post-Roman England being invaded by the Saxons, England and Wales stand as two separate kingdoms and the pagan ways of the land are being tried by the new religion of Christianity. Child of the Northern Spring delivers the tale of Guinevere’s journey South to marry Arthur. On this journey Guin does a lot of reminiscing. As such, the book does include a great deal of flashbacks but it isn’t overly confusing or anything.

We learn that Guinevere is a very independent tomboyish girl, tempered with a kindness above her station as Princess of Rheged and sole heir, and loves to ride horses. Unlike what we have come to know as far as princesses go, Guinevere is known to give a hand to the servants and even helps commoners in the kingdom. This book did for Guinevere what The Mists of Avalon did for Morgan Le Fay: gave her a voice and showed us the events in Arthurian Legend as seen through her eyes.

Child of the Northern Spring is somewhat “and they lived happily ever after”, so if you are a fan of Arthur and Guinevere sans Lancelot, you will love this book. However, if you are like me and revel in angst and agony, you are very much looking forward to see what Persia does, if anything, with the infamous Lancelot/Guinevere/Arthur love triangle.

All in all, I am absolutely thrilled that Sourcebooks has revived this late 1980’s out-of-print trilogy for future generations (though I still cannot wrap my head around why such a strong novel would even go out of print to begin with), and I wait with bated breath for the next installment!

http://www.read-all-over.net/fiction/historical/book-review-child-of-the-norther... show less

I downloaded this onto my Nook and had a great time sneaking in a few pages every time I had a few minutes no matter where I was. This is a refreshing telling of the days leading up to Princess Guinevere's marriage to King Arthur. You follow Guinevere through parts of her childhood and then the long journey from north to south to become queen. Rich details about the time period are woven in and both Guinevere and Arthur are well-developed as interesting people with many dimensions to their show more characters. Historical fiction at its best and I plan to search out more of Persia Woolley's works to read. show less

This is the second book in Ms. Woolley's Guinevere trilogy. Sourcebooks is reprinting them and I, for one am very glad. These books, unlike most that give us the Arthurian legend, tell the story from Guinevere's point of view.
It is just so very refreshing!

The second book picks up with Guinevere settled into her marriage and while maybe not feeling like a Queen of her peoples, starting to feel less like that Child of the Northern Spring. She and Arthur are compatible and have even fallen a show more bit in love with each other. The book opens with the death of Arthur's mother Igraine and Guinevere learns the backstory of Arthur's birth. She begins to understand the family dynamics.

Arthur and Guinevere travel around the land making alliances, getting to know the people and attending the wedding of a very young and appallingly spoiled Isolde to and old King Mark. Arthur's knight Tristan has fetched her and we all know what will happen...

This book also delves more into Lancelot; his past, his personality and how Guinevere interacts with him. From his cold manner at the start to her love for him at the end. But this book ends with her hiding that love setting up the third book and her downfall at the hands of Arthur's son Mordred - a character I never liked.

The book is very well written as was the first. It is a revelation reading such a well known tale from a feminine viewpoint. I have to admit that I like it. The small details that don't occur when Arthur is the main focus - the accent on feelings, on atmosphere adds a new depth to the old legend. Ms. Woolley's writing style flows easily from page to page and she draws you in to time and place so that you don't want to leave. I will look forward to the third book but not to the end of the trilogy.

While I know the end of the story I am looking forward to seeing how Ms. Woolley tells it through Guinevere's words. Camelot was, after all, inhabited by more than just the Once and Future King. show less