The Siege Winter: A Novel

by Ariana Franklin, Samantha Norman

Overview

A powerful historical novel by the late Ariana Franklin and her daughter Samantha Norman, The Siege Winter is a tour de force mystery and murder, adventure and intrigue, a battle for a crown, told by two courageous young women whose fates are intertwined in twelfth century England’s devastating civil war.

1141. England is engulfed in war as King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Matilda, vie for the crown. In this dangerous world, not even Emma, an eleven-year-old peasant, is safe. A depraved monk obsessed with redheads kidnaps the ginger-haired girl from her village and leaves her for dead. When an archer for hire named Gwyl finds her, she has no memory of her previous life. Unable to abandon her, Gwyl takes the girl with him, dressing her as a boy, giving her a new name—Penda—and teaching her to use a bow. But Gwyn knows that the man who hurt Penda roams free, and that a scrap of evidence she possesses could be very valuable.

Gwyl and Penda make their way to Kenilworth, a small but strategically important fortress that belongs to fifteen-year-old Maud. Newly wedded to a boorish and much older husband after her father’s death, the fierce and determined young chatelaine tempts fate and Stephen’s murderous wrath when she gives shelter to the empress.

Aided by a garrison of mercenaries, including Gwyl and his odd red-headed apprentice, Maud will stave off Stephen’s siege for a long, brutal winter that will bring a host of visitors to Kenilworth—kings, soldiers . . . and a sinister monk with deadly business to finish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062282583
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/24/2015
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	39,057
File size:	786 KB

About the Author

Ariana Franklin was the award-winning author of Mistress of the Art of Death and the critically acclaimed, bestselling medieval thriller series of the same name, as well as the twentieth-century thriller City of Shadows. She died in 2011, while writing The Siege Winter.

Samantha Norman is Ariana Franklin’s daughter. A successful feature writer, columnist, and film critic, she lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2014
Though she wrote fiction under her own name, Diana Norman, Franklin won everyone's attention (and a clutch of Crime Writers' Association daggers) for her series featuring medieval medical examiner Adelia Aguilar. This work, completed after Franklin's death by her writer/critic daughter, returns to 12th-century England but has no Adelia in sight. As King Stephen and the Empress Matilda play tug-of-war with the crown, peasant girl Emma is abducted by a crazed monk and left for dead, then rescued by archer-for-hire Gwyl. Soon, Emma is dressed as a boy and serving as an apprentice to Gwyl. But what about that monk?

Library Journal

[A] thoroughly captivating tale.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Readers will note Franklin’s hand in the storytelling and see the freshness Norman brings to the tale, filled with fascinating characters who drive the plot as much as the tempestuous backdrop. With its bit of intrigue, historical setting and lovely characters, readers will be captivated by this compelling tale.” — Historical Novels Review

Praise for Grave Goods: “Richly detailed, almost indecently thrilling.” — Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review (on Grave Goods)

“Norman and Franklin excel . . . in this richly researched, female-driven historical mystery. ” — Library Journal (starred review)

“Medieval-mystery writing at its best.” — NY Daily News

” Both harsh and lovely, this novel seizes you from the first page, heart and soul, and doesn’t let go!” — Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Chalice

“Vivid and engaging...succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime thriller. [A] terrific book...with a dozen twists.” — Diana Gabaldon, Washington Post (on Mistress of the Art of Death)

“One of the most compelling, suspenseful mysteries I’ve read in years.” — New York Times bestselling author Sharon Kay Penman (on Mistress of the Art of Death)

From the Publisher

Praise for Grave Goods: “Richly detailed, almost indecently thrilling.

Marilyn Stasio

Readers will note Franklin’s hand in the storytelling and see the freshness Norman brings to the tale, filled with fascinating characters who drive the plot as much as the tempestuous backdrop. With its bit of intrigue, historical setting and lovely characters, readers will be captivated by this compelling tale.

Historical Novels Review

” Both harsh and lovely, this novel seizes you from the first page, heart and soul, and doesn’t let go!

Nancy Bilyeau

One of the most compelling, suspenseful mysteries I’ve read in years.

New York Times bestselling author Sharon Kay Penman (on Mistress of the Art of Death)

Medieval-mystery writing at its best.

NY Daily News

Vivid and engaging...succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime thriller. [A] terrific book...with a dozen twists.

Diana Gabaldon

An exhilarating whodunit and my favorite book of the year. I’d like to crown Ariana Franklin Queen of the Historical Mystery.

New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen (on A Murderous Procession)

2014-12-06
Franklin (A Murderous Procession, 2010, etc.) and Norman draw a tale of intrigue and violence from the Anarchy, the 12th-century struggle over the right to rule England between Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda. In 1135, Henry I, king of England and Normandy, dies, leaving his kingdom to his daughter, Empress Matilda, the Holy Roman Emperor's widow. His nephew Stephen objects, claiming the crown, and England becomes "a land devoid of loyalty," where "plunder, pillage...devastation, starvation" haunt its people. The authors use Em, an 11-year-old peasant girl from the Cambridgeshire fens, and mercenary Gwilherm de Vannes, an arbalist—crossbowman—to follow the story. Gwilherm escapes a battlefield rout only to be attacked by his companions, rogues who then rape and beat little Em. Gwilherm nurses her to health, but she's lost her memory and despises her femininity—"They'd sent her mad, and small wonder." Gwilherm dresses her as a boy, dubs her Penda and teaches her archery. Penda in tow, Gwilherm vows revenge on the rapist, Thancmar, a monk who led an attack on Ely Cathedral as part of a scheme to secure appointment as an archbishop. Highlighted by solid characterization of historical and fictional figures alike, the authors' research on day-to-day medieval life shines. Gwilherm and Penda rescue Empress Matilda and two knights during a blizzard and repair to Kenniford castle, a strategic redoubt along the Thames. There, young Maud rules as chatelaine; her boorish and cruel husband, Sir John of Tewing, to whom she's been married on Stephen's orders, lies silent after a stroke. Maud switches her support to Matilda, and the siege begins. This thoroughly captivating tale was begun by celebrated historical novelist Franklin, who died before its completion, and completed seamlessly by her journalist daughter, Norman.

Kirkus Reviews