Menewood

Menewood, the name of the valley where she builds her personal stronghold, picks up where Hild ended. I simply had to find out what happened next! It was a riotous journey of violence, hunger, and work, yet also the raw beauty of her world: trees, birds, valleys, and hills. Her language continues to be rich and abundant with details, good and painful.

The political complexity and even savagery of her time echo our own. Yet Hild remains a unique and complicated woman who is heroic in every sense of the word. Again, the actress who read the book does… show more.

I'd been anticipating the sequel to HILD and it didn't disappoint. In the distant world of 7th century Britain (evoked with worldbuilding as rich and strange as any fantasy novel), politics turns to war, and suffering, sacrifice, and struggle follow. Griffith’s exquisite prose immersed me in her vivid, beautiful, brutal world.

Menewood is the sequel to Nicola Griffith’s novel Hild about the woman who would eventually become St. Hilda of Whitby.

Hardly anything is known about Hild before her thirties except for her parents and where she was born, and Griffith has imagined a densely detailed early life for her. I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of Menewood and I loved it for the same reasons I loved Hild – Griffith’s absolute genius at creating a sense of time and place within the culture of seventh-century England.

That world comes alive, from the birds in the air to… show more.