Etheldreda [Paperback]

Moyra Caldecott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 1987

Etheldreda, Princess of East Anglia, Queen of Northumbria and Abbess of Ely, was a remarkable woman who lived in restless, violent times not unlike our own, when old beliefs were dying and new ones were struggling to emerge. Pagan clashed with Christian as the seven kingdoms of the Germanic tribes warred against each other and against the native Celts. Occasionally an uneasy peace was bought by the skilful use of the 'diplomatic marriage', and twice Etheldreda, though vowed to chastity, submitted to marriage for political reasons. When her second husband refused to accept the 'arrangement' between them, she fled south, her escape to the Island of Ely apparently aided by storms that intervened on her behalf. She lived only a few years as abbess of the religious community she founded at Ely before dying of plague. Ever since, pilgrims have turned to her for miracles of help and healing. But this is not just the story of a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon saint. It is about the general human struggle to comprehend the enigma of existence and to come to terms with Christ's God, faced as we are by a violent and cruel world. It is about the periods when we give up the struggle, reverting either to the darkest negativity or to superstition - and the rare but wonderful periods when we are lifted high by the inrush of spiritual certainty. This edition also contains several pages of chronology, genealogy, place names, notes and a map.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Law Book Co of Australasia (September 24, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1850630704
• ISBN-13: 978-1850630708
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,836,602 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent history - sloppy writing, March 2, 2008

By 

Lauren B. Davis (Princeton, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Etheldreda (Paperback)

Sadly, I cannot recommend this book. I wanted to like it, and bought it because it is set in England in the 600s, an intriguing time about which little is written. However, the author needs to learn her craft. Such phrases as "she gazed into the deep profound depths" is an example of the sloppy writing. And I don't think I've ever read a book that has such awful point of view problems. The author flips from the mind of one character to another, sometimes several characters in one paragraph -- which makes for disjointed and unelegant prose. Although I'm sure her research was extensive, her abilities as a writer are not up to the task. If this book was edited, it certainly doesn't show.